Isaiah 40-55
The Voice
40 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2 “With gentle words, tender and kind,
Assure Jerusalem, this chosen city from long ago,
that her battles are over.
The terror, the bloodshed, the horror of My punishing work is done.
This place has paid for its guilt; iniquity is pardoned;
its term of incarceration is complete.
It has endured double the punishment it was due.”
3 A voice is wailing, “In the wilderness, get it ready! Prepare the way;
make it a straight shot. The Eternal would have it so.
Straighten the way in the wandering desert
to make the crooked road wide and straight for our God.[a]
4 Where there are steep valleys, treacherous descents,
raise the highway; lift it up;
bring down the dizzying heights.
Fill in the potholes and gullies, the rough places.
Iron out the shoulders flat and wide.
5 The Lord will be, really be, among us.
The radiant glory of the Lord will be revealed.
All flesh together will take it in. Believe it.
None other than God, the Eternal, has spoken.”[b]
During the time of Jesus, John the Baptist wanders around Israel in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets warning the people that they need to correct their attitudes and behaviors, to bring them better in line with what God expects and desires. He declares (warns, actually) that God is coming and will set things right. During the circumstances of exile, the people don’t fully understand who or what this voice in the wilderness will be; centuries later, as the early Christian community looks back over the life of Jesus and John, they recognize the anonymous voice.
6 A voice says, “Declare!”
But what shall I declare?
All life is like the grass.
All of its grace and beauty fades like the wild flowers in a field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
as the breath of the Eternal One blows away.
People are no different from grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
nothing lasts except the word of our God.
It will stand forever.[c]
Isaiah’s message is not just doom and gloom. God determines that His people may return home to rebuild their lives! God uses the new king, Cyrus of Persia, to accomplish this glorious restoration. God does not allow His punishment to last forever.
Now, in this new time, God smoothes the rocky way between Mesopotamia and all Israel; He makes the deserts between the present place of exile and their home just east of the Mediterranean Sea burst with sweet water and bloom with beauty and good things to eat. Treacherous roads and threatening beasts yield to God’s desire that they return safely.
In chapters 40–55, for the most part, the message is one of comfort and encouragement to God’s downtrodden and discouraged people. Many centuries later, these words will be understood in light of the Anointed One.
9 Ascend a high mountain,
you herald of good tidings, O Zion;
With a clear, strong voice make known to everyone
the joy that belongs to God’s chosen place,
O, Jerusalem, You herald of good tidings!
Make the news ring out! Don’t be afraid!
Say to these cities, this Judah: “Behold your God!”
10 The Lord, the Eternal, comes with power, with unstoppable might;
He will take control without question or delay.
He will see to it that wages are paid,
repairs are made, and all is set right again.
11 He will feed His fold like a shepherd;
He will gather together His lambs—the weak and the wobbly ones—into His arms.
He will carry them close to His bosom,
and tenderly lead like a shepherd the mother of her lambs.
12 Who has taken count and measured out all earth’s waters in a single, cupped palm
and determined heaven’s expanse with an outstretched hand?
Who has counted out exactly how many grains of dirt are here on earth,
and weighed the mountains and hills on scales?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Eternal One?
Can anyone claim to be His advisor?[d]
14 To whom did God turn for advice or instruction?
Whom did He consult about right and wrong?
Who directed Him down the path of justice or imparted to Him knowledge
or taught Him the way of understanding?
15 Face it; the nations are nothing but a drop in the bucket,
only a smidgen on the scales by the reckoning of God.
He can pick up entire islands as if they are grains of dirt.
16 Even if we had all the resources of Lebanon—
all of its trees to burn for fuel, all of its animals for burnt offerings—
How could we think that we’ve got enough to give to God?
17 All the countries of the world don’t add up to anything. In the eyes of God
they are less than nothing;
they are empty wastelands.
18 So would you try to find someone to compare to Him?
Can you think of anything that has a likeness to God?
19 An idol? Hardly. They are made by human hands.
Even if they are overlaid with gold, decorated with silver,
And shaped by the world’s best artisans,
they are subject to tarnish, tearing, and breaking.
20 Those who cannot afford such an extravagant offering
select a choice hardwood that will not rot,
And seek a skilled artisan to fashion an image
that will not totter and fall.
21 Don’t you know, haven’t you heard or even been told
from your earliest memories how the earth came to be?
22 Who else could have done it except God, enthroned high above the earth?
From such a vantage people seem like grasshoppers to Him.
Who else but God could stretch out the skies as if they were a curtain,
draw them tight, suspend them over our heads like the roof of a tent?
23 God reduces the rulers and judges,
the rich and powerful of the earth, to nothing;
24 They scarcely are planted, take root and start growing,
before God blows a withering breath,
And storm winds carry them away like chaff.
25 The Holy One asks, “Do you really think you can find
someone or something to compare to Me? My equal?”
26 Look at the myriad of stars and constellations above you.
Who set them to burning, each in its place?
Who knows those countless lights each by name?
They obediently shine, each in its place,
because God has the great strength and strong power to make it so.
27 Why, then, do you, Jacob, inheritors of God’s promise,
you, Israel, chosen of God—
Why do you say, “My troubled path is hidden from the Eternal;
God has lost all interest in My cause”?
28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
The Eternal, the Everlasting God,
The Creator of the whole world, never gets tired or weary.
His wisdom is beyond understanding.
29 God strengthens the weary
and gives vitality to those worn down by age and care.
30 Young people will get tired;
strapping young men will stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength.
They will soar on wings as eagles.
They will run—never winded, never weary.
They will walk—never tired, never faint.
41 Eternal One: Keep quiet and listen to Me, lands along the seacoast;
give the people of the nations a chance to regain their strength.
Let them come close, all together, to speak their minds and present their case;
let’s consider the facts and make a judgment.
2 Who brought up this eastern hero? Who called up his justice service?
He lays nations at his feet and makes an end of their kings.
With a thrust of his sword and the bend of his bow,
this hero turns kings and their armies into dust.
3 With agility and speed unmatched, he chases them down
and is himself unscathed, even though he is passing over unfamiliar land.
4 Who has performed these deeds and accomplished this purpose?
Who calls each generation into being from the first on down?
It is I, the Eternal One your God.
I am the first.
And to the very last, I am the One.
5 The lands along the seacoast have seen and are scared.
The ends of earth take to shaking and yet still they draw near.
6 They try to bolster each other up saying,
“Have courage, brother, have courage!”
7 Recognizing their mutual dependence, the artisan encourages the goldsmith;
the one who hammers the metal emboldens the one who welds,
Saying, “Looks good! Fine job!” and fastens the idols together with nails,
making it stand firm and stable.
The nations fashion new idols in the hopes these new gods will be able to protect them during the coming battles against the eastern hero, Cyrus of Persia. If powerful Babylon can fall before him and his mighty army, what chance do other nations have? But Israel has nothing to fear. For God’s covenant people, Cyrus’ rise to power is good news; his ascension and Babylon’s defeat are God’s answers to their anxious prayers. Cyrus’ campaign to build his empire is not simply the will of man or a coincidence of history; it is the outworking of God’s plan to redeem and restore His scattered people. It was God who sent His disobedient covenant partners into exile; it will be God who brings them back home.
8 Eternal One: But you, My servant, Israel,
Jacob whom I have chosen and descendant of My friend, Abraham,
9 I have reached to wherever you are in the farthest corners of earth,
and the most hidden places therein.
I have called to you and said, “You are my servant.
I have chosen you, not thrown you away!”
10 So don’t be afraid. I am here, with you;
don’t be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, help you.
