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Isaiah 58:1-63:14
EasyEnglish Bible
Isaiah 58:1-63:14
EasyEnglish Bible
Worship God truly
58 The Lord says,
‘Shout out! Shout as loudly as you can!
Make as much noise as a trumpet makes!
Tell my people that they have not obeyed me.
Tell the family of Jacob about their sins.[a]
2 Every day my people come to worship me.
It seems that they want to know my ways.
They seem like a nation of people
who are doing the right things.
They seem to be obeying the law of their God.
They ask me to decide things fairly.
Yes, they seem to want to be near to me.
3 They say to me, “We have fasted to please you,
but you do not see it.
We make ourselves humble
and you do not even look.”
Listen to me! Yes you fast,
but you do it to please yourselves.
At the same time as you are fasting,
you are being cruel to the people who work for you.
4 Yes! While you are fasting,
you are also quarrelling and you are fighting.
You hit each other with your fists.
If you want your prayers to reach me in heaven,
you cannot continue to fast in the way that you do today.
5 The way that you fast does not please me at all:
You make yourselves humble for a day.
You bend down your head,
like a piece of weak grass.
You lie down on sackcloth and ashes.
Do you think that you are really fasting when you do that?
Do you think that it pleases me, the Lord?
6 This is the way that I want you to fast:
You must remove the chains
from prisoners who should not be in prison.
You must stop being cruel
to the people who work for you.
You must let people who are in pain go free.
You must break the yoke
of work that is too hard for weak people.[b]
7 Instead, share your food with hungry people.
Give a place in your home
to poor people who have no home.
Give clothes to people who have nothing to wear.
If people in your own family need help,
do not refuse to help them.
8 Then God's light will shine on you,
like the sun's light at dawn.
Very soon, your troubles will go away.
The good things that you do to help others
will be clear for everyone to see.
And the Lord will use his great power
to keep you safe.
9 Then you will ask the Lord for help
and he will answer you.
When you call out to him,
he will say, “Here I am.”
But you must stop being cruel to other people.
Do not accuse people,
and do not say bad things about them.
10 If people are hungry,
share your own food with them.
Help those people who are in pain.
Then your help to them will be like a light
that shines in a dark place.
You will no longer live in darkness,
but you will have light as bright as the sun at noon.
11 The Lord will always be your guide.
He will give you plenty to eat,
even when the ground is dry.
He will make your bodies strong.
You will be like a garden that has plenty of water.
You will be like a spring of water
that never becomes dry.
12 You will build again the cities
which became heaps of stones a long time ago.
You will build your houses on the old foundations.
People will call you, “Builders who mend the walls and the streets with their houses.”
13 So remember to obey the rules for the Sabbath day.
That is my holy day,
so do not just try to please yourselves.
Enjoy the Sabbath day,
and respect it as the Lord's holy day.
Do not do your usual work on that day.
Do not do things or speak about things,
only to make yourself happy.
14 If you do those things, you will be happy
as you serve me, the Lord.
I will give you all the things that you need.
I will cause crops to grow
on the land that I gave to your ancestor Jacob.’
That is the Lord's message.
The Lord accuses his people
59 Listen! The Lord's hand is not too weak to save you.
His ear is not too deaf to hear you.
2 But the wrong things that you have done
have made you separate from your God.
Your sins have caused him to turn away from you,
so that he does not listen to your prayers.
3 Your hands are dirty with the blood of murder.
They are dirty with all the bad things that you do.
Your mouth tells lies,
and it says wicked things about other people.
4 When people accuse somebody in court,
the truth is not important.
They tell lies and they deceive the judge,
so that they will win.
They decide how they can cause trouble,
and then they do wicked things.
5 Their thoughts are like the eggs of a snake.
If anyone eats those eggs, they will die!
When an egg breaks open,
a dangerous snake is born!
They like to catch people,
like a spider that makes a web.[c]
6 Their webs are useless to make clothes.
They cannot cover themselves with them.
The things that they do are useless like that.
They do only wicked things.
They use their strength only to hurt people.
7 They rush to do evil things.
They hurry to kill people who have not done anything wrong.
They think only about sin.
They only want to be cruel and to hurt people.
8 They do not know how to live in peace.
They cannot be honest and fair.
Their way of life is all wrong.
Nobody who lives like that will have peace.
The people agree
9 Because of that, God's justice is far away from us.
He has not come to save us.
We look for light to come to us,
but everything is dark.
We need some light in our lives,
but all we have is darkness.
