⁴ Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,^(A)
a brood of evildoers,^(B)
    children given to corruption!^(C)
They have forsaken^(D) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One^(E) of Israel
    and turned their backs^(F) on him.

¹⁴ Do not be afraid,^(A) you worm^(B) Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help^(C) you,” declares the Lord,
    your Redeemer,^(D) the Holy One^(E) of Israel.
¹⁵ “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,^(F)
    new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains^(G) and crush them,
    and reduce the hills to chaff.^(H)
16 You will winnow^(I) them, the wind will pick them up,
    and a gale^(J) will blow them away.^(K)
But you will rejoice^(L) in the Lord
    and glory^(M) in the Holy One^(N) of Israel.

¹⁷ “The poor and needy search for water,^(O)
    but there is none;
    their tongues are parched with thirst.^(P)
But I the Lord will answer^(Q) them;
    I, the God of Israel, will not forsake^(R) them.
¹⁸ I will make rivers flow^(S) on barren heights,
    and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert^(T) into pools of water,^(U)
    and the parched ground into springs.^(V)
19 I will put in the desert^(W)
    the cedar and the acacia,^(X) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers^(Y) in the wasteland,
    the fir and the cypress^(Z) together,^(AA)
20 so that people may see and know,^(AB)
    may consider and understand,^(AC)
that the hand^(AD) of the Lord has done this,
    that the Holy One^(AE) of Israel has created^(AF) it.

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One^(A) of Israel, and its Maker:^(B)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?^(C)