I am here with My right hand to make right and to hold you up.
11 Look, everyone who hated you and sought to do you wrong
will be embarrassed and confused.
Whoever challenged you with hot-headed bluster
will become as if they never were, and nevermore will be.
12 You may go looking for them, but you won’t find them;
because those who tried to fight with you will become as if they never were.
13 After all, it is I, the Eternal One your God,
who has hold of your right hand,
Who whispers in your ear, “Don’t be afraid. I will help you.”
14 So don’t be afraid, Jacob, though you are nothing but a worm.
People of Israel, you little bug, you have nothing to fear.
Eternal One: I will help you. I am One who saves you,
the Holy One of Israel.
15 I will turn you into a formidable threshing sledge
with brand new sharp blades that will mow down entire mountains
and turn the hills into chaff.
16 You will separate value from waste, and a great wind
and a strong storm will take away what is useless and unimportant.
You will take joy in the Eternal.
You will glow with pride in the Holy One of Israel.
17 And when people thirst, when those poor souls with parched tongues
look in vain for something to drink,
I, the Eternal, the God of Israel, won’t leave them to suffer. I will respond
18 By making the hard, brown hills sparkle with streams of fresh water
and causing valleys to come alive with springs.
I will see that gentle pools wait on the desert floor for the weary traveler,
and great fountains bubble up from dry ground;
19 In the desert, I will plant cedars, woody acacias,
myrtles, and olive trees.
I will establish great cypresses to flourish in the desert places,
plant oaks and pine trees side by side.
20 They’ll see all this and understand. They’ll ponder together
and come to know that it is the power of the Eternal One that produced this.
They will know that the Holy One of Israel created it.
21 Eternal One: Present your case. Lay out your arguments
and call your witnesses to appear before the King of Jacob.
God and Israel now become judge and jury as the nations bring their idols and make the case that their handmade gods can indeed predict the future.
22-23 Come on and bring your idols. Now tell us what is to come,
and while you’re at it, tell us what happened before.
Can you explain to us so that we, too, may understand?
Go ahead, tell us what the future holds.
Surely you can, if you are truly gods. Do good, or do bad.
Just do something—anything—to amaze or frighten us.
24 Sure enough, you are not gods; you are nothing at all.
You have nothing to show for your work or yourselves.
Fools! Only fools would choose you to be their god. Detestable.
25 Eternal One: I, the Lord, I have called up for service
one from the north, and he comes from the rising sun
and he will invoke My name.
He will render rulers like mud under his shoes,
trampling them down like so much clay.
26 Did any of you gods tell us about this long ago, so we would know?
Did any of you indicate to us that we might agree, “He is right”?
No, no one told us. No one made an announcement, and no one hears what you say.
27 I was the first to say to Zion, “Look, here they are!”
I sent a messenger to announce the good news to Jerusalem.
28 But I am looking, and there isn’t anyone.
I have asked around, and no one knows, no one can tell Me.
29 See here, all of these so-called gods are false;
their works are nothing;
These cast-metal images are like wind, sheer emptiness.
42 Eternal One: Look here, let Me present My servant;
I have taken hold of him. He is My chosen, and I delight in him.
I have put My Spirit on him; by this he will bring justice to the nations.
This poem is the first of several Servant Songs. God’s special Servant is described in various ways. In this song (42:1–9), the Servant is portrayed as one who faithfully establishes justice in the world and serves as a light for the nations. In the second song (49:1–13), the Servant is called from the womb and ordained to restore the nation of Israel and take salvation to the ends of the earth. In the third song (50:4–9), the Servant is portrayed as a teacher, intimately in touch with God, yet brutally beaten and disgraced by his enemies. In the fourth song (52:13–53:12), the suffering and rejection of God’s Servant takes priority over his other tasks; yet even in his suffering God is working to repair the world from the harm done by sin and evil.
2 Eternal One: He will not scream or yell,
crying out for all to hear.
3 What is bruised and bent, he will not break;
he will not blow out a smoldering candle.
Rather, he will faithfully turn his attention to doing justice.
4 And though he faces obstacles, resistance, and great pressure,
he will not crack; he will not give up until things are set right.
Even the coastlands wait patiently for his instruction.
5 God, the Eternal One, who made the starry skies,
stretched them tight above and around;
Who cast the shimmering globe of earth and filled it with life;
who gives breath and animates the people;
Who walks and talks with life-giving spirit has this to say:
6 Eternal One: I am the Eternal One. By righteousness I have called you.
I will take you by the hand and keep you safe.
You are given as a covenant between Me and the people:
a light for the nations, a shining beacon to the world.
7 You will open blind eyes so they will see again.
You will lead prisoners, blinking, out from caverns of captivity,
from cells pitch black with despair.
8 I am the Eternal One.
I Am is My name.
My beauty is unique, a weighty splendor all My own.
And nothing else—no idols could possibly gain My praise.
9 Look here, what’s done is done and gone.
The now is new, and there’s hope in the not-yet.
I will tell you what’s to come, even before the events are brand-new.
10 So make up a song like none other. Sing a new song to the Eternal.
And let His praise echo clear across the earth.
Let those who go to sea set sail with praise in the air.
Let those who live along the waters’ edge sing His praise.
11 Let desert places, urban and rural, wild and settled, sing!
Let the settlements of Kedar and those in the craggy cliffs of Sela join in the celebration.
The peaks of mountains, too, raise your voices with a great, glad cry.
12 Let them all give glory to the Eternal.
Let them praise the One who is, was, and will be heard along the coasts.
13 As a hero throws himself into battle, the Eternal will take on His enemies;
with passion, shouting out a deafening roar, He will power over them.
14 Eternal One: As a woman fiercely strains to give birth, I will gasp, pant, and cry out.
I have been quiet for a long time; I have held back in the face of it all.
Well, no more.
15 When My power is loosed, I will make level the heights
and render them bare.
I will dry up the rivers until bare islands appear,
and empty the sweet water from the pools.
16 I will escort the blind down roads they do not know,
guide them down paths they’ve never seen.
I will smooth their passage and light their way.
I will indeed do it—they are abandoned no more.
17 Meanwhile, those who put their stock in worthless images,
who worship things impotent and breakable
And say to idols, “You are our gods,”
will be turned away and mortified.
18 Eternal One: You, deaf to the world, hear!
You, blind in your eyes, look! And you will see.
19 My servant is as blind as any.
Who could be more deaf than the one who goes where I direct and tells what I want told?
The identity of the Servant is much debated. On the one hand, Isaiah often refers to God’s people, Israel, as “the servant of the Eternal” (41:8–9; 42:19; 45:4; especially 49:3). Yet at other times the Servant seems to be an individual, distinct from Israel, with a special mission to and for Israel. Early Christians hear these Servant Songs and reflect on Jesus’ significance; they better understand His role as the light of the world, teacher, and Suffering Servant of God. They see His life and ministry as the embodiment and representative of true Israel and therefore the fulfillment of these words. They use the prophet’s poetry to formulate songs and sermons that express not only Jesus’ unique relationship to God but also His unique career as the Light of the world.
Who is as blind as the one committed to do what the Eternal One wills,
the servant of the Eternal?
20 The seer-of-much nevertheless doesn’t get it;
privy to sound and speech and tone, he still doesn’t hear.
21 On account of God’s goodness, His right ways and deeds,
the Eternal was pleased to make the instruction grand and glorious.
22 But this people is compromised.
They’ve been plundered and robbed.
They have lost—things, liberty, place, and name.
They are all trapped in holes and tucked away in prisons.
They’ve been plundered and depleted with none to the rescue.