10 Like blind people,
we touch the wall to find our way.
It seems that we have no eyes to see with.
Even at midday, we trip and we fall down,
as if it was dark.
We are like dead people
who live among strong people.
11 We all make a noise, like hungry bears.
We make sad noises, like doves.
We are waiting for God to bring justice to us,
but nothing is happening.
We look for his salvation,
but it is still far away.
12 Lord, you see all the bad things that we have done.
Our many sins show that we are wrong.
We know about the wrong things that we have done.
We agree that our sins are many.
13 We have turned against the Lord.
We have refused to obey him.
We have chosen to be cruel to other people,
and we have turned against the truth.
We think about the lies that we can tell,
and we use them to deceive people.
14 Judges do not decide in a fair way.
Nobody tries to do what is right.
There is no place for truth on the streets of our towns.
Honest people have to leave.
15 Nobody can speak the truth.
If anyone tries to stop doing evil things,
other people will attack him.
The Lord comes to save his people
The Lord saw how his people were living.
He saw that there was no justice.
It made him very sad.
16 He saw that there was nobody who would help,
and he was very upset.
So he used his own strength to help.
Because he had to do what was right,
he made his people safe.
17 He always does what is right,
like a soldier who always puts on his armour.
His power to save people
is like the helmet that he wears.
He is angry against people who do evil things,
and he works hard to punish them.
That is like the clothes that he wears.
18 He will punish his enemies
for the bad things that they have done.
He will be very angry with them.
He will punish all his enemies,
even those who live in lands far away.
19 Then people who live in the west
will respect the Lord's name.
And people who live in the east
will see how great he is.
The Lord will attack them like a fast river.
He will blow them away with a strong wind.
20 The Lord says,
‘A Redeemer will come to Zion.
He will come to save Jacob's people
who turn away from their sins.’
21 The Lord says, ‘This is the covenant that I make with those people. My Spirit is now with you, and he will not leave you. I have put my words into your mouth, and they will always be with you. They will continue to be in the mouths of your children, and your descendants for ever.’
That is what the Lord says.
Zion's future glory
60 Stand up! Shine brightly!
Now your light has come![d]
The Lord's glory has risen to shine on you.
2 Look! Darkness covers all the earth and its people.
But the Lord shines his light on you,
so that his glory appears over you.
3 People of other nations will come to your light.
Kings will come to see the light of a new day that shines on you.
4 Look all round you!
All your people are coming together to return to you.
Your sons are coming from far away,
and they carry your daughters in their arms.
5 As you see this, your eyes will shine with joy.
Your hearts will beat fast,
and you will be proud to see them.
Traders will bring valuable things to you
from lands across the seas.
The riches of other nations will come to you.
6 Traders will bring things on their camels
so that your roads are full.
Young camels will come from Midian
and from Ephah.
People will come from Sheba.
They will bring gold and incense.
They will sing aloud to praise the Lord.
7 All the sheep and goats in Kedar will come to you.
They will give you sheep from Nebaioth,
and I will accept them as sacrifices on my altar.
I will make my temple great and beautiful.
8 See those ships that sail along like clouds!
They come like doves that are flying to their homes.
9 People from lands across the seas are coming to find me.
Their big ships are leading them.
They are bringing your children from far away,
as well as silver and gold.
They come to give honour to the name of the Lord your God.
He is Israel's Holy God.
They come here because he has shown that you are great.
10 Foreign people will build your walls again.
Their kings will be your servants.
I punished you when I was angry with you.
But now I will show my grace
and I will be kind to you.
11 The gates of your city will always be open.
People will never close them,
during the day or during the night.
Then other nations will bring their riches to you,
and their kings will lead them.
12 Any nation or kingdom that refuses to serve you
will come to an end.
Enemies will completely destroy those nations.
13 The beautiful things of Lebanon will come to you.
They will bring you its pine trees,
its fir trees and its cypress trees.
The wood will make my temple beautiful.
I will cause my home on earth to be great!
14 The descendants of your cruel enemies will come to you.
They will bend down low in front of you.
Everybody who insulted you before
will now give you honour.
They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,
Zion that is home for Israel's Holy God.’
15 At one time, people kept away from you,
and they hated you.
Nobody travelled through you.
But now I will make you a great city,
so that people will be proud of you for ever.
Your people and their descendants will be very happy.
16 Other nations and their kings
will give you everything that you need.
They will be like mothers
who feed their babies with their milk.
Then you will know that I, the Lord,
have made you safe.
You will know that I am your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 I will bring you gold instead of bronze.
