style="font-size:15px;"> of the earth,
by those who sail the seas,
and all creatures within them,
by the coastlands and their inhabitants.
Let the desert and its towns
raise their voices,
the settlements where Kedar lives.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from
the mountain peaks.
Let them give glory to Yahweh
and let them proclaim his praises
in the islands.
Yahweh marches forth like a hero,
like a warrior rouses passion.
He shouts, sounding the war cry,
he displays his might against his foes.
“For a long time I have kept silent,
have been quiet, holding myself
in check.
But now like a woman in childbirth,
I groan, I gasp, I pant all at once.
I will lay waste to mountains and hills,
will wither all their vegetation;
I will transform torrents
into dry territory,
and bring drought to pools of water.
But I will lead those who are blind by
a way they knew not,
along unfamiliar paths
I will guide them.
I will transform the darkness
into light before them,
and turn rough places into level ground.
These are the things I shall do,
I shall not abandon them.”
Isaiah 45:9–12 TNK
Woe to anyone who contends
with his Maker;
a potsherd among potsherds
of the earth!
Does the clay say to its potter,
“What are you making?”
or “Your work lacks handles.”
Woe to anyone who asks a father,
“What are you begetting?”
or a mother, “What are you
giving birth to?”
Thus says Yahweh,
the Holy One of Israel and his Maker:
Will you question me
about my children,
or give me orders about the works
of my hands?
It was I who made the earth
and created humanity upon it.
My own hands stretched out
the heavens
and I marshaled all of their starry array.
Isaiah 46:1–5 TNK
Bel bows down, Nebo stoops,
their idols are borne by beasts
and cattle;
the loads you are carrying are a burden to a weary beast.
They stoop and bow down together,
powerless to save those who bear them;
they themselves go into captivity.
Listen to me, O House of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the House
of Israel,
whom I have borne since your conception,
whom I have carried
since you were born.
Even to your old age I am the same,
even when your hairs are gray I will bear you.
It is I who made you and I will bear you;
I will carry you and I will save you.
To whom will you compare me,
or count as my equal?
To whom will you liken me,
that we may be equated?
Isaiah 49:13–16 TNK
Thus says Yahweh:
Shout for joy, O heavens;
and rejoice, O earth!
Burst forth in song, O mountains!
For Yahweh comforts his people
and displays maternal compassion on his afflicted ones.
Zion was saying, “Yahweh has abandoned me;
the Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget the baby
at her breast,
feel no maternal compassion for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Isaiah 51:1–3 TNK
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
who seek after Yahweh.
Look