They’ve been stolen away with none to insist, “Give them back.”
23 Is there anyone who understands? Who, out of all of you, will pay attention,
understand, and take note concerning what’s to come?
God is the one who lies behind these events. He makes it possible for His people to be defeated and taken away.
24 Wasn’t it the Lord, because we turned our backs,
who gave up Jacob’s descendants, Israel, for robbery and plunder?
We refused to live as God would have us live. We did not heed
the instruction that God gave us through Moses so long ago.
25 That’s why God sent all fury against Jacob
in the shape of war, and we were burned.
We experienced all this;
Yet we didn’t get it. God’s people did not take it to heart.
43 Eternal One: Remember who created you, O Jacob?
Who shaped you, O Israel?
See, you have nothing to fear. I, who made you, will take you back.
I have chosen you, named you as My own.
2 When you face stormy seas I will be there with you with endurance and calm;
you will not be engulfed in raging rivers.
If it seems like you’re walking through fire with flames licking at your limbs,
keep going; you won’t be burned.
3 Because I, the Eternal One, am your God.
I am the Holy One of Israel, and I will save you.
I have traded in nations to win you back,
Egypt, Cush, and Seba, in exchange for your freedom.
4 Because you are special to Me and I love you,
I gladly give up other peoples in exchange for you;
They are trivial by comparison to your weighty significance.
5-6 So don’t be afraid. I am here.
I will reunite you with your children,
bringing them back from wherever in the world they are—East, West, North, or South.
No place will be able to hold you when I demand your release, when I order them,
“Bring My children—My sons and daughters—from far away.
7 Bring the ones who are called by My name;
the ones I made, shaped, and created for My profound glory.”
8 Even though they fail and seem blind and deaf (and not for lack of eyes or ears),
bring them out.
9 All the nations gather together; peoples from all over the world assemble.
Who among them could have forseen this?
Let them call their witnesses to make their case, prove they are in the right—
that it is the truth.
10 Eternal One: You are My witnesses; You are My proof.
You whom I chose for special purpose, My servant,
in order that you would know Me, trust Me, be faithful to Me,
Understand that I alone am God; no god was formed before Me,
and there will be no god after Me.
11 I, I am the Eternal;
there is no Savior except for Me,
12 I alone told that this victory would happen. Then I saved you and made it known.
No other god worked among you—You know the truth.
You can testify that it is so; as I declare, I alone am God.
13 Indeed, from day one, I am He. No one can wrest another from My hand.
I make things happen; who can turn them around?
14 The Holy One of Israel, the Eternal One who redeemed you, says,
Eternal One: For your good, I will send another against Babylon
and make all of them outcasts from their own land;
The Chaldeans will set sail and try to escape on their celebrated ships.
15 For I am the Eternal, your Holy One. I am your King,
Creator of Israel, My people.
16 This is what the Eternal One says, the One who does the impossible,
the One who makes a path through the sea, a smooth road through tumultuous waters,
17 The One who drags out chariots and horses,
armies and warriors, and drowns them in the sea—
They will go down, never to rise again;
their lives are snuffed out like a candle wick:
The prophet appeals to a powerful memory: the exodus. He reminds God’s people—all descendants of slaves in Egypt—how God liberated them from oppression, how God devastated the powerful army that pursued them in order to take them back to the whip and lash, back to servitude in Egypt. Stories of the exodus have been told time after time for many generations; they are permanent fixtures in their minds. The prophet evokes these amazing memories to comfort them and assure them that what God is about to do is like what God did do for their ancestors centuries ago.
18 Eternal One: Don’t revel only in the past,
or spend all your time recounting the victories of days gone by.
19 Watch closely: I am preparing something new; it’s happening now, even as I speak,
and you’re about to see it. I am preparing a way through the desert;
Waters will flow where there had been none.
20 Wild animals in the fields will honor Me;
the wild dogs and surly birds will join in.
There will be water enough for My chosen people,
trickling springs and clear streams running through the desert.
21 My people, the ones whom I chose and created for My own,
will sing My praise.
22 In truth, you never really called upon me, did you, Jacob, My people?
So how then could you be tired of Me, Israel, My own?
23 You didn’t present Me with sheep for burnt offerings
or acknowledge Me in sacrifices.
I didn’t tire you by demanding so many gifts of offerings and incense.
24 No sweet cane, no money or glorious excess have you given to Me.
You didn’t even try to satisfy Me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Instead, you tired Me with your sins—bloodshed and lies, crimes and offenses;
you wore Me down with all your belligerence and faults.
25 So let’s get this clear: it’s for My own sake that I save you.
I am He who wipes the slate clean and erases your wrongdoing.
I will not call to mind your sins anymore.
26 Now help Me remember. Let’s get this settled.
State your case, and prove to Me that you are in the right.
27 From the very beginning your founding father sinned,
then your leaders defied My laws and instructions.
28 So I brought disgrace on the princes of your sanctuary, your priests.
I turned them over to barbarian assault,
Leaving Jacob to the batterers, Israel to humiliation.
44 Eternal One: Nevertheless, listen to Me, My people:
Jacob, My servant; Israel, My chosen.
2 The Eternal who made you,
who formed you in the womb and promised to help you, has this to say:
Eternal One: Don’t be afraid, My servant Jacob,
My dear Jeshurun—My chosen.
3 Like a devoted gardener, I will pour sweet water on parched land,
streams on hard-packed ground;
I will pour My spirit on your children and grandchildren—
and let My blessing flow to your descendants.
4 And they will sprout among the grasses, grow vibrant and tall
like the willow trees lining a riverbank.
5 One will call out: “I belong to the Eternal.”
Another will say, “Jacob is my people; Israel my honored name.”
Yet others will write “Property of the Eternal” on their hands.
6 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,
King of Israel, who paid their ransom, has this to say:
Eternal One: I am at the beginning and will be at the end.
There is no God except for Me.
7 If you know any God like Me, tell it now.
Declare and demonstrate any who can compare to Me.
Or if you know and have announced events before their time,
told what is to come, then speak so now.
8 Don’t be afraid. Let your minds be clear of fear.
Haven’t I announced events and revealed what is to come?
From the earliest days, I have done so. You know it—you have seen and know.
So, go ahead, My witnesses: is there a god out there other than Me?
Witnesses: There is no other rock like God. I don’t know a single one.
All of the nations that Israel encounters are involved in some form of idol worship. They imagine these gods and fashion these images in order to satisfy a desire—a God-given desire—to connect with something, with someone out there. Human beings know at some deep, intuitive level that God exists, life is sacred, and there are mysteries more profound than the daily grind. This is why every human civilization exhibits some form of religious life and devotion. But instead of seeking the God who is, people have a tendency to create the gods they want, gods that give them control over the complexities and problems of life. Israel is elected by God for a number of reasons. Perhaps two of the most significant are to bear witness to the one True God and to warn the nations against idolatry. According to Scripture, idol worship is not some neutral, unfortunate habit people get themselves into; it is more than just a waste of time, hope, and effort. It is a dangerous substitute—a counterfeit experience—that adversely misshapes and disorders their lives. To persist in idolatry is to give way to malevolent evils and to miss out on a relationship with the one True God.
9 But whoever does make an idol is not improved or enriched. On the contrary, their passing fancies contribute nothing of value or purpose. Those who look on at such misplaced attention don’t understand what they’re seeing, and the idol-makers will end up embarrassed at best. 10 It’s easy to say, “What pathetic idiocy! Who would do such a thing—make gods that are by definition worthless?” 11 The people who worship them will be shamed and humiliated. After all, people made those gods. Yet it happens all the time. So, let’s put these images, these figurines all together; stand them up—they will tremble with terror and be ashamed.