I will bring you silver instead of iron.
I will give you bronze to use, instead of wood.
I will give you iron instead of stones.
I will cause peace to be your city's leader.
Righteousness will rule over you.
18 You will not hear the noise of violence in your land any more.
Inside its borders,
nobody will fight wars or destroy things.
You will call your city's walls ‘Salvation’,
and you will call your city's gates ‘Praise’.
19 You will no longer need the sun
to give you light in the day again.
You will not need the moon to shine at night.
Instead, the Lord will be the light
that shines on you for ever.
Yes, your God will be the light
that brings you honour.
20 Your sun will never go down again
and your moon will never disappear.
That is because the Lord will be the light
that shines on you for ever.
Then your sad days will come to an end.
21 All your people will be righteous.
The land will belong to them for ever.
I myself will plant them in the ground
like a young plant.
As they grow, they will show how great I am.
22 The least important person among you
will become a great family.
The smallest person will become a large nation.
I am the Lord.
When the right time comes,
I will cause it to happen quickly!
Good news of salvation
61 The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is on me,
because he has chosen me to serve him.[e]
He has sent me to tell good news to poor people.
He has sent me to comfort people who are very upset.
He has sent me to tell prisoners that they are now free.
They can go out of their prisons!
2 He has sent me to say,
‘This is the year when the Lord will be kind to his people.’
It is the time when our God will punish our enemies.
He has sent me to comfort people who are weeping
because they are sad.
3 In that way, the people in Zion who are sad
will become strong again.
They will not put ashes on their heads any more.[f]
Instead, they will wear beautiful hats.
Instead of weeping,
they will have olive oil to show their joy.
They will not feel upset,
but they will sing happy songs to praise God.
People will call them ‘Strong trees that show God's righteousness’.
They will be like trees that the Lord himself has planted
to show how great he is.
4 God's people will build again their towns
that became heaps of stones a long time ago.
Once again, they will live in the cities
that have been empty for so long.
5 The Lord says to his people,
‘Foreign people will take care of your sheep for you.
They will work on your farms,
and they will take care of your vines.[g]
6 People will call you
“The Lord's priests who are servants of our God”.
You will enjoy valuable things from other nations.
You will boast about all the riches
that you receive from them.
7 You will not be ashamed any more.
Instead, you will receive twice as much blessing.
People will not say that you are useless.
Instead, you will live happily on your own land.
Yes, my people will have twice the crops from their land,
And so they will always be very happy.
8 I, the Lord, love justice.
I hate it when people rob others,
or they do other wrong things.
Because I am faithful,
I will give help to my people.
I will make a covenant with them
that will continue for ever.
9 Their descendants will be famous
among the other nations.
Everyone who sees them will know
that the Lord has blessed them.’
10 I am very happy,
because of what the Lord, my God, has done.[h]
I have so much joy!
He has given salvation to me,
like clothes that I can wear all the time.
I have his righteousness as my coat!
He makes me handsome,
like a bridegroom who wears a priest's hat.
He makes me beautiful,
like a bride who wears her jewels.
11 The Almighty Lord will cause his righteousness
to grow everywhere.
It will grow like crops in the fields,
and like plants that grow in a garden.
Then his people will praise him,
and all the nations will see it!
Salvation will come to Zion
62 Because I love Zion,
I will not be quiet.
I cannot stay quiet,
because Jerusalem is in trouble.
I will continue to speak until she is safe again.
I want her righteousness to shine
like the sun at dawn.
I want her salvation to be a bright light in the dark.
2 Jerusalem, the nations will see your righteousness.
All their kings will see how great you are.
People will call you by a new name,
which the Lord himself will give to you.
3 The Lord your God will hold you in his hand,
and you will bring him honour.
You will be like his beautiful crown!
4 They will no longer call you by the name ‘Alone’.
They will not call your land ‘Empty place’.
Instead, they will call you ‘The one that makes God happy’.
The name of your land will be ‘Married’.
Yes, the Lord will be very happy with you.
Your land will be his bride.
5 As a young man marries a pure young woman,
so your sons will marry you, Jerusalem.[i]
Your God will be very happy that you belong to him,
as a bridegroom is happy with his new wife.
6 I have put guards on your walls, Jerusalem.
They should never be quiet,
during the day and during the night.
You people who cause the Lord to remember his promises,
never stop and rest!
7 Do not give the Lord a chance to rest,
until he has made Jerusalem strong again.
Continue to pray until he makes it a famous city
that the whole world will praise.
