is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I look after my sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they 12. have been scattered in the day of clouds and darkness. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the 13. Lord Eternal. I will seek that which was lost, and bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong will I destroy; I will feed them as they deserve. And I will make them, and the places round about my hill, a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; showers 14. rich in blessings shall there be. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit and the earth shall yield her increase; and they shall be secure in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall break the bands of their yoke and deliver them out 15. of the hand of them that made them servants. And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell in security, and none 16. shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plantation for my glory; and they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, neither shall they bear the reproach of the 17. nations any more. Then shall they know, that I, the LORD, their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Eternal. (Chap. XXXIV; 1-3, 16, 27-30.) III. The restoration of the Jewish people represented by the vision of a resurrection of dry bones. Promises of moral regeneration and felicity. 1. THE hand of the LORD was upon me, and he carried me out in the spirit of LORD, and set me in the midst of a valley, which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about; 2. and behold, there were very many upon the surface of the valley, and lo, they were very dry. 3. And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? 4. And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest! Then he said to me, Prophesy to these dry bones, and say to them, O ye 5. dry brones, hear the word of God! Thus saith the Lord Eternal to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter 6. into you, and ye shall live; and I will lay sinews upon you, and 7. will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put God. ye So I prophesied, as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, a voice was heard, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came 8. together, bone to its bone. And when I looked, behold, there were sinews upon them, and the flesh grew, and the skin covered 9. them above; but there was no breath in them. Then said he to me, Prophesy, to breath, prophesy, O son of man, and say to breath, Thus saith the Lord Eternal: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may 10. live! So I prophesied, as he commanded me; and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great host. 11. 15. open And he said to me, Son of man, these bones denote the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, "Our bones are dried, and 12. our hope is lost, and we are cut off." Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O 13. my people, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and cause 14. you to come up out of your graves, O my people, and put my breath within you, and ye live, and I place you in your own land; then shall ye know that I, the LORD, have spoken it, and done it, saith the LORD. (Ch. XXXVII; 1-14.) Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Not for your own sakes do I this, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which ye have polluted among the nations whither 16. ye are gone. And I will sanctify my great name, which hath been polluted among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am LORD, when I shall be sanctified in regard to you, before their eyes, 17. saith the Lord Eternal. For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all countries, and bring you into 18. your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean. From all your uncleanliness and from all 19. your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take out of your body the heart of stone, and I will give you a heart of 20. flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my commandments and 21. do them. And ye shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ch XXXVI; 22-29.) IV. 1. What The equity of God's dealings.-Repentance delivereth from death. THE word of the LORD came to me again, saying: mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 2. saying, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?" As I live, saith the Lord Eternal, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 3. Behold all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son, is mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 4. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right; if 5. he has not lifted up his eyes to vanity; if he oppress not any, if he restore to the debtor his pledge, spoil none by violence, give his bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with a garment; if 6. he give not forth upon usury, and take not increase; if he with draw his hand from iniquity, and give true judgment between 7. man and man; if he walk in my statute and keep my commandments, to deal uprightly, — he is just; he shall surely live, saith the LORD. 8. But if he have a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth to his brother any of these things, and doeth not all 9. those duties, shalt he live? No! he shall not live. He hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. 10. Yet lo, if he have a son that seeth all the sins which his father committed, that seeth them and doeth not such like, he shall not 11. die for the iniquity of his father; he shall surely live. As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, he shall die for his iniquity. 12. Yet say ye, "Why? Doth not the son bear the iniquity of 13. the father? When the son doeth that which is lawful and right, keepeth all my statutes and doeth them, he shall surely 14. live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the 15. iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 16. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and 17. right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his transgressions which he hath committed shall be remembered unto him; for his righteousness, which he hath done, he shall live. 18. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord Eternal, and not that he should turn from his ways and 19. live? But when the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abomi20. nations which the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; for his trespass which he hath trespassed, and for his sin which he hath sinned, for them shall he die. 21. And when the wicked man turneth from his iniquity which he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he 22 shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth and turneth from all his trangressions which he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 23 Yet saith the house of Israel, "The way of the LORD is not right." O house of Israel, are not my ways right? Is it 24. not your ways that are not right? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith 25 the Lord Eternal. Turn ye, turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not be your ruin. Cast 26. away from you all your transgressions which ye have committed, and make you a new heart, and a new spirit! For why will ye 27. die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Eternal. Wherefore turn your selves and live? OF BABYLON. ISAIAH OF About 550 538, B. C. E. I. Consolations and encouragement to the Hebrew nation in exile. They shall trust in the infinite power and wisdom of the LORD, who 1. will strengthen them in their trials. COMFORT ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. 2. Speak ye encouragement to Jerusalem, and declare to her, 3. That her hard service is ended; that her iniquity is expiated; That she hath received from the hand of the LORD Double for all her sins. 66 A voice crieth : 'Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God! 4. Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill be made low; And the rough places plain. 5. For the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 6. A voice said, Proclaim! And I said, What shall I proclain? All flesh is grass, and all its comeliness as the flower of the field. 7. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, When the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it. Truly the people is grass. 8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, 9. But the word of our God shall stand forever. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, And gathered the dust of the earth into a measure, And the hills in a balance? 10. Who hath searched out the spirit of the Lord Or, being his counsellor, hath taught him? 11. With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, And taught him the path of justice, And taught him knowledge, And showed him the way of understanding? |