12 A metalworker shapes the raw materials into tools and then uses them to make little gods by hammering, bending, heating, and cooling the materials. And in the process, he gets tired and hungry; without water he soon grows faint. 13 Likewise, the woodworker measures and marks the wood, chisels and planes it down, marks it with a compass, and carves it until it looks a bit like a human—lovely, maybe—in order to put it in a house. 14 To take it back a bit further, perhaps he cuts down cedars or he carefully selects the cypress or oak himself, watches it, nurtures it until it is ready for his purpose. Perhaps he plants a pine; with sun and rain, it grows tall. 15 When it’s time to harvest, he uses some of the wood for fuel to stay warm, some to heat the oven and bake bread, and some to craft a god. Then the woodworker bows down and worships before the image he just made. 16-17 Do you see the irony? He sits around, warming himself and roasting dinner with wood from the same tree from which he crafted a god to which he bows and worships and prays—one time saying, “I am warmed by the wood fire”; another time saying, “O dear god, save me.”
18-19 So we see again how it is that they’re blind—their eyes shut to the truth in front of them, their hearts and minds refusing to think and really understand what’s going on. So without stopping to think about it, the fool says, “Gosh, I used half of the wood to build a fire, and baked the bread and roasted the meat over its hot coals. After I eat, I think I’ll use the rest of it to make a repulsive god. Maybe I’ll bow down to this leftover lumber.” 20 A fool like this is feeding on ashes—his addled mind and deceived heart lead him nowhere. He can’t figure out how to save himself, much less see the error of his ways and say, “Is this idol in my right hand just a lie?”
Eternal One: Let that be a lesson to you, My people.
21 Don’t forget it, Jacob; O Israel, remember—you are Mine.
I made you; you are My servant; I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your wrongdoing, as wind sweeps a cloud from the sky:
I have cleared you of your sins, as the sun clears the morning mist.
I have rescued you; come back to Me.
23 Sing, starry sky and every constellation, for what the Eternal has done.
Shout for joy, dark soil underfoot and deep caverns below;
Erupt in joyful songs, mountains and forests, and every tree in them!
Sing joyfully, for the Eternal One has rescued Jacob, His people;
The splendor of God will be revealed in Israel.
24 The Eternal, your rescuing hero who formed you before birth, declares,
Eternal One: I am the Eternal, Creator of all there is and will be.
I alone stretched out the heavens and spread out the blue earth.
25 I confound the lying swindlers who claim to tell the future,
and I make the fortune-tellers look like fools.
I stop the highbrow intellectuals in their tracks,
and I show the fault of their reasoning.
26 But I stand behind the words of My servants,
and I accomplish what they predict.
The one who says about Jerusalem, “This place will be built up again”;
about Judah’s cities, “They will be restored”:
I confirm their predictions. They will rise from their ruins.
27 After all, I am the One who needs only to say “Dry up” to great waters,
and your rivers run dry.
28 I am the one who says of the Persian victor over Babylon,
“Cyrus is My shepherd. He will accomplish what I determine.”
My word goes out concerning Jerusalem:
“It will stand, a glorious city, again”
and of My house within it, “Restoration will begin at once.”
45 This is what the Eternal One says to His chosen agent, Cyrus the Persian.
God has a special mission for Cyrus, the Persian emperor: to lead the world and free His exiled people. The Scripture is clear: God, not kings, directs history. Kings—and sometimes their subjects—often need to be reminded of that. The Eternal, the one True God, stands above and behind human history, directing and orchestrating its events.
Eternal One: Not by his hand alone, but with his in Mine,
nations are vanquished, their leaders conquered;
Doors and gates open without a fight
and will not close.
2 (to Cyrus) I will go ahead of you and smooth the way, lower the heights,
break down bronze doors, and cut through iron bars.
3 I will give you hidden treasures
and wealth tucked away in secret places;
I will reveal them to you.
Then you will know that I am
the Eternal, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 For the sake of My servant Jacob, My chosen people Israel,
I have called you by name, made you who you are,
And bestowed an honorable title on you, even though you don’t know Me.
5 I am the Eternal One; there is no other God but Me,
and even though you don’t know Me, I am preparing you for victory.
6 I am doing all this so that people all around the world
may know that I alone am the Eternal, the only God.
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make what is good, happy, and healthy, and I create woe.
I, the Eternal One, make them one and all.
8 Skies above, open up and let the clouds rain down righteousness!
Let the earth below sprout triumph and justice.
For I, the Eternal, have created them.
9 How bad it will be for anyone who disputes with the very One who created him!
After all, a human being is nothing more than one clay pot among many.
Imagine the clay saying to the potter, “What do you think you’re doing?”
or “You don’t have the hands for this.”
10 It’s as idiotic as asking a mother or father,
“What are you birthing or begetting?”
11 So the Eternal One, who is the Holy One and Maker of Israel, says,
Eternal One: Are you really going to question Me about what will happen to My children,
or lecture Me about what I should do with the ones I made with My own hands?
12 It is I who made the very ground on which you stand,
I who shaped the human beings who walk around on it.
I pulled the sky and the heavens taut with My own hands,
and organized the army of stars that march across the night sky.
13 So it was perfectly right for me to raise up Cyrus;
I will make his road ahead straight and level,
So that he will rebuild My chosen place, My city Jerusalem,
and set My exiled people free
Without exacting a price or seeking a bribe.
So says the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
14 Eternal One: I, the Eternal One, say to you things will change; the wealthy and strong
of your world—Egyptians, Cushites, Sabeans—will come under your control.
Their goods and services, their strongest warriors, will be yours,
deferring to you, as they follow in chains, saying,
“God is with you. There is no other God but yours.”
15 Cyrus: You have kept yourself hidden from others,
but You are indeed God, who saved Israel in the face of great challenges.
16 Those who worshiped others will be humiliated.
Those who craft idols will be embarrassed by their folly.
17 By contrast, Israel can stand tall. The Eternal has given them
a salvation that will never die, and they will never be embarrassed or ashamed.
18 Indeed, He who created the universe—heavens and earth—gave it form and shape.
The Eternal alone set it all in motion;
He didn’t make it a disorganized wasteland but made it a beautiful and comfortable home.
Eternal One: I am the Eternal One, and there is no other god who exists.
19 I didn’t whisper in secret or mumble in the darkness;
I didn’t say to Jacob’s children:
“Look around the desert and try to find Me.”
No, I am the Eternal One. I will speak clearly what is right and true.
20 Come, come. Gather around, all who survived among the nations.
They have no idea what a real God is
As they coddle their wooden idols,
and pray to worthless images that cannot save them.
21 Go ahead, talk among yourselves. Present your case.
Now, who declared what would happen long ago?
Who predicted how these events would turn out at this time?
Was it not I, the Eternal One? There is no other God but Me.
I alone am the righteous God and Savior. There is no other.
22 So turn your back on those idols and your face to Me.
I will save you, wherever you are, to the ends of the earth,
For I am God. There is none other.
23 I make this solemn vow; I have spoken a word—
faithful and true—and it will not return; it will be done.
My words have wings; they will be accomplished;
every knee will bow down to Me.
Every tongue will swear allegiance to Me.[e]
24 They will say of Me, “Only by the Eternal One shall I see things through.
Only by God shall I go with integrity and strength through life.”
Those who know that God is the source of life, integrity, and strength live lives marked by confidence and a calm assurance.
Now all those who burned with anger against God
will come to Him and be shamed.
