2 Why, when I came, was there no man?When I called, was there no one to answer?Is My hand so short that it cannot redeem?Or have I no power to deliver?Indeed, at My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers a wilderness;Their fish stink because there is no water,and die for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,and I make sackcloth their covering.
4 The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned,that I may know how to sustain him who is weary with a word;He awakens me morning by morning;He awakens my ear to listen as the learned.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,and I was not rebellious,nor did I turn back.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me,and my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard;I did not cover my facefrom shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord God will help me;therefore, I shall not be disgraced;therefore, I have set my face like a flint,and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
8 He who vindicates me is near;who will contend with me?Let us stand up to each other.Who is my adversary?Let him come near to me.