14. Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob,men of Israel.I am helping you,” says the Lord,your protector, the Holy One of Israel.
15. “Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge,new and double-edged.You will thresh the mountains and crush them;you will make the hills like straw.
16. You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;the wind will scatter them.You will rejoice in the Lord;you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17. The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;their tongues are parched from thirst.I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers;I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
18. I will make streams flow down the slopesand produce springs in the middle of the valleys.I will turn the desert into a pool of waterand the arid land into springs.
19. I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.