The LORD says, "Listen now, Israel, my servant, my chosen people, the descendants of Jacob.

The LORD says, "Israel, remember this; remember that you are my servant. I created you to be my servant, and I will never forget you.

Listen to this, people of Israel, you that are descended from Judah: You swear by the name of the LORD and claim to worship the God of Israel--- but you don't mean a word you say.

The holy God of Israel, the LORD who saves you, says: "I am the LORD your God, the one who wants to teach you for your own good and direct you in the way you should go.

"If only you had listened to my commands! Then blessings would have flowed for you like a stream that never goes dry. Victory would have come to you like the waves that roll on the shore.

The LORD says, "Listen to me, you that want to be saved, you that come to me for help. Think of the rock from which you came, the quarry from which you were cut.

"Listen to me, you that know what is right, who have my teaching fixed in your hearts. Do not be afraid when people taunt and insult you;

Listen, my people, to my warning; Israel, how I wish you would listen to me!

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Open your mouth, and I will feed you.

So I let them go their stubborn ways and do whatever they wanted.

If the LORD Almighty had not let some of the people survive, Jerusalem would have been totally destroyed, just as Sodom and Gomorrah were.

Even though now there are as many people of Israel as there are grains of sand by the sea, only a few will come back. Destruction is in store for the people, and it is fully deserved.

When that day comes, the Lord will once again use his power and bring back home those of his people who are left in Assyria and Egypt, in the lands of Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, and Hamath, and in the coastlands and on the islands of the sea.

The Assyrian emperor has sent his chief official to insult the living God. May the LORD your God hear these insults and punish those who spoke them. So pray to God for those of our people who survive."

The LORD says, "Listen now, Israel, my servant, my chosen people, the descendants of Jacob.

I am the LORD who created you; from the time you were born, I have helped you. Do not be afraid; you are my servant, my chosen people whom I love.

Listen to me, distant nations, you people who live far away! Before I was born, the LORD chose me and appointed me to be his servant.

He made my words as sharp as a sword. With his own hand he protected me. He made me like an arrow, sharp and ready for use.

from all their suffering. It was not an angel, but the LORD himself who saved them. In his love and compassion he rescued them. He had always taken care of them in the past,

"You saw what I, the LORD, did to the Egyptians and how I carried you as an eagle carries her young on her wings, and brought you here to me.

and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely all the way to this place, just as a father would carry his son.'

Like an eagle teaching its young to fly, catching them safely on its spreading wings, the LORD kept Israel from falling.

The LORD alone led his people without the help of a foreign god.

It was you who brought me safely through birth, and when I was a baby, you kept me safe.

I have relied on you since the day I was born, and you have always been my God.

I have relied on you all my life; you have protected me since the day I was born. I will always praise you.

"Then I passed by and saw you squirming in your own blood. You were covered with blood, but I wouldn't let you die.

"As I passed by again, I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love. I covered your naked body with my coat and promised to love you. Yes, I made a marriage covenant with you, and you became mine." This is what the Sovereign LORD says.

I dressed you in embroidered gowns and gave you shoes of the best leather, a linen headband, and a silk cloak.

I gave you a nose ring and earrings and a beautiful crown to wear.

You became famous in every nation for your perfect beauty, because I was the one who made you so lovely." This is what the Sovereign LORD says.

You used some of your clothes to decorate your places of worship, and just like a prostitute, you gave yourself to everyone.