The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen(A) to me, you islands;(B)
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(C) the Lord called(D) me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(E)
He made my mouth(F) like a sharpened sword,(G)
    in the shadow of his hand(H) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(I)
    and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant,(J)
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(K)
But I said, “I have labored in vain;(L)
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(M)
    and my reward(N) is with my God.”(O)

And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb(P) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel(Q) to himself,
for I am[a] honored(R) in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength(S)
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(T)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(U)
I will also make you a light(V) for the Gentiles,(W)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(X)

This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(Y)
to him who was despised(Z) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(AA) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,(AB)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(AC)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(AD) you.”

Restoration of Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor(AE) I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;(AF)
I will keep(AG) you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,(AH)
to restore the land(AI)
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(AJ)
to say to the captives,(AK) ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness,(AL) ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.(AM)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(AN)
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(AO)
He who has compassion(AP) on them will guide(AQ) them
    and lead them beside springs(AR) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways(AS) will be raised up.(AT)
12 See, they will come from afar(AU)
    some from the north, some from the west,(AV)
    some from the region of Aswan.[b]

13 Shout for joy,(AW) you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;(AX)
    burst into song, you mountains!(AY)
For the Lord comforts(AZ) his people
    and will have compassion(BA) on his afflicted ones.(BB)

14 But Zion(BC) said, “The Lord has forsaken(BD) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child(BE) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!(BF)
16 See, I have engraved(BG) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls(BH) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste(BI) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather(BJ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(BK)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear(BL) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(BM)
    and your land laid waste,(BN)
now you will be too small for your people,(BO)
    and those who devoured(BP) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’(BQ)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?(BR)
I was bereaved(BS) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.(BT)
    Who brought these(BU) up?
I was left(BV) all alone,(BW)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(BX) says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner(BY) to the peoples;
they will bring(BZ) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.(CA)
23 Kings(CB) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.(CC)
They will bow down(CD) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust(CE) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(CF)
    those who hope(CG) in me will not be disappointed.(CH)

24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,(CI)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce[c]?

25 But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives(CJ) will be taken from warriors,(CK)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(CL)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(CM)
    and your children I will save.(CN)
26 I will make your oppressors(CO) eat(CP) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,(CQ) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(CR)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(CS)
    your Redeemer,(CT) the Mighty One of Jacob.(CU)

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(CV)
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell(CW) you?
Because of your sins(CX) you were sold;(CY)
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?(CZ)
Was my arm too short(DA) to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength(DB) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(DC) I dry up the sea,(DD)
    I turn rivers into a desert;(DE)
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with darkness(DF)
    and make sackcloth(DG) its covering.”

The Sovereign Lord(DH) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(DI)
    to know the word that sustains the weary.(DJ)
He wakens me morning by morning,(DK)
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(DL)
The Sovereign Lord(DM) has opened my ears;(DN)
    I have not been rebellious,(DO)
    I have not turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat(DP) me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(DQ)
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.(DR)
Because the Sovereign Lord(DS) helps(DT) me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(DU)
    and I know I will not be put to shame.(DV)
He who vindicates(DW) me is near.(DX)
    Who then will bring charges against me?(DY)
    Let us face each other!(DZ)
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord(EA) who helps(EB) me.
    Who will condemn(EC) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths(ED) will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears(EE) the Lord
    and obeys(EF) the word of his servant?(EG)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,(EH)
trust(EI) in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(EJ)
go, walk in the light of your fires(EK)
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(EL)
    You will lie down in torment.(EM)

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

51 “Listen(EN) to me, you who pursue righteousness(EO)
    and who seek(EP) the Lord:
Look to the rock(EQ) from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham,(ER) your father,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
    and I blessed him and made him many.(ES)
The Lord will surely comfort(ET) Zion(EU)
    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(EV)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(EW)
    her wastelands(EX) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(EY) will be found in her,
    thanksgiving(EZ) and the sound of singing.

“Listen to me, my people;(FA)
    hear me,(FB) my nation:
Instruction(FC) will go out from me;
    my justice(FD) will become a light to the nations.(FE)
My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation(FF) is on the way,(FG)
    and my arm(FH) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(FI) will look to me
    and wait in hope(FJ) for my arm.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(FK)
    the earth will wear out like a garment(FL)
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(FM) will last forever,(FN)
    my righteousness will never fail.(FO)

“Hear me, you who know what is right,(FP)
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:(FQ)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.(FR)
For the moth will eat them up like a garment;(FS)
    the worm(FT) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,(FU)
    my salvation through all generations.”