8 The Lord makes a strong promise,
and he has the power to make it happen.
He says:
‘I will never again take away your grain,
and give it to your enemies for food.
Foreign soldiers will not drink your wine
that you have worked very hard to make.
9 Instead, the people who pick the grain at harvest time
are the people who will eat it.
And they will praise the Lord for it.
The people who pick the grapes
will drink the wine.
They will drink it in the yards of my temple.’
10 Pass through the gates! Pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people to travel on.
Build up the road! Make it strong!
Remove the stones!
Lift up a flag,
so that the nations can see the way to go.
11 Look! The Lord has this message for the whole earth:
‘Say to the people of Zion,
“Look! Your Saviour is coming!
Look again! He is bringing his gifts with him.
He brings the prize that he has won.” ’[j]
12 Their name will be ‘God's holy People’,
and ‘The People that the Lord has redeemed’.
And Jerusalem's name will be ‘The City where people are happy’,
and ‘The City that is full of people’.
The Lord punishes the nations
63 Who is this who is coming from Edom?
He is coming from Bozrah
and his clothes are bright red.
He wears beautiful royal clothes,
and he marches forward with great strength.
He says, ‘It is me! I, the Lord, tell you that I have won the fight!
I have the power to save you.’
2 But why are your clothes red?
You look like someone who has walked on grapes,
and you have squeezed them to make wine.
3 He says, ‘I have walked on the grapes alone.
Nobody from the nations came to help me.
I walked on them because I was angry.
I squeezed them to pieces in my anger.
Their blood splashed on my clothes,
and it made all my clothes dirty.
4 I decided that it was time to punish my enemies.
Then I would save my people from their power.
5 I looked for somebody to give help,
but there was nobody.
I was very upset,
because nobody was there to help.
So I used my own strength to rescue my people.
My anger helped me to be strong.
6 Because I was angry,
I walked on the nations to punish them.
My anger was like strong wine that made them drunk.
I poured their blood onto the ground.’
Isaiah's prayer
7 I will speak about all the good things that the Lord does because he loves his people. We should praise him for everything that he does for us. He has done many good things for us, Israel's family. He helps us because he loves us very much, and he is very kind.
8 The Lord said, ‘Surely, they are my own people. As my children, they will not turn against me.’ So he became their Saviour. 9 When his people suffered, he also had pain. He sent his own angel to go and save them. Because he loved them and he was kind to them, he redeemed them. He lifted them up and he carried them, through all the years long ago.
10 But they turned against him. They made his Holy Spirit angry. So he then became their enemy. He fought against them.
11 Then they remembered past years, when Moses led their ancestors out of Egypt. They said, ‘Where is the Lord now, when we need him? He brought his people safely through the sea, with Moses as their leader. He caused his Holy Spirit to work among them. 12 He caused his power to be with Moses, as Moses raised his arm over the sea. He caused the waters to become separate so that his people could go across. In that way, he caused his name always to be famous. 13 He led them through the deep water of the sea. They ran across like horses on open ground, and they did not fall. 14 The Lord's Spirit led them to a place of rest, like cows that go down to a quiet valley.’
Yes, Lord, you were your people's guide. In that way, you made your name great.
Footnotes
- 58:1 ‘The family of Jacob’ means God's people, Judah and Israel, who were descendants of Jacob.
- 58:6 A yoke is a picture of very hard work that you cannot escape from.
- 59:5 A spider is small, like an insect. It uses very thin strings (threads) to make a web. It catches insects in the web for its food.
- 60:1 See Isaiah 59:9; John 9:5.
- 61:1 The Lord's special Servant is speaking in verses 1-4. See Isaiah 42:1-4; 42:7; 49:9; 50:4.
- 61:3 People put ashes on their heads when they were very sad and upset.
- 61:5 God's people would be able to pay foreigners to work for them.
- 61:10 In verses 10-11, it is probably Zion (Jerusalem) that is speaking on behalf of the nation of God's people.
- 62:5 Jerusalem's people will be very happy to live there.
- 62:11 The people that God brings back to Jerusalem from exile are like his prize that he has won in battle. See Isaiah 40:10.
Isaiah 58:1-63:14
New International Version
Isaiah 58:1-63:14
New International Version
True Fasting
58 “Shout it aloud,(A) do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.(B)
Declare to my people their rebellion(C)
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(D)
2 For day after day they seek(E) me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken(F) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near(G) them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’(H) they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(I) ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’(J)
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(K)
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(L)
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard(M) on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast(N) I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble(O) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(P)
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(Q)
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting(R) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(S)
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(T) free
and break every yoke?(U)
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry(V)
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(W)—
when you see the naked, to clothe(X) them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(Y)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(Z)
and your healing(AA) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a](AB) will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(AC)
9 Then you will call,(AD) and the Lord will answer;(AE)
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger(AF) and malicious talk,(AG)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(AH)
then your light(AI) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.(AJ)
11 The Lord will guide(AK) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(AL) in a sun-scorched land(AM)
and will strengthen(AN) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(AO)
like a spring(AP) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(AQ)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(AR)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(AS)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(AT)
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(AU)
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,(AV)
14 then you will find your joy(AW) in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(AX) of the land
and to feast on the inheritance(AY) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(AZ)
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm(BA) of the Lord is not too short(BB) to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(BC)
2 But your iniquities have separated(BD)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(BE)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(BF)
your fingers with guilt.(BG)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(BH)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;(BI)
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(BJ) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(BK)
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(BL)
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers(BM)
and spin a spider’s web.(BN)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(BO)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence(BP) are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(BQ)
They pursue evil schemes;(BR)
acts of violence mark their ways.(BS)
8 The way of peace they do not know;(BT)
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(BU)
no one who walks along them will know peace.(BV)
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(BW)
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(BX) we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(BY) as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.(BZ)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(CA)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses(CB) are many in your sight,
and our sins testify(CC) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:(CD)
13 rebellion(CE) and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs(CF) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(CG)
uttering lies(CH) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(CI) is driven back,
and righteousness(CJ) stands at a distance;
truth(CK) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(CL) is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.(CM)
16 He saw that there was no one,(CN)
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(CO)
so his own arm achieved salvation(CP) for him,
and his own righteousness(CQ) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(CR)
and the helmet(CS) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(CT) of vengeance(CU)
and wrapped himself in zeal(CV) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay(CW)
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands(CX) their due.
19 From the west,(CY) people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,(CZ) they will revere his glory.(DA)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath(DB) of the Lord drives along.[b]
20 “The Redeemer(DC) will come to Zion,(DD)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(DE)
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant(DF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(DG) who is on you, will not depart from you,(DH) and my words that I have put in your mouth(DI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
The Glory of Zion
60 “Arise,(DJ) shine, for your light(DK) has come,
and the glory(DL) of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness(DM) covers the earth
and thick darkness(DN) is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations(DO) will come to your light,(DP)
and kings(DQ) to the brightness of your dawn.
4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble(DR) and come to you;
your sons come from afar,(DS)
and your daughters(DT) are carried on the hip.(DU)
5 Then you will look and be radiant,(DV)
your heart will throb and swell with joy;(DW)
the wealth(DX) on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels(DY) will cover your land,
young camels of Midian(DZ) and Ephah.(EA)
And all from Sheba(EB) will come,
bearing gold and incense(EC)
and proclaiming the praise(ED) of the Lord.
7 All Kedar’s(EE) flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings(EF) on my altar,(EG)
and I will adorn my glorious temple.(EH)
8 “Who are these(EI) that fly along like clouds,(EJ)
like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands(EK) look to me;
in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[c](EL)
bringing(EM) your children from afar,
with their silver and gold,(EN)
to the honor(EO) of the Lord your God,
the Holy One(EP) of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.(EQ)
10 “Foreigners(ER) will rebuild your walls,
and their kings(ES) will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
in favor(ET) I will show you compassion.(EU)
11 Your gates(EV) will always stand open,
they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations(EW)—
their kings(EX) led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve(EY) you will perish;
it will be utterly ruined.(EZ)
13 “The glory of Lebanon(FA) will come to you,
the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,(FB)
to adorn my sanctuary;(FC)
and I will glorify the place for my feet.(FD)
14 The children of your oppressors(FE) will come bowing before you;
all who despise you will bow down(FF) at your feet
and will call you the City(FG) of the Lord,
Zion(FH) of the Holy One(FI) of Israel.
15 “Although you have been forsaken(FJ) and hated,
with no one traveling(FK) through,
I will make you the everlasting pride(FL)
and the joy(FM) of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed(FN) at royal breasts.
