15. What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the lord,who do their evil deeds in the dark!“The lord can’t see us,” they say.“He doesn’t know what’s going on!”
16. How foolish can you be?He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!Should the created thing say of the one who made it,“He didn’t make me”?Does a jar ever say,“The potter who made me is stupid”?
17. Soon—and it will not be very long—the forests of Lebanon will become a fertile field,and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.
18. In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book,and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.
19. The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the lord.The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20. The scoffer will be gone,the arrogant will disappear,and those who plot evil will be killed.
21. Those who convict the innocentby their false testimony will disappear.A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justiceand who tell lies to destroy the innocent.
22. That is why the lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel,“My people will no longer be ashamedor turn pale with fear.
23. For when they see their many childrenand all the blessings I have given them,they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob.They will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24. Then the wayward will gain understanding,and complainers will accept instruction.