25 Through the Eternal, all the descendants of Israel
will be vindicated and made glorious within the world.
46 Bel and Nebo wobble and duck, as their images
sway on the backs of oxen and donkeys—such a heavy burden
For the weary animals—as they are carried about.
2 These “gods” bow and sink together, unable to escape the coming invasion;
they march off into captivity.
The gods of the nations must have looked rather odd riding on the backs of animals. Even gods of the once-feared Babylonians, Bel and Nebo, are nothing but dead weight.
3 Eternal One: Listen, you who count yourselves among Jacob’s descendants,
all the remnant of Israel.
It is you, not I, who have been carried from before you were born.
Indeed, when you were still in the womb, I was taking care of you.
4 And when you are old, I will still be there, carrying you.
When your limbs grow tired, your eyes are weak,
And your hair a silvery gray, I will carry you as I always have.
I will carry you and save you.
5 Does anyone compare to Me? Can you find any likeness?
Who or what might be My equal or even close to Me?
6 What about those who use precious materials for gods—
hiring artisans to carefully craft gold, silver, jewels,
And exotic wood into a god—
then they bow down and worship it!
7 Their god is a mere object. They have to lug it around on their shoulders
before they can stand it up in its proper place.
It just sits there, unmoving until they pick it up again.
It never speaks, never answers.
It cannot help them, no matter how desperate they are.
8 Remember that—and don’t be tempted to conform!
Think about it, you rebels.
9 Remember the old days. For I am God; there is no other.
I am God; there are no other gods like Me.
10 From the beginning I declare how things will end;
from times long past, I tell what is yet to be, saying:
“My intentions will come to pass.
I will make things happen as I determine they should.”
11 I am the one who called Cyrus, the bird of prey from the east;
from a land far away I summoned him to do what I intend.
My word went out, and I will see it done.
My plan has been made, and I will see it through.
12 Listen closely, you strong-willed people
who have veered far from the right path.
13 It won’t be long until I make things right;
My salvation is getting closer and closer; it won’t be delayed.
I am ready to rescue Zion, My chosen place,
and display My beauty and splendor to Israel, My chosen people.
47 Eternal One: Ah, pretty virgin daughter, Miss Babylon,
come down and sit in the dust.
Sit on the ground where you belong: your throne is no more,
daughter of the Chaldeans, no longer all dainty, delicate.
2 And with those delicate fingers grab the heavy millstones and grind the grain.
Take off your lacy veil, lift your skirt, bare your legs, and
Cross the mud and muck of the river on foot like any other slave.
3 Everyone will see you naked; your humiliation will be most public.
I intend to make you pay, and no one will interfere.[f]
4 Israel: Our Savior, our hero—the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,
by name—is the Holy One of Israel!
5 So you’d best go quietly, Babylon, daughter of the Chaldeans.
Slink off into the dark. No one will ever again call you Queen of All Lands.
6 Eternal One: Some time ago, I got fed up with My people.
I left My heritage to you, let you defeat them and take them away.
But you showed no mercy, abused and denigrated them;
you even made the elderly suffer beneath your heavy burden.
7 But You were carried away with your power,
thinking you would always be in charge.
You didn’t consider your limits or think about how all this would end.
8 You, pursuer of pleasure, resting in the thought,
“No one exists in the world of any consequence except me.
I’ll never feel as a widow or suffer the loss of my children.”
9 Despite all your magic and charms, all of a sudden, in a single day,
terror and death to the highest degree.
In the midst of it all, your children and husband, too, will be gone.
10 In your wickedness you thought you were immune,
so hidden away that no one could find your faults.
But your version of wisdom and knowledge were your undoing; you thought,
“No one exists in the world of any consequence except me.”
11 Evil will break upon you full force.
You won’t be able to hold it off or charm it away.
Disaster will fall and, even with all your wealth, you won’t stand a chance.
There’s no way to know what is coming; all of a sudden,
It will ruin all that you have and all that you are.
12 But keep trying your spells;
your magic and charms have brought you this far.
Maybe they’ll help in some way. Maybe they’ll incite fear.
13 All of your scheming has only exhausted you.
Let the astrologers step up and save you,
After all they chart the heavens, read the stars,
and predict the future month after month.
14 Look, they’re like dry straw that ignites in a flash and is burned away.
They cannot help you—they cannot help themselves
From the power of the flame.
And this is not some warm and cozy fire shared among friends!
15 So that’s what they’re worth to you—absolutely nothing,
even after all these years of working together.
They’re gone. No one’s left to rescue you.
48 Listen closely, you descendants of Jacob who are called Israel!
Hear this, you who trace your ancestors back to Judah,
Who take oaths in the name of the Eternal, and call on the God of Israel,
but do so dishonestly and inappropriately:
2 Your identity is wrapped up in the holy city,
and you claim to rely on the God of Israel,
The One who is called the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
3 Eternal One: In times long past, I determined
and announced the things that would come.
Then suddenly I acted, and they indeed happened.
4 Long ago, I figured that you’d resist
(after all, you are a hard-headed and stubborn lot).
5 Way back then, I told you what would happen so that you wouldn’t claim
that some other god was responsible—that some figurine you crafted
From wood and molded metal commanded and accomplished it.
6 You’ve heard what I foretold; now you’ve seen what has happened—
do you agree that I’m God?
Well, from this moment, I am telling you new things,
secrets hidden that no one has known.
7 They are created now—brand new, never before announced, never before heard.
So you can’t claim, “Look, I already knew them.”
8 There’s no way you could have heard or known
because, even from long ago, you have never listened.
For I’ve always known that you are a conniving lot;
you’ve been a troublesome rebel from birth.
9 On account of My reputation, I hold back my anger;
for My own weighty grandeur, I am patient with you,
So that I don’t make an absolute break with you.
10 I have refined you, but not in the way silver is refined.
Instead, I try you in the furnace of suffering.
For God, suffering is not an end in itself. God uses suffering and hardship to purge the bad and foster the good in His covenant people.
11 But it is all on account of Me, not of you, that I act,
that I retain honor, that My glory is Mine alone, and not sullied.
12 Listen to Me, O Jacob, Israel whom I’ve specially named,
specially chosen, and not without purpose.
I Am the first of all things, and I will be the last.
13 It is by My power, My desire, My doing that the earth was anchored.
My hand flung the skies. I established them,
And when I call, they pay the strictest attention.
14 Come and listen, all of you! Did any of you tell in advance
that the Eternal’s beloved would press diligently
Against Babylon’s might and overcome Chaldea as He desired?
15 Eternal One: No, only I, I the Eternal One knew this would happen.
I was the one who summoned him, who led him,
Who determined that he would have such victory.
16 Come even closer, and hear: from the beginning I spoke,
not hiding away in hushed secret. I Am and will be;
I was before anything was at all.
The Lord, the Eternal, has sent me and His Spirit.
17 The Eternal One, who rescued you, the Holy One of Israel declares,
Eternal One: I am the Eternal One your God. I have given you My instruction
for living well and right, leading you in how you should be and do.
18 If only you had listened to My instruction,
then you would have been flooded with peace;
Your righteousness would have risen and crested like waves on the sea.
19 Your people would have multiplied to become like the grains of sand,
and your children would be like grains of wheat.
And they would be forever in My mind and My presence.
20 Leave Babylon; run swiftly from Chaldea! And let it be known
with a joyous shout, to the ends of the earth,
That the Eternal One has rescued Jacob, His servant!
21 And though He guided them through desert places, with no water in sight,
they were never thirsty.
Just as in Moses’ time, God made the rocks gush water,
split the rock and made water pour streaming out.
