Wednesday, January 6, 2027

¹Be glad, thou thirsty desert: let the wilderness exult, and flower as the lily. ²And the desert places of Jordan shall blossom and rejoice; the glory of Libanus has been given to it, and the honour of Carmel; and my people shall see the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of God.

³Be strong, ye relaxed hands and palsied knees. ⁴Comfort one another, ye faint-hearted; be strong, fear not; behold, our God renders judgment, and he will render it; he will come and save us. ⁵Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. ⁶Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall speak plainly; for water has burst forth in the desert, and a channel of water in a thirsty land. ⁷And the dry land shall become pools, and a fountain of water shall be poured into the thirsty land; there shall there be a joy of birds, ready habitations and marshes. ⁸There shall be there a pure way, and it shall be called a holy way; and there shall not pass by there any unclean person, neither shall there be there an unclean way; but the dispersed shall walk on it, and they shall not go astray. ⁹And there shall be no lion there, neither shall any evil beast go up upon it, nor at all be found there; but the redeemed and gathered on the Lord's behalf, shall walk in it, ¹⁰and shall return, and come to Sion with joy, and everlasting joy shall be over their head; for on their head shall be praise and exultation, and joy shall take possession of them: sorrow and pain, and groaning have fled away.

¹Ye that thirst, go to the water, and all that have no money, go and buy; and eat and drink wine and fat without money or price. ²Wherefore do ye value at the price of money, and give your labour for that which will not satisfy? hearken to me, and ye shall eat that which is good, and your soul shall feast itself on good things.

³Give heed with your ears, and follow my ways: hearken to me, and your soul shall live in prosperity; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David. ⁴Behold, I have made him a testimony among the Gentiles, a prince and commander to the Gentiles. ⁵Nations which know thee not, shall call upon thee, and peoples which are not acquainted with thee, shall flee to thee for refuge, for the sake of the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel; for he has glorified thee.

⁶Seek ye the Lord, and when ye find him, call upon him; and when he shall draw nigh to you, ⁷let the ungodly leave his ways, and the transgressor his counsels: and let him return to the Lord, and he shall find mercy; for he shall abundantly pardon your sins. ⁸For my counsels are not as your counsels, nor are my ways as your ways, saith the Lord. ⁹But as the heaven is distant from the earth, so is my way distant from your ways, and your thoughts from my mind. ¹⁰For as rain shall come down, or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth, and it bring forth, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread for food: ¹¹so shall my word be, whatever shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the things which I willed shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy ways prosperous, and will effect my commands. ¹²For ye shall go forth with joy, and shall be taught with gladness: for the mountains and the hills shall exult to welcome you with joy, and all the trees of the field shall applaud with their branches. ¹³And instead of the bramble shall come up the cypress, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle: and the Lord shall be for a name, and for an everlasting sign, and shall not fail.

³Draw ye therefore water with joy out of the wells of salvation. ⁴And in that day thou shalt say, Sing to the Lord, call aloud upon his name, proclaim his glorious deeds among the Gentiles; make mention that his name is exalted. ⁵Sing praise to the name of the Lord; for he has done great things: declare this in all the earth. ⁶Exalt and rejoice, ye that dwell in Sion: for the Holy One of Israel is exalted in the midst of her.