God Redeems Jerusalem

52 Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised (A)and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
(B)Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
(C)Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!

For thus says the Lord:

(D)“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed (E)without money.”

For thus says the Lord God:

“My people went down at first
Into (F)Egypt to [a]dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord,
“That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
[b]Make them wail,” says the Lord,
“And My name is (G)blasphemed continually every day.
Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’ ”

(H)How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
(I)“Your God reigns!”
Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 (J)The Lord has [c]made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of (K)all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.

11 (L)Depart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
(M)Be clean,
You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For (N)you shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
(O)For the Lord will go before you,
(P)And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Sin-Bearing Servant

13 Behold, (Q)My Servant shall [d]deal prudently;
(R)He shall be exalted and [e]extolled and be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you,
So His (S)visage[f] was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
15 (T)So shall He [g]sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For (U)what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.

The Sin-Bearing Messiah

53 Who (V)has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no [h]form or [i]comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no [j]beauty that we should desire Him.
(W)He is despised and [k]rejected by men,
A Man of [l]sorrows and (X)acquainted with [m]grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and (Y)we did not esteem Him.

Surely (Z)He has borne our [n]griefs
And carried our [o]sorrows;
Yet we [p]esteemed Him stricken,
[q]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was (AA)wounded[r] for our transgressions,
He was [s]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His (AB)stripes[t] we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [u]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet (AC)He opened not His mouth;
(AD)He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
He was (AE)taken from [v]prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For (AF)He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
(AG)And [w]they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any (AH)deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to [x]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul (AI)an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 [y]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge (AJ)My righteous (AK)Servant shall (AL)justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 (AM)Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
(AN)And He shall divide the [z]spoil with the strong,
Because He (AO)poured out His soul unto death,
And He was (AP)numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And (AQ)made intercession for the transgressors.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 52:4 As resident aliens
  2. Isaiah 52:5 DSS Mock; LXX Marvel and wail; Tg. Boast themselves; Vg. Treat them unjustly
  3. Isaiah 52:10 Revealed His power
  4. Isaiah 52:13 prosper
  5. Isaiah 52:13 Lit. be lifted up
  6. Isaiah 52:14 appearance
  7. Isaiah 52:15 Or startle
  8. Isaiah 53:2 Stately form
  9. Isaiah 53:2 splendor
  10. Isaiah 53:2 Lit. appearance
  11. Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
  12. Isaiah 53:3 Lit. pains
  13. Isaiah 53:3 Lit. sickness
  14. Isaiah 53:4 Lit. sicknesses
  15. Isaiah 53:4 Lit. pains
  16. Isaiah 53:4 reckoned
  17. Isaiah 53:4 Struck down
  18. Isaiah 53:5 Or pierced through
  19. Isaiah 53:5 crushed
  20. Isaiah 53:5 Blows that cut in
  21. Isaiah 53:6 Lit. has caused to land on Him
  22. Isaiah 53:8 confinement
  23. Isaiah 53:9 Lit. he or He
  24. Isaiah 53:10 crush
  25. Isaiah 53:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX From the labor of His soul He shall see light
  26. Isaiah 53:12 plunder

52 Awake, awake,(A) Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!(B)
Put on your garments of splendor,(C)
    Jerusalem, the holy city.(D)
The uncircumcised(E) and defiled(F)
    will not enter you again.(G)
Shake off your dust;(H)
    rise up,(I) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,(J)
    Daughter Zion,(K) now a captive.

For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,(L)
    and without money(M) you will be redeemed.(N)

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt(O) to live;
    lately, Assyria(P) 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,[a]
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.(Q)
Therefore my people will know(R) my name;(S)
    therefore in that day(T) they will know
that it is I who foretold(U) it.
    Yes, it is I.”

How beautiful on the mountains(V)
    are the feet of those who bring good news,(W)
who proclaim peace,(X)
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”(Y)
Listen! Your watchmen(Z) lift up their voices;(AA)
    together they shout for joy.(AB)
When the Lord returns(AC) to Zion,(AD)
    they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy(AE) together,
    you ruins(AF) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted(AG) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.(AH)
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm(AI)
    in the sight of all the nations,(AJ)
and all the ends of the earth(AK) will see
    the salvation(AL) of our God.

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

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

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

53 Who has believed our message(BC)
    and to whom has the arm(BD) of the Lord been revealed?(BE)
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(BF)
    and like a root(BG) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance(BH) that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering,(BI) and familiar with pain.(BJ)
Like one from whom people hide(BK) their faces
    he was despised,(BL) and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,(BM)
yet we considered him punished by God,(BN)
    stricken by him, and afflicted.(BO)
But he was pierced(BP) for our transgressions,(BQ)
    he was crushed(BR) for our iniquities;
the punishment(BS) that brought us peace(BT) was on him,
    and by his wounds(BU) we are healed.(BV)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(BW)
    each of us has turned to our own way;(BX)
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity(BY) of us all.

He was oppressed(BZ) and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;(CA)
he was led like a lamb(CB) to the slaughter,(CC)
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression[e] and judgment(CD) he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(CE)
    for the transgression(CF) of my people he was punished.[f]
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(CG)
    and with the rich(CH) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(CI)
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.(CJ)

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(CK) to crush(CL) him and cause him to suffer,(CM)
    and though the Lord makes[g] his life an offering for sin,(CN)
he will see his offspring(CO) and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper(CP) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(CQ)
    he will see the light(CR) of life[h] and be satisfied[i];
by his knowledge[j] my righteous servant(CS) will justify(CT) many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.(CU)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[k](CV)
    and he will divide the spoils(CW) with the strong,[l]
because he poured out his life unto death,(CX)
    and was numbered with the transgressors.(CY)
For he bore(CZ) the sin of many,(DA)
    and made intercession(DB) for the transgressors.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 52:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail
  2. Isaiah 52:13 Or will prosper
  3. Isaiah 52:14 Hebrew you
  4. Isaiah 52:15 Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)
  5. Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
  6. 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?
  7. Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
  8. Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
  9. Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
  10. Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
  11. Isaiah 53:12 Or many
  12. Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous