Isaiah 52

New International Version - UK

52 Awake, awake, Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!
Put on your garments of splendour,
    Jerusalem, the holy city.
The uncircumcised and defiled
    will not enter you again.
²Shake off your dust;
    rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
    Daughter Zion, now a captive.

³For this is what the Lord says:

‘You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.’

⁴For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

‘At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵‘And now what do I have here?’ declares the Lord.

‘For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,’^[a]
declares the Lord.
‘And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶Therefore my people will know my name;
    therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
    Yes, it is I.’

⁷How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    ‘Your God reigns!’
⁸Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

¹¹Depart, depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
    you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
¹²But you will not leave in haste
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The suffering and glory of the servant

¹³See, my servant will act wisely;^[b]
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴Just as there were many who were appalled at him^[c] –
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness –
¹⁵so he will sprinkle many nations,^[d]
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail
Isaiah 52:13 Or will prosper
Isaiah 52:14 Hebrew you
Isaiah 52:15 Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)

Isaiah 52

New American Standard Bible

Cheer for Prostrate Zion

52 ^(A)Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, Zion;
Clothe yourself with your ^(B)beautiful garments,
Jerusalem, the ^(C)holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the ^(D)unclean
Will no longer come into you.
²Shake yourself ^(E)from the dust, ^(F)rise up,
Captive Jerusalem;
^(G)Release yourself from the chains around your neck,
Captive daughter of Zion.

³For this is what the Lord says: “You were ^(H)sold for nothing, and you will be ^(I)redeemed ^(J)without money.” ⁴For this is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “My people ^(K)went down to Egypt first to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without reason. ⁵And now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My ^(L)name is continually reviled all day long. ⁶Therefore, My people shall ^(M)know My name; therefore on that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”

⁷How delightful on the mountains
Are the feet of one who brings ^(N)good news,
Who announces ^[b]peace
And brings good news of ^[c]happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your ^(O)God ^[d]reigns!”
⁸Listen! Your watchmen raise their ^(P)voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see ^[e]with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
⁹^(Q)Be cheerful, shout joyfully together,
You ^(R)ruins of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has ^(S)redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰The Lord has bared His holy ^(T)arm
In the sight of all the nations,
^[f]So that ^(U)all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.

¹¹^(V)Depart, depart, go out from there,
^(W)Do not touch what is unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, ^(X)purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
¹²But you will not go out in ^(Y)a hurry,
Nor will you go ^[g]as fugitives;
For the ^(Z)Lord will go before you,
And ^(AA)the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

¹³Behold, My ^(AB)Servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and ^[h]greatly ^(AC)exalted.
¹⁴Just as many were appalled at you, My people,
So His ^(AD)appearance was marred beyond that of a man,
And His form beyond the sons of mankind.
¹⁵So ^[i]He will ^(AE)sprinkle many nations,
Kings will ^(AF)shut their mouths on account of Him;
For ^(AG)what they had not been told, they will see,
And what they had not heard, they will understand.

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Isaiah 52:7 Or well-being
Isaiah 52:7 Lit good
Isaiah 52:7 Or is King
Isaiah 52:8 Lit eye to eye
Isaiah 52:10 Or And all...will see
Isaiah 52:12 Lit in flight
Isaiah 52:13 Or very high
Isaiah 52:15 LXX many nations will wonder at Him

Isaiah 52

New International Reader's Version

52 Wake up! Zion, wake up!
    Dress yourself with strength as if it were your clothes.
Holy city of Jerusalem,
    put on your clothes of glory.
Those who haven’t been circumcised will never enter you again.
    Neither will those who are “unclean.”
²Get up, Jerusalem! Shake off your dust.
    Take your place on your throne.
Captured people of Zion,
    remove the chains from your neck.

³The Lord says,

“When you were sold as slaves, no one paid anything for you.
Now no one will pay any money to set you free.”

⁴The Lord and King continues,

“Long ago my people went down to Egypt.
They lived there for a while.
Later, Assyria crushed them without any reason.

⁵“Now look at what has happened to them,” announces the Lord.

“Once again my people have been taken away.
    And no one paid anything for them.
Those who rule over them brag about it,”
    announces the Lord.
“All day long without stopping,
    people speak evil things against my name.
⁶So the day will come when my people will really know the meaning of my name.
    They will know what kind of God I am.
They will know that I told them ahead of time they would return to their land.
    They will know that it was I.”

⁷What a beautiful sight it is
    to see messengers coming with good news!
How beautiful to see them coming down from the mountains
    with a message about peace!
How wonderful it is when they bring the good news
    that we are saved!
How wonderful when they say to Zion,
    “Your God rules!”
⁸Listen! Those on guard duty are shouting out the message.
    With their own eyes
they see the Lord returning to Zion.
    So they shout for joy.
⁹Burst into songs of joy together,
    you broken-down buildings in Jerusalem.
The Lord has comforted his people.
    He has set Jerusalem free.
¹⁰The Lord will use the power of his holy arm to save his people.
    All the nations will see him do it.
    Everyone from one end of the earth to the other will see it.

¹¹You who carry the objects that belong to the Lord’s temple, leave Babylon!
    Leave it! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything that isn’t pure and “clean.”
    Come out of Babylon and be pure.
¹²But this time you won’t have to leave in a hurry.
    You won’t have to rush away.
The Lord will go ahead of you and lead you.
    The God of Israel will follow behind you and guard you.

The Suffering and Glory of the Lord’s Servant

¹³The Lord says, “My servant will act wisely and accomplish his task.
    He will be highly honored. He will be greatly respected.
¹⁴Many people were shocked when they saw him.
    He was so scarred that he no longer looked like a person.
    His body was so twisted that he did not look like a human being anymore.
¹⁵But many nations will be surprised when they see what he has done.
    Kings will be so amazed that they will not be able to say anything.
They will understand things they were never told.
    They will know the meaning of things they never heard.”

Isaiah 52

English Standard Version

The Lord's Coming Salvation

52 ^(A)Awake, awake,
    put on your strength, O Zion;
^(B)put on your beautiful garments,
    O Jerusalem, ^(C)the holy city;
^(D)for there shall no more come into you
    the uncircumcised and the unclean.
²^(E)Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
    be seated, O Jerusalem;
^(F)loose the bonds from your neck,
    O captive daughter of Zion.

³For thus says the Lord: ^(G)“You were sold for nothing, and ^(H)you shall be redeemed without money.” ⁴For thus says the Lord God: ^(I)“My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.^[a] ⁵Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and ^(J)continually all the day my name is despised. ⁶Therefore my people shall know my name. ^(K)Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

⁷^(L)How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, ^(M)who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
⁸The voice of ^(N)your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
    together they sing for joy;
^(O)for eye to eye they see
    the return of the Lord to Zion.
⁹^(P)Break forth together into singing,
    ^(Q)you waste places of Jerusalem,
for ^(R)the Lord has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰^(S)The Lord has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
^(T)and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God.

¹¹^(U)Depart, depart, go out from there;
    touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
    ^(V)you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
¹²For you shall not ^(W)go out in haste,
    and you shall not go in flight,
^(X)for the Lord will go before you,
    ^(Y)and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

¹³Behold, ^(Z)my servant shall act wisely;^[b]
    he shall be high and lifted up,
    and shall be exalted.
¹⁴As many were astonished at you—
    ^(AA)his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
¹⁵so ^(AB)shall he sprinkle^[c] many nations.
    ^(AC)Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
^(AD)for that which has not been told them they see,
    and that which they have not heard they understand.

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:4 Or the Assyrian has oppressed them of late
Isaiah 52:13 Or shall prosper
Isaiah 52:15 Or startle

Isaiah 52

Contemporary English Version

Jerusalem Can Celebrate

52 ^(A) Jerusalem, wake up!
    Stand up and be strong.
Holy city of Zion,
    dress in your best clothes.
Those foreigners who ruined
your sacred city
    won't bother you again.
²Zion, rise from the dirt!
Free yourself from the rope
    around your neck.

Suffering Will End

³The Lord says:
My people, you were sold,
    but not for money;
now you will be set free,
    but not for a payment.
⁴Long ago you went to Egypt
where you lived
    as foreigners.
Then Assyria was cruel to you,
⁵    ^(B) and now another nation^[a]
has taken you prisoner
    for no reason at all.
Your leaders groan with pain,^[b]
and day after day
    my own name is cursed.
⁶My people, you will learn
who I am and who is speaking
    because I am here.

A Message of Hope for Jerusalem

⁷^(C) What a beautiful sight!
On the mountains a messenger
    announces to Jerusalem,
“Good news! You're saved.
There will be peace.
    Your God is now King.”
⁸Everyone on guard duty,
    sing and celebrate!
Look! You can see the Lord
    returning to Zion.
⁹Jerusalem, rise from the ruins!
    Join in the singing.
The Lord has given comfort
to his people;
    he comes to your rescue.
¹⁰The Lord has shown all nations
    his mighty strength;
now everyone will see
    the saving power of our God.

A Command To Leave Babylon

¹¹^(D) Leave the city of Babylon!
    Don't touch anything filthy.
Wash yourselves. Be ready
to carry back everything sacred
    that belongs to the Lord.
¹²You won't need to run.
    No one is chasing you.
The Lord God of Israel
will lead and protect you
    from enemy attacks.

The Suffering Servant

¹³The Lord says:
    My servant will succeed!
He will be given great praise
    and the highest honors.
¹⁴Many were horrified
    at what happened to him.^[c]
But everyone who saw him
    was even more horrified
because he suffered until
    he no longer looked human.^[d]
¹⁵^(E) My servant will make
nations worthy to worship me;^[e]
    kings will be silent
    as they bow in wonder.^[f]
They will see and think about
things they have never seen
    or thought about before.

Footnotes

52.5 another nation: Babylonia.
52.5 groan with pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
52.14 him: One ancient translation; Hebrew “you.”
52.14 human: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
52.15 My … me: Hebrew; one ancient translation “The nations will be amazed at him.”
52.15 kings … wonder: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

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Contemporary English Version (CEV)