10. You dried up the water that was in the deep sea. You made a road through the deepest parts of the sea. Your people crossed over and were saved.
11. The Lord will save his people. They will return to Zion with joy. They will be very happy. Their happiness will be like a crown on their heads forever. They will be singing with joy. All sadness will be gone far away.
12. The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you. So why should you be afraid of people? They are only humans who live and die like the grass.
13. “I, the Lord, am the one who made you. With my power I made the earth and spread the sky over the earth. But you have forgotten me, so you are always afraid that angry men will hurt you. Those men planned to destroy you, but where are they now?
14. “People in prison will soon be made free. They will not die and rot in prison. They will have plenty of food.
15. “I am the Lord your God, the one who stirs up the sea and makes the waves roar.” The Lord All-Powerful is his name.
16. “My servant, I gave you the words I want you to say, and I covered you with my hands to protect you. I did this to make a new heaven and earth and so that you would say to Israel, ‘You are my people.’”
17. Wake up! Wake up! Jerusalem, get up! The Lord was very angry with you. So you were punished. It was like a cup of poison you had to drink, and you drank it all.
18. Jerusalem had many people, but none of them became leaders for her. None of the children she raised became guides to lead her.
19. Troubles came to you, Jerusalem, in pairs: Your land was destroyed and lies in ruins, and your people suffered from famine and war. But no one felt sorry for you or showed you mercy.
20. Your people became weak. They fell on the ground and lay there. They were lying on every street corner, like animals caught in a net. They were punished by the Lord’S anger until they could not accept any more punishment. When God said he would give them more punishment, they became very weak.
21. Listen to me, poor Jerusalem. You are weak like a drunk, but you are not drunk from wine. You are weak from that “cup of poison.”
22. Your God is the one who fights for his people. He is your Lord GOD, and he says to you, “Look, I am taking this ‘cup of poison’ away from you. It is full of my anger, and I am taking it out of your hand. You will not be punished by my anger again.
23. I will now use my anger to punish the people who hurt you. They tried to kill you. They told you, ‘Bow down before us, and we will walk on you.’ They forced you to bow down before them, and then they walked on your back like dirt. You were like a road for them to walk on.”