Study Desk

"Listen to Me in silence, you islands and coastlands, And let the nations gain their strength; Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come together for judgment [and decide the issue between us concerning the enemy from the east].

'Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].'

"You shall search for those who quarrel with you, but will not find them; They who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all.

"For I the LORD your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord], Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'

"Present your case [for idols made by men's hands]," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence [of divinity]," Says the king of Jacob.

Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know? Or from earlier times, so that we could say, "He is [unquestionably] right!"? In fact, there was no one who declared it, Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it; There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless].

"He will not be disheartened or crushed [in spirit]; [He will persevere] until He has established justice on the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."

"I am the LORD, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose], I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel], As a light to the nations (Gentiles),

Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The villages where Kedar lives. Let the inhabitants of Sela shout for joy, Let them shout joyfully from the tops of the mountains.

"I [the LORD] have been silent for a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will moan like a woman in labor, I will both gasp and pant.

"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know; I will guide them in paths that they do not know. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These things I will do [for them], And I will not leave them abandoned or undone."

The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake To make the law great and prove to be glorious.

Who gave up Jacob [the kingdom of Judah] for spoil, and [the kingdom of] Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, He against whom we [of Judah] have sinned, And in whose ways they [of Israel] were unwilling to walk, And whose law and teaching they did not obey?

But now, this is what the LORD, your Creator says, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity]; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

"For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom, Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you.

"Because you are precious in My sight, You are honored and I love you, I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east [where they are scattered], And gather you from the west.

Everyone who is called by My Name, Whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."

This is what the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says, "For your sake I have sent [one] to Babylon, And I will bring down all of them as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans [who reign in Babylon], into the ships over which they rejoiced.

"The people whom I formed for Myself Will make known My praise.