22 Eternal One: Ah, but the malicious and wicked will never be at peace.
True peace begins with knowing God. Those who listen and live by His teachings find that wholeness and goodness flood into their lives. The wicked, however, face a different reality; they live with constant danger and problems.
49 Listen to this, everyone—near and far:
The Eternal One singled me out, even before I was born.
He called me and named me when I was still in my mother’s belly.
2 Even then, God was preparing my mouth to speak like a sharp sword.
He kept my purpose quiet, kept me safe in the shadow of His hand,
He crafted me into a sharp-tipped arrow and tucked me away in His quiver;
3 God said to me, “You are My servant, Israel.
Through you, I will be glorified.”
4 I said, “I’ve worked hard for nothing.
I spent my strength, and what have I accomplished—nothing,
Yet my justice and reward are secure with my God, the Eternal One.”
5 And now the Eternal who watched, shaped, and made me His own servant
from the womb has determined to restore Jacob’s family;
Israel will be made right with the Eternal again.
For God has counted me worthy and He has been my strength right along.
6 Eternal One: As My servant you will do even more than this,
even more than restoring Jacob’s family to Me
And making Israel right with Me again.
I will make you a light for the nations,
And You will illumine them until My salvation reaches to the ends of the earth.[g]
7 This is what the Eternal One, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel,
told to the one who is despised and loathed by the nation,
To the servant of national leaders.
Eternal One: At the sight of you, kings will rise and princes will bow down,
for I, the Eternal, faithful and true, the Holy One of Israel, have chosen you.
The Eternal has this to say:
8 Eternal One: When the time was right, I answered you;
on the day you were delivered, I was your help.[h]
I will watch over you, and give you
as a promise, a binding covenant to the people.
Through you, My gift to the people, the land of promise will recover.
Ancestral ground, once deserted, will be entrusted to them.
9 Through you, My gift to the people, I will declare to the prisoners,
“Come out. Now you are free”;
To those who are held in darkness, “Come out into the light.”
They will find sustenance wherever they are—
Along the roads or in the open hills—
with peace of mind, in comfort and security.
10 Wherever they are, they will be fine, never hungry nor thirsty.
They will be protected from oppressive heat and the burning sun
Because the One who loves them—as a mother loves her child—will be their guide.
God will lead them to restful places, rejuvenating springs of water.
11 I will make their going easy, level the mountain road
and smooth the path that leads them home.
12 Look! Even now, they are coming from lands far away,
some from the north, others from the west, these from the land of Sinim.[i]
13 Oh joy! Be glad—sky! Take joy—earth! Burst into song—mountains!
For the Eternal, moved to compassion, has comforted and consoled His people.
There are many kinds of love—and not enough words to tell the differences. Hebrew has a word for “love” that is related to its word for a woman’s womb. English has no such word. It is too bad, for it is difficult to describe womb-love, the bearing-and-birthing love of a mother, the kind of love that the Lord has for the people of God’s promise, Jacob’s children. God shaped this people as His own and bound them with no ordinary promise. God loves them in the same way a mother loves the child growing in her womb. It can’t be said so neatly and completely with one “love” word, but that is the idea that threads its way through this text.
14 Zion: The Eternal One has abandoned me. God has walked out the door;
my Lord left me alone. He has forgotten all about me.
15 Eternal One: Is it possible for a mother, however disappointed,
however hurt, to forget her nursing child?
Can she feel nothing for the baby she carried and birthed?
Even if she could, I, God, will never forget you.
16 Look here. I have made you a part of Me, written you on the palms of My hands.
Your city walls are always on My mind, always My concern.
17 Now sweet Zion your children are running pell-mell back to you
Just as fast as those who destroyed you are leaving.
18 Raise your head, lift up your eyes,
and watch your heart’s desire come—
All your children, gathered and returning to you. As I live, so I promise.
You will wear them with pride all like shining ornaments;
you will put them on as a bride on her wedding day.
19 Because of all of your destroyed land—the barren fields and abandoned farms—
you are now too small, too cramped for all your citizens;
And those who tried to swallow you whole will be far, far away.
20 The children you mourned, those born in exile, will return and say,
“It is too cramped and crowded for us;
We’re going to need more room if we are to live here.”
21 You’ll say to yourself, “Where in the world did all these people come from?
Could these really be mine?
I thought I’d been desolated, left empty.
Where have you all been? Where did you come from?”
22 This is what the Lord, the Eternal, has to say:
Eternal One: I will lift My hand and signal every nation that holds your people
And they will bring your children back again:
boys bundled in their arms, girls riding on their shoulders.
23 Kings will tend the children of Zion, and their queens will nurse and nurture them.
These greats will humble themselves before you.
They will bow and lick the dust off your feet,
and in the course of it all, you will remember that I am the Eternal.
Whoever trusts in Me will never be put to shame.
24 Jerusalem: Can the spoil of war be taken from the mighty?
Can the captives be freed from the hand of a tyrant?
25 Eternal One: Hard to believe, but it shall be so.
The captives will be taken from the hand of the mighty,
And the spoil of war will be rescued from the tyrant.
I will liberate them from their captors and contend with your enemies.
I will save your children.
26 I will turn your enemies’ violence back on themselves,
and they will suffer their own atrocities:
They will feed on their own flesh and drink their own blood like wine.
Then every person on earth will know for certain that I, the Eternal, am your Savior.
I am your hero, the strong One of Jacob from whom you come.
I will rescue you, whatever the price.
50 Eternal One: Where is the document of My divorce from your mother, Israel?
And to whom did I turn you over when I could no longer pay?
No, it was you who amassed debt—a debt of constant wrongdoing—
And that’s why your mother was sent away.
2 Why is it that when I came to visit, no one was there to greet Me;
and when I called out for you, no one answered?
Do you think My reach insufficient, My power too limited to rescue you?
I need only to speak the words and entire oceans will evaporate;
rivers will become deserts, leaving fish to stink and die for lack of water.
3 I can dress the heavens with blackness
and trade its velvet skies for the scratchy clothes of mourning.
4 The Lord, the Eternal, equipped me for this job—
with skilled speech, a smooth tongue for instruction.
I can find the words that comfort and soothe the downtrodden, tired, and despairing.
And I know when to use them.
Each morning, it is God who wakes me and tells me what I should do,
what I should say.
5 The Lord, the Eternal, has helped me to listen,
and I do as He says. I have not been rebellious or run away from God’s work.
6 But it’s been hard. I offered My back to those who whipped me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not turn away from humiliation and spitting.
The prophet speaks, but his words are those of the Servant of God. The Servant is in tune with God, the Master Teacher. He teaches as he has been taught, and—for the first time it seems—He understands that suffering is an integral part of the work God has for him. The reality for God’s Servant and any who follow him is this: to be close with God means to be at odds with people.
7 Because the Lord, the Eternal, helps me I will not be disgraced;
so, I set my face like a rock, confident that I will not be ashamed.
8 My hero who sets things right is near.
Who would dare to challenge me?
Let’s stand and debate this head-to-head!
Who would dare to accuse me? Let him come near.
9 See here, the Lord, the Eternal, helps me—who could possibly win against me?
All my accusers will wear out like a ratty old moth-eaten shirt.
10 So, you who are listening, do you acknowledge the Eternal One as God?
And do you take seriously what the servant of God has to say?
If you are enveloped in darkness, with no light to see,
take confidence in the name of the Eternal One; rely on your God.
11 Ah, but if you’ve tried to go it alone,
the light by which you go is your own consuming fire,
And the torches you light will be your undoing.
Eternal One: By My hand you will go down in torment.