Awake, awake,(FV) arm(FW) of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!(FX)
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.(FY)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(FZ) to pieces,
    who pierced that monster(GA) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(GB)
    the waters of the great deep,(GC)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(GD)
    so that the redeemed(GE) might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued(GF) will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;(GG)
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(GH) will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(GI)

12 “I, even I, am he who comforts(GJ) you.
    Who are you that you fear(GK) mere mortals,(GL)
    human beings who are but grass,(GM)
13 that you forget(GN) the Lord your Maker,(GO)
    who stretches out the heavens(GP)
    and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror(GQ) every day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
    who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?(GR)
14     The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;(GS)
they will not die in their dungeon,
    nor will they lack bread.(GT)
15 For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea(GU) so that its waves roar(GV)
    the Lord Almighty(GW) is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth(GX)
    and covered you with the shadow of my hand(GY)
I who set the heavens in place,
    who laid the foundations of the earth,(GZ)
    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.(HA)’”

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

17 Awake, awake!(HB)
    Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
    the cup(HC) of his wrath,(HD)
you who have drained to its dregs(HE)
    the goblet that makes people stagger.(HF)
18 Among all the children(HG) she bore
    there was none to guide her;(HH)
among all the children she reared
    there was none to take her by the hand.(HI)
19 These double calamities(HJ) have come upon you—
    who can comfort you?(HK)
ruin and destruction,(HL) famine(HM) and sword(HN)
    who can[d] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
    they lie at every street corner,(HO)
    like antelope caught in a net.(HP)
They are filled with the wrath(HQ) of the Lord,
    with the rebuke(HR) of your God.

21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(HS) one,
    made drunk,(HT) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
    your God, who defends(HU) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
    the cup(HV) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
    you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,(HW)
    who said to you,
    ‘Fall prostrate(HX) that we may walk(HY) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
    like a street to be walked on.”(HZ)

52 Awake, awake,(IA) Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!(IB)
Put on your garments of splendor,(IC)
    Jerusalem, the holy city.(ID)
The uncircumcised(IE) and defiled(IF)
    will not enter you again.(IG)
Shake off your dust;(IH)
    rise up,(II) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,(IJ)
    Daughter Zion,(IK) now a captive.

For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,(IL)
    and without money(IM) you will be redeemed.(IN)

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt(IO) to live;
    lately, Assyria(IP) has oppressed them.

“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,[e]
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.(IQ)
Therefore my people will know(IR) my name;(IS)
    therefore in that day(IT) they will know
that it is I who foretold(IU) it.
    Yes, it is I.”

How beautiful on the mountains(IV)
    are the feet of those who bring good news,(IW)
who proclaim peace,(IX)
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”(IY)
Listen! Your watchmen(IZ) lift up their voices;(JA)
    together they shout for joy.(JB)
When the Lord returns(JC) to Zion,(JD)
    they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy(JE) together,
    you ruins(JF) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted(JG) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.(JH)
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm(JI)
    in the sight of all the nations,(JJ)
and all the ends of the earth(JK) will see
    the salvation(JL) of our God.

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

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

13 See, my servant(JT) will act wisely[f];
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.(JU)
14 Just as there were many who were appalled(JV) at him[g]
    his appearance was so disfigured(JW) beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness(JX)
15 so he will sprinkle(JY) many nations,[h]
    and kings(JZ) will shut their mouths(KA) because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.(KB)

53 Who has believed our message(KC)
    and to whom has the arm(KD) of the Lord been revealed?(KE)
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(KF)
    and like a root(KG) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance(KH) that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering,(KI) and familiar with pain.(KJ)
Like one from whom people hide(KK) their faces
    he was despised,(KL) and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,(KM)
yet we considered him punished by God,(KN)
    stricken by him, and afflicted.(KO)
But he was pierced(KP) for our transgressions,(KQ)
    he was crushed(KR) for our iniquities;
the punishment(KS) that brought us peace(KT) was on him,
    and by his wounds(KU) we are healed.(KV)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(KW)
    each of us has turned to our own way;(KX)
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity(KY) of us all.

