I prepared Cyrus for my righteous purpose. I will make all his roads straight. He will build my city and let my exiles go free without any payment or any reward, says the Lord of Armies.
This is the kind of fasting I have chosen: Loosen the chains of wickedness, untie the straps of the yoke, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke.
This is what the Lord of Armies says: All the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. All their enemies have captured them. They refuse to let them go.
Their graves are in the deepest parts of the pit. Assyria’s army lies around its grave. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They once terrified people in the land of the living.
In front of this army a fire burns. Behind it flames are blazing. In front of it the land is like the garden of Eden. Behind it the land is like a barren desert. Nothing escapes it!