51 Listen closely, you who diligently work for justice
and look for the Eternal One, for what is fair and true.
It would be good for you to look back, look to the place from where you came,
the rock out of which you were shaped and the quarry from where you were mined.
2 Look to your spiritual ancestors—
Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who birthed you.
Abraham was only one person when I called him.
But with generous goodness, I made from him a numerous people.
3 The Eternal One will relieve the troubles and worries of Zion
and bring comfort to the rubble of its destruction.
God will turn deserted places into a flourishing garden like Eden of old;
happy voices will ring out in the Eternal’s garden;
Buoyant music and thanksgiving will fill the air.
4 Eternal One: Listen closely, you who are Mine; lend an ear, My nation;
for My instruction will go straight out into all the world
And My justice will illuminate all people wherever they are.
5 My justice is coming closer. My rescue is on the way.
My strong arm will extend justice to the nations.
Distant shores are looking to Me with hope that I will accomplish it.
6 Don’t worry—look up at the sky and down at the earth.
The sky will disappear like smoke; the earth will wear out like a well-used garment;
Every last thing may perish and dissolve, but My salvation is for all time.
My justice will not end.
7 Listen to Me, you who already live out what is true and right,
who treasure My instruction within your hearts:
Don’t be afraid of people’s scorn.
Don’t let their dismissive criticism, bitter anger, or hatred get you down.
8 For they’ll come to nothing; they’ll be eaten up as a moth eats a shirt;
they’ll be consumed as a worm feeds on wool.
But My justice will endure. I will extend My saving action to every generation.
This sounds too good to be true. God’s people fear He is asleep, so they attempt to rouse Him to action. They remind Him—and themselves—of when God rescued His people long ago and defeated Egypt. Rahab, a monster of mythic character, is linked to Egypt, a nation of legendary power and cruelty. The prophet assures his discouraged audience that God will come through again for His people. It will be for them like it was when God rescued the Hebrew slaves. The exiled people of God will be freed from Babylon, and God will smooth out and level off the perilous desert highway that leads from Mesopotamia to the promised land.
9 Get up, power of God! Rise up and strengthen Yourself, arm of God.
Get up and do like in the olden days, when You saved Your special people—
Like when You cut Rahab, that dragon-monster of chaos, in two.
10 And remember when You made the sea dry up
and the waters of the deep retreated for Moses and company;
Then You laid down a road right through for the people You saved to cross over?
11 It’ll be like that for those the Eternal One ransomed from captivity
to return to Zion, Jerusalem. And they’ll come singing with joy.
Overwhelming, never-ending joy will crown their heads with happiness and delight
while desperation and depression melt away.
12 Eternal One: I am the One who comforts you and gives you peace.
So why are you afraid of human beings?
The children of men are only grass; they’ll wither and die.
13 Have you forgotten Me, the One who made you and the whole world,
who stretched out the skies and made sure the earth’s foundations?
Yet you constantly worry about others—how they hate and might harm you.
But their anger counts for nothing.
14 In an instant, those who cower in fear and trepidation will be free to go in confidence;
they won’t die in chains or suffer from hunger.
15 Because I, the Eternal, am your God,
I can make the oceans roil with storm and roll with great waves.
They call Me, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
16 I have given you My words to speak and protected you with the shadow of My hand.
I am the One who pulled the skies tight and made the earth rock solid.
And I am the same who said to Zion, “You are indeed Mine!”
17 Get up. Get up, and get moving! Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have experienced firsthand the punishing anger of God.
You have drunk that terrible cup to the last gritty drop,
and it left you reeling, drunk on distress.
18 Ah, poor Jerusalem! No one comes to guide her along.
Of all her people, all the ones whom the city nurtured and raised to adulthood,
None take her hand now in her stupor of pain.
19 Twin disasters have befallen you:
devastation and destruction, famine and war.
Who can relieve your anguish and pain?
Who is left to provide comfort?
20 Her people are lying around on every corner,
weary and faint, like an antelope trapped in a net.
Each is overcome with the Eternal’s anger; each suffers His rebuke.
21 But now, listen! Listen, you who are miserable,
you who are intoxicated, but not on wine.
22 The Lord, your God, the Eternal, who pleads for His people, has this to say:
Eternal One: Look! I have taken away the cup that left you reeling—the cup of My anger—
and sobered you up; I will never make you drink it again.
23 And I will give that drink to those who abused and oppressed you—
who ordered you, “Get down so we can walk all over you.”
And your backs became the ground they walked on, the streets they passed by.
52 Wake up, fair Zion; dress in your strength.
Put on your most elegant clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city.
Never again will outsiders—uncircumcised and the unclean—
who once abused and denigrated you move within your elect borders.
2 So brush off any dust and dirt; rise, take your place of honor, Jerusalem.
Loose the chains from your neck and raise your head in freedom, captive children of Zion.
3 For the Eternal has this to say:
Eternal One: You were taken for nothing,
and it’s nothing for Me to get you back.
4 For the Lord, the Eternal, has this to say:
Eternal One: My people willingly went to live in Egypt long ago;
but now Assyria has oppressed My people for no good reason.
5 So what now? Babylon has assumed it can simply take My people away
with no recompense and no respect.
Their tyrannical rulers jeer and cheer
and continually deride My name.
6 Well, it’s not over. My people will know My name.
At the time that I determine,
My people will see again who I am.
I will tell them, “I am here. And I am ready.”
7 Ah, how beautiful the feet of those on the mountain
who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation,[j]
The voice that calls to Zion, that chosen place for God’s promise people,
announcing to them “Your God rules!”
8 Listen! The ones who watch and wait are crying out and laughing for joy:
Look now, for everyone will see the Eternal One coming back to Zion.
9 Let the rock and rubble of Jerusalem erupt in joyful song
for the Eternal has brought comfort to His people and redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Eternal has flexed His muscles, bared His holy arm
for the world to see His power;
Every nation, every person, every place on earth
will witness the victory of our God.
The prophet urges God’s exiled people to leave Babylon, trusting in God and bringing with them the sacred vessels necessary to restore the priestly service of the temple.
11 Servants of God, turn away from that place;
As for those who carry the vessels for the Eternal’s temple,
go, without touching any of Babylon’s impurity, and make yourselves pure.
12 Go in confidence and grace—no rushing, no frantic escape.
There’s no need to be anxious—the Eternal One goes before and behind you.
The God of Israel paves the way with assurance and strength.
He watches your back.
13 Eternal One: See here! My servant will succeed.
He will grow in character and reputation, achieving high standing and status.
14 Just as people used to be shocked by you,
even so his appearance was disfigured;
His form—once glorious—was marred until it hardly seemed human.
15 Now many nations will be astonished at his prominence;
world rulers will be speechless in his presence,
For they will see what they’ve never been told;
they will understand what they’ve never heard.[k]
53 Indeed, who would ever believe it?
Who would possibly accept what we’ve been told?[l]
Who has witnessed the awesome power and plan of the Eternal in action?[m]
2 Out of emptiness he came, like a tender shoot from rock-hard ground.
He didn’t look like anything or anyone of consequence—
he had no physical beauty to attract our attention.
3 So he was despised and forsaken by men,
this man of suffering, grief’s patient friend.
As if he was a person to avoid, we looked the other way;
he was despised, forsaken, and we took no notice of him.
4 Yet it was our suffering he carried,
our pain[n] and distress, our sick-to-the-soul-ness.
We just figured that God had rejected him,
that God was the reason he hurt so badly.
5 But he was hurt because of us; he suffered so.
Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed him.
He endured the breaking that made us whole.