He was oppressed(KZ) and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;(LA)
he was led like a lamb(LB) to the slaughter,(LC)
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression[i] and judgment(LD) he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(LE)
    for the transgression(LF) of my people he was punished.[j]
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(LG)
    and with the rich(LH) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(LI)
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.(LJ)

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(LK) to crush(LL) him and cause him to suffer,(LM)
    and though the Lord makes[k] his life an offering for sin,(LN)
he will see his offspring(LO) and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper(LP) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(LQ)
    he will see the light(LR) of life[l] and be satisfied[m];
by his knowledge[n] my righteous servant(LS) will justify(LT) many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.(LU)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[o](LV)
    and he will divide the spoils(LW) with the strong,[p]
because he poured out his life unto death,(LX)
    and was numbered with the transgressors.(LY)
For he bore(LZ) the sin of many,(MA)
    and made intercession(MB) for the transgressors.

The Future Glory of Zion

54 “Sing, barren woman,(MC)
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(MD)
    you who were never in labor;(ME)
because more are the children(MF) of the desolate(MG) woman
    than of her who has a husband,(MH)
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,(MI)
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.(MJ)
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants(MK) will dispossess nations(ML)
    and settle in their desolate(MM) cities.

“Do not be afraid;(MN) you will not be put to shame.(MO)
    Do not fear disgrace;(MP) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(MQ)
    and remember no more the reproach(MR) of your widowhood.(MS)
For your Maker(MT) is your husband(MU)
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(MV) of Israel is your Redeemer;(MW)
    he is called the God of all the earth.(MX)
The Lord will call you back(MY)
    as if you were a wife deserted(MZ) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(NA)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment(NB) I abandoned(NC) you,
    but with deep compassion(ND) I will bring you back.(NE)
In a surge of anger(NF)
    I hid(NG) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(NH)
    I will have compassion(NI) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.(NJ)

“To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(NK)
So now I have sworn(NL) not to be angry(NM) with you,
    never to rebuke(NN) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(NO)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(NP) for you will not be shaken(NQ)
    nor my covenant(NR) of peace(NS) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion(NT) on you.

11 “Afflicted(NU) city, lashed by storms(NV) and not comforted,(NW)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[q](NX)
    your foundations(NY) with lapis lazuli.(NZ)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates(OA) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(OB)
    and great will be their peace.(OC)
14 In righteousness(OD) you will be established:(OE)
Tyranny(OF) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.(OG)
Terror(OH) will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender(OI) to you.

16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(OJ)
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon(OK) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(OL) to wreak havoc;
17     no weapon forged against you will prevail,(OM)
    and you will refute(ON) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(OO) of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication(OP) from me,”
declares the Lord.

Invitation to the Thirsty

55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,(OQ)
    come to the waters;(OR)
and you who have no money,
    come, buy(OS) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk(OT)
    without money and without cost.(OU)
Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?(OV)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(OW)
    and you will delight in the richest(OX) of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
    listen,(OY) that you may live.(OZ)
I will make an everlasting covenant(PA) with you,
    my faithful love(PB) promised to David.(PC)
See, I have made him a witness(PD) to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander(PE) of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations(PF) you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,(PG)
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One(PH) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”(PI)

Seek(PJ) the Lord while he may be found;(PK)
    call(PL) on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake(PM) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.(PN)
Let them turn(PO) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(PP) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(PQ)

“For my thoughts(PR) are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”(PS)
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,(PT)
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.(PU)
10 As the rain(PV) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(PW)
    so that it yields seed(PX) for the sower and bread for the eater,(PY)
11 so is my word(PZ) that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,(QA)
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose(QB) for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy(QC)
    and be led forth in peace;(QD)
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song(QE) before you,
and all the trees(QF) of the field
    will clap their hands.(QG)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers(QH) the myrtle(QI) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,(QJ)
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
  2. Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
  3. Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous
  4. Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I
  5. Isaiah 52:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail
  6. Isaiah 52:13 Or will prosper
  7. Isaiah 52:14 Hebrew you
  8. Isaiah 52:15 Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)
  9. Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
  10. Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
  11. Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
  12. Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
  13. Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
  14. Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
  15. Isaiah 53:12 Or many
  16. Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
  17. Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

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