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14 For a long time I have kept silent,
    I have said nothing, holding myself back;
Now I cry out like a woman in labor,
    gasping and panting.
15 [a]I will lay waste mountains and hills,
    all their undergrowth I will dry up;
I will turn the rivers into marshes,
    and the marshes I will dry up.(A)
16 I will lead the blind on a way they do not know;
    by paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them,
    and make crooked ways straight.
These are my promises:
    I made them, I will not forsake them.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 42:15–16 Active once more, God will remove the obstacles that hinder the exiles’ return, and will lead them by new roads to Jerusalem; cf. 40:3–4.

14 “For a long time I have kept silent,(A)
    I have been quiet and held myself back.(B)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.(C)
15 I will lay waste(D) the mountains(E) and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up(F) the pools.
16 I will lead(G) the blind(H) by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light(I) before them
    and make the rough places smooth.(J)
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake(K) them.

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