Then you will know(FO) that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(FP)
your Redeemer,(FQ) the Mighty One of Jacob.(FR)
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,(FS)
and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace(FT) your governor
and well-being your ruler.(FU)
18 No longer will violence(FV) be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction(FW) within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation(FX)
and your gates Praise.(FY)
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,(FZ)
and your God will be your glory.(GA)
20 Your sun(GB) will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow(GC) will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous(GD)
and they will possess(GE) the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,(GF)
the work of my hands,(GG)
for the display of my splendor.(GH)
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.(GI)
I am the Lord;
in its time I will do this swiftly.”(GJ)
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
61 The Spirit(GK) of the Sovereign Lord(GL) is on me,
because the Lord has anointed(GM) me
to proclaim good news(GN) to the poor.(GO)
He has sent me to bind up(GP) the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom(GQ) for the captives(GR)
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[d]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor(GS)
and the day of vengeance(GT) of our God,
to comfort(GU) all who mourn,(GV)
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown(GW) of beauty
instead of ashes,(GX)
the oil(GY) of joy
instead of mourning,(GZ)
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting(HA) of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.(HB)
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins(HC)
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers(HD) will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests(HE) of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth(HF) of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame(HG)
you will receive a double(HH) portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit(HI) a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy(HJ) will be yours.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;(HK)
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant(HL) with them.
9 Their descendants(HM) will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”(HN)
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices(HO) in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,(HP)
as a bridegroom adorns his head(HQ) like a priest,
and as a bride(HR) adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden(HS) causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness(HT)
and praise spring up before all nations.
Zion’s New Name
62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,(HU)
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication(HV) shines out like the dawn,(HW)
her salvation(HX) like a blazing torch.
2 The nations(HY) will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name(HZ)
that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
3 You will be a crown(IA) of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No longer will they call you Deserted,(IB)
or name your land Desolate.(IC)
But you will be called Hephzibah,[e](ID)
and your land Beulah[f];
for the Lord will take delight(IE) in you,
and your land will be married.(IF)
5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom(IG) rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice(IH) over you.
6 I have posted watchmen(II) on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,(IJ)
7 and give him no rest(IK) till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise(IL) of the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn(IM) by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain(IN)
as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
for which you have toiled;
9 but those who harvest it will eat(IO) it
and praise the Lord,(IP)
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.”(IQ)
10 Pass through, pass through the gates!(IR)
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!(IS)
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner(IT) for the nations.
11 The Lord has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:(IU)
“Say to Daughter Zion,(IV)
‘See, your Savior comes!(IW)
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’”(IX)
12 They will be called(IY) the Holy People,(IZ)
the Redeemed(JA) of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.(JB)
God’s Day of Vengeance and Redemption
63 Who is this coming from Edom,(JC)
from Bozrah,(JD) with his garments stained crimson?(JE)
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?(JF)
“It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”(JG)
2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?(JH)
3 “I have trodden the winepress(JI) alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled(JJ) them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;(JK)
their blood spattered my garments,(JL)
and I stained all my clothing.
4 It was for me the day of vengeance;(JM)
the year for me to redeem had come.
5 I looked, but there was no one(JN) to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm(JO) achieved salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.(JP)
6 I trampled(JQ) the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk(JR)
and poured their blood(JS) on the ground.”
Praise and Prayer
7 I will tell of the kindnesses(JT) of the Lord,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things(JU)
he has done for Israel,
according to his compassion(JV) and many kindnesses.
8 He said, “Surely they are my people,(JW)
children who will be true to me”;
and so he became their Savior.(JX)
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel(JY) of his presence(JZ) saved them.[g]
In his love and mercy he redeemed(KA) them;
he lifted them up and carried(KB) them
all the days of old.(KC)
10 Yet they rebelled(KD)
and grieved his Holy Spirit.(KE)
So he turned and became their enemy(KF)
and he himself fought(KG) against them.
11 Then his people recalled[h] the days of old,
the days of Moses and his people—
where is he who brought them through the sea,(KH)
with the shepherd of his flock?(KI)
Where is he who set
his Holy Spirit(KJ) among them,
12 who sent his glorious arm(KK) of power
to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters(KL) before them,
to gain for himself everlasting renown,(KM)
13 who led(KN) them through the depths?(KO)
Like a horse in open country,
they did not stumble;(KP)
14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
they were given rest(KQ) by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people
to make for yourself a glorious name.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
- Isaiah 60:9 Or the trading ships
- Isaiah 61:1 Hebrew; Septuagint the blind
- Isaiah 62:4 Hephzibah means my delight is in her.
- Isaiah 62:4 Beulah means married.
- Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior 9 in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them
- Isaiah 63:11 Or But may he recall
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