4

place of thee. Since thou art precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee. Therefore I will give men for thee, and peoples for thy 5 life. Fear not; for I am with thee. I will bring thy ❝ seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give up;' and to the south, Keep not back. Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one 7 that is called by my name.' For unto my glory I created him, I formed him, yea, I made him.

8

Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the ' deaf that have ears. Let all the Nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them did declare this, and did shew us the former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified; and let men hear, and say, 'It is true.'

10

Ye are my witnesses, Jehovah hath said it, and my Servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me, and may understand that I am He. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be 11 after me. I, even I, am Jehovah; and beside me there 12 is no saviour. I have declared it, and have saved, and I have made it known when there was no strange god among you. Therefore ye are my witnesses, Jehovah 13 hath said it, that I am God. Yea, before the day was, I was He; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who shall undo it?

14

Thus saith Jehovah, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all the fugitives, and the Chaldeans, whose

9 Who among them did declare this?] He again tells us that the return from captivity had never been foretold.

14 The fugitives.] King Nabonned and those who with him had fled from Babylon to Borsippa at the head of the Persian gulf, on the approach of Cyrus's conquering army. See chap. xxi., and Notes.

it The Chaldeans whose shout is in ships.] Thus he

shout is in ships. I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the 15 creator of Israel, and your King.

16

Thus saith Jehovah, he who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; who bringeth forth 17 the chariot and horse, the army and the strong ones together. They shall lie down, they shall not rise; they are extinguished, they are quenched as tow.

19

20

Ye remember not the former things, neither consider 18 the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the desert, and rivers in the wilderness. The wild beasts of the field shall honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give waters in the desert, and rivers in the wilderness, to give drink to my people, my chosen ones. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

21

But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; for thou 22 hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought 23 me the lamb of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not burdened thee with meal offerings, nor wearied thee with frankincense. Thou hast bought for me no sweet cane with 24 money, neither hast thou moistened me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. I, even I, 25 am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and I will not remember thy sins.

Put me in remembrance; let us plead together; declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. Thy first father [Adam] sinned, and those that interpret to thee

distinguishes between the Chaldeans of Babylon, of whom Nebuchadnezzar was one; and those who dwelt on the Persian gulf. Strabo mentions this tribe of Chaldeans who dwelt on the Arabian shore of the Persian sea. Lib. xvi. i. 6, 8. Our prophet may have been as a captive in that neighbourhood.

23 The lamb of thy burnt offerings.] Thus he does not think sacrifices wholly worthless.

27 Thy first father sinned.] Here we may have the

26

27

28 have transgressed against me. Therefore I profaned the princes of the Holy Place, and gave up Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

1

Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom 2 I have chosen; thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, [or 3 Israel,] whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon the thirsty land, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring. And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. One

5

shall say, I am Jehovah's; and he shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

6 THUS SAITH JEHOVAH the King of Israel, and his redeemer, Jehovah of hosts; I am the first, and I am the 7 last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, will proclaim and will declare it, and will set it in order for me, since I appointed the people of old? Then let them shew to them the things that are coming, and will

beginning of that doctrine of Adam's sin being imputed to his children.

Those that interpret to thee.] The language spoken by the Jews had so far changed during the years of the captivity, that the common people, whether of the captives or of those left behind, did not understand the law unless it was interpreted to them by the scribes (Nehem. viii. 7).

28 The princes of the Holy Place.] The priests who had the charge of the temple.

XLIV. Thou, Jesurum.]

A diminutive of affection for Israel, used also in Deut. xxxii. and xxxiii., both probably of a later time.

5 By the name of Jacob by the name of Israel.] The attempt to gain a distinctness by the name of Jacob for the nation or either part of it, as explained in Note on ii. 5, was not successful.

6

come. Fear ye not, neither be afraid; have not I told thee from of old, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me ? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.

10

They that make an image are all of them vanity; and 9 their desirable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses that they see not and know not; so that they are ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or a molten image which is profitable for nothing? Be-"1 hold, all his fellows shall be ashamed; and the workmen, they are of mankind. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. He who forgeth iron 12 into an axe, worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms; yea, he becometh hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint. He who worketh in 13 wood stretcheth out his line; he marketh it out with an awl; he shapeth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compasses, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of men; that it may dwell in a house. [See xli. 6.]

One heweth him down cedars, and taketh the ilex and 14 the oak which he fixeth upon for himself among the trees of the forest. One planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn; 15 for he will take some thereof and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image and falleth down thereto. He burneth half thereof in the 16 fire; with half thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, 'Aha! I am warm, I have seen the flame;' and what " remains of it he maketh into a god, into his graven image. He falleth down to it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth to it, and saith, 'Deliver me; for thou art my god.'

17

They have not known nor understood; for he hath 18 plaistered over their eyes that they cannot see, and their hearts that they cannot understand. And none setteth 19, it to his heart, neither is there knowledge or under

standing to say, 'I have burned half of it in the fire; · yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; 'I have roasted flesh and eaten it; and shall I make 'the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down 20before the stock of a tree?' He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?' 21 Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant, I formed thee. Thou shalt be a servant to me, O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten by me. have wiped away, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins. Return unto me, for I have redeemed thee.

22

23

I

Sing, O ye heavens; for Jehovah hath done it; 'shout, ye places beneath the earth. Break forth into singing, ye mountains, thou forest, and every tree 'therein; for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and he 6 glorifieth himself in Israel.'

24 Thus saith Jehovah, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am Jehovah that made all things; that alone stretched forth the heavens; that 25 spread abroad the earth by myself; that maketh vain the signs of the liars, and maketh the diviners foolish; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their 26 knowledge vain; that confirmeth the word of his Servant, and will perform the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, 'Thou shalt be inhabited ;' and to the cities of Judah, 'Ye shall be built up, and I will 27 raise up its decayed places;' that saith to the deep, 28 Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers;' that saith of

"Mil

19 An abomination.] Or idol, or false god, as com, the abomination of the children of Ammon' (2 Kings xxiii. 13).

26 His servant... his messengers.] Probably Zerubbabel and the priests. But in verse 21 the nation was called " my servant."

28 Of Cyrus.]

Here Cyrus is directed to let the temple be rebuilt. These words may have given birth to the decree in Ezra i. 2.