e for a covenant of the
people, to cause to inherit the desolate nations, that thou mayest say
to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that are in darkness show
yourselves, and possess these abundant and fertile lands. They shall not
hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for he
that hath mercy upon them shall lead them, even by the springs of waters
shall he guide them, and make the mountains a way before them. Behold,
the peoples shall come from all parts, from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south. Let the heavens give glory to God;
let the earth be joyful; for it hath pleased the Lord to comfort His
people, and He will have mercy upon the poor who hope in Him.

"Yet Sion dared to say: The Lord hath forsaken me, and hath forgotten
me. Can a woman forget her child, that she should not have compassion on
the son of her womb? but if she forget, yet will not I forget thee, O
Sion. I will bear thee always between my hands, and thy walls are
continually before me. They that shall build thee are come, and thy
destroyers shall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and
behold; all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I
live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as
with an ornament. Thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy
destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants,
and the children thou shalt have after thy barrenness shall say again in
thy ears: The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may
dwell. Then shalt thou say in thy heart: Who hath begotten me these,
seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing
to and fro? and who brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these,
where had they been? And the Lord shall say to thee: Behold, I will lift
up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and
they shall bring thy sons in their arms and in their bosoms. And kings
shall be their nursing fathers, and queens their nursing mothers; they
shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the
dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall
not be ashamed that wait for me. Shall the prey be taken from the
mighty? But even if the captives be taken away from the strong, nothing
shall hinder me from saving thy children, and from destroying thy
enemies; and all flesh shall know that I am the Lord