14. “Assemble and listen, all of you!None of the gods could predictthat the man I have chosen would attack Babylon;he will do what I want him to do.
15. I am the one who spoke and called him;I led him out and gave him success.
16. “Now come close to me and hear what I say.From the beginning I have spoken openly,and have always made my words come true.”(Now the Sovereign Lord has given me his power and sent me.)
17. 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 goodand direct you in the way you should go.
18. “If only you had listened to my commands!Then blessings would have flowed for youlike a stream that never goes dry!Victory would have come to youlike the waves that roll on the shore.
19. Your descendants would be as numerous as grains of sand,and I would have made sure they were never destroyed.”
20. Go out from Babylon, go free!Shout the news gladly; make it known everywhere:“The Lord has saved his servant Israel!”
21. When the Lord led his people through a hot, dry desert,they did not suffer from thirst.He made water come from a rock for them;he split the rock open, and water flowed out.
22. “There is no safety for sinners,” says the Lord.