The injuries he suffered became our healing.
6 We all have wandered off, like shepherdless sheep,
scattered by our aimless striving and endless pursuits;
The Eternal One laid on him, this silent sufferer,
the sins of us all.
7 And in the face of such oppression and suffering—silence.
Not a word of protest, not a finger raised to stop it.
Like a sheep to a shearing, like a lamb to be slaughtered,
he went—oh so quietly, oh so willingly.
8 Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away.
From this generation, who was there to complain?
Who was there to cry “Foul”?
He was, after all, cut off from the land of the living,
Smacked and struck, not on his account,
because of how my people (my people!)
Disregarded the lines between right and wrong.
They snuffed out his life.[o]
9 And when he was dead, he was buried with the disgraced
in borrowed space (among the rich),
Even though he did no wrong by word or deed.[p]
It is hard to understand why God would crush His innocent Servant. But it is in His suffering for sin that God deals decisively with sin and its harmful effects.
10 Yet the Eternal One planned to crush him all along,
to bring him to grief, this innocent servant of God.
When he puts his life in sin’s dark place, in the pit of wrongdoing,
this servant of God will see his children and have his days prolonged.
For in His servant’s hand, the Eternal’s deepest desire will come to pass and flourish.
11 As a result of the trials and troubles that wrack his soul,
God’s servant will see light and be content
Because He knows, really understands, what it’s about; as God says,
“My just servant will justify countless others by taking on their punishment and bearing it away.
12 Because he exposed his very self—
laid bare his soul to the vicious grasping of death—
And was counted among the worst, I will count him among the best.
I will allot this one, My servant, a share in all that is of any value,
Because he took on himself the sin of many
and acted on behalf of those who broke My law.”
54 Eternal One: Sing, childless woman, you who have never given birth.
Raise a joyful shout, you who have never gone through labor.
You, whose husband is dead, will bring forth much more than the fertile one who has a husband.[q]
2 Enlarge your house. You are going to need a bigger place;
don’t underestimate the amount of room that you’ll need. So build, build, build.
3 You will increase in every direction to fill the world.
Your offspring will take over the nations;
Your people will revitalize long-abandoned towns.
4 Don’t be afraid, for there is no one to shame you.
Don’t fear humiliation, for there is no one to disgrace you.
The shame of your younger years and the sorrow of your widowhood are over.
You’ll forget those days as if they never happened.
5 Because the One who made you will be your husband;
the One called Commander of heavenly armies
Will set you right again, the Holy One of Israel.
It’s not for nothing that He is called “God of all the earth.”
6 For the Eternal has called you to come back home,
like a young wife, once deserted and deeply injured.
Now God is pulling you close again. Like a spouse forgives,
He will take you back and be reconciled.
The Eternal, your Redeemer, says this:
7 Eternal One: Yes, I was angry for a moment, and I rejected you,
but My love endures, and I want you back.
8 For that moment, when I was so mad,
I made it impossible for you to see Me, to find Me,
But with great tenderness, I will take you back in love.
9 I think this is like the time when Noah lived.
I promised that I would never again destroy the world by a flood.
So now I am promising never again to be so angry
and punishing as I was when I sent you away.
10 Even if the mountains heave up from their anchors,
and the hills quiver and shake, I will not desert you.
You can rely on My enduring love;
My covenant of peace will stand forever.
So says the Eternal One, whose love won’t give up on you.
This promise stands to God’s covenant people: nothing can happen to them unless God wills it and makes it so. Only if they invite it will destruction come. Throughout this time of rebellion and punishment God makes it clear that they hold their fate in their own hands. And if they haven’t understood the message, God tells them who will do the nation-building—an unworldly restoration. He says that He provides the raw materials; He creates the tools and provides the skills with which the builders build. He alone is responsible for restoring the nation. And no matter what charges the adversary may concoct, God will not be put off. Even though Israel rebelled and was unfaithful at one time, that is in the past. The future is sure: God’s faithfulness to His covenant, His enduring love for His people, will stand for all time. So the challenge goes out from the prophet to God’s people—speaking on God’s authority—to align themselves with God, accept Him as God, and they will surely win.
11 Eternal One: Ah, Jerusalem, so miserable and distressed! I will rebuild you
with floors of shimmering mosaics, set sapphires in your foundations.
12 I will decorate your towers with rubies,
and your gates will sparkle with all manner of precious gems.
Costly jewels will adorn the entire wall that circles your precincts.
13 Every one of your children, the people who call you home,
will be students of the Eternal; oh, they’ll be so happy and live in peace!
14 This time, you will be founded and grounded
on right thought, speech, and action.
And no one will trouble you, abuse or oppress you;
you will know no fear and have no worries.
15 If a nation marches against you,
know that I am not behind it.
Anyone foolish enough to challenge you will fall to you.
16 I have created the blacksmith
who readies the fire and forges weapons for wars;
And I have created the destroyer to ravage and ruin.
17 But no instrument forged against you will be allowed to hurt you,
and no voice raised to condemn you will successfully prosecute you.
It’s that simple; this is how it will be for the servants of the Eternal;
I will vindicate them.
55 Eternal One: If you are thirsty, come here;
come, there’s water for all.
Whoever is poor and penniless can still
come and buy the food I sell.
There’s no cost—here, have some food, hearty and delicious,
and beverages, pure and good.
2 I don’t understand why you spend your money for things that don’t nourish
or work so hard for what leaves you empty.
Attend to Me and eat what is good;
enjoy the richest, most delectable of things.
3 Listen closely, and come even closer. My words will give life,
for I will make a covenant with you that cannot be broken, a promise
Of My enduring presence and support like I gave to David.[r]
4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander among the nations.
5 Now you will issue a call to nations from all over the world—
people whom you do not know and who do not know you.
They will come running, because of Me, your God
because the Eternal, the Holy One of Israel, has made you beautiful.
6 So turn your attention and seek the Eternal One while it is still possible;
call on Him while He is nearby.
7 Let those who are busy plotting violence and doing wrong
stop right now, turn, and do right.
Let them turn back to the Eternal so they can experience His compassion.
God will excuse our past wrongs. Our God’s forgiveness is inexhaustible.
Eternal One: 8 My intentions are not always yours,
and I do not go about things as you do.
9 My thoughts and My ways are above and beyond you,
just as heaven is far from your reach here on earth.
10 For as rain and snow can’t go back once they’ve fallen,
but soak into the ground
And nourish the plants that grow,
providing seed to the farmer and bread for the hungry,
11 So it is when I declare something.
My word will go out and not return to Me empty,
But it will do what I wanted;
it will accomplish what I determined.
12 For you will go out in joy, be led home in peace.
And as you go the land itself will break out in cheers;
The mountains and the hills will erupt in song,
and the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Prickly thorns and nasty briers will give way
to luxurious shade trees, sweet and good.
And they’ll remind you of the Eternal One
and how God can be trusted absolutely and forever.
Footnotes
- 40:3 Mark 1:3; John 1:23
- 40:3–5 Luke 3:4–5
- 40:6–8 1 Peter 1:24–25
- 40:13 Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16
- 45:23 Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10–11
- 47:3 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 49:6 Acts 13:47
- 49:8 2 Corinthians 6:2
- 49:12 Likely a reference to southern Egypt
- 52:7 Romans 10:15
- 52:15 Romans 15:21
- 53:1 Romans 10:16
- 53:1 John 12:38
- 53:4 Matthew 8:17
- 53:7–8 Acts 8:33
- 53:9 1 Peter 2:22
- 54:1 Galatians 4:27
- 55:3 Acts 13:34
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
