ZION: A TRANSCRIPT FROM ISAIAH
Fx lo! the Lord looked down and beheld of Israel the woe, And He said, "I will take my people again, that all may know." He cried to the north, "Give up" ; to the south, "O keep not back, For I would redeem my sons from the rod, from the rack. Bring forth the blind that have eyes, bring forth the deaf that have ears, Bring forth the prisoner from gaol, who sits in terror and tears. Once of aforetime I showed, and once of aforetime I saved; When no strange gods were among you, the desert you braved! And now again I will make a path through the sand and the sea: The mighty waters shall cease, and you shall come unto me. You shall feed on the way, and your pasture shall be in places on high; You shall not hunger, nor thirst, nor fear the sun in the sky. The highway shall be exalted, and lowered the mountain crest. Behold, you shall wend from afar west!" north, east, and south, and Be joyful, O Earth, and break into song! O Heavens, sing, That the Lord hath consoled His people! O Zion, with anthems ring! "Once, O Zion, you wept, 'The Lord hath forsaken me!' Can a woman put forth the child she has borne from her memory? Yea, a mother forgets the son of her womb. I can never forget! O Zion, thy walls I remember! Thy name on my palm is set! All tribes of the earth shall fare and stand at thy lofty gate; Their kings and queens shall bend their knees and call thee great! And Jacob, thou shalt be a witness to many, a sign of belief. Thou, despised and rejected of men, acquainted with grief, A Man of sorrows, who knowest all sorrows and borest all woes, Wounded for men's transgressions and striped for their sake with blows; Thou that wert brought like a lamb to the slaughter, but still wert dumb Dividing a spoil with the strong, thou at last to Zion wilt come! Thou wert numbered with those that sin, thou pouredst out thy soul to death; Therefore, thou tak'st with the great a portion and art saved on my breath!" Re joyful, O Earth, and break into song! O Heavens, sing, That the Lord hath consoled his people! O Zion, with anthems ring!