53 Who has believed our message(A)
    and to whom has the arm(B) of the Lord been revealed?(C)
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(D)
    and like a root(E) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance(F) that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering,(G) and familiar with pain.(H)
Like one from whom people hide(I) their faces
    he was despised,(J) and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,(K)
yet we considered him punished by God,(L)
    stricken by him, and afflicted.(M)
But he was pierced(N) for our transgressions,(O)
    he was crushed(P) for our iniquities;
the punishment(Q) that brought us peace(R) was on him,
    and by his wounds(S) we are healed.(T)
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(U)
    each of us has turned to our own way;(V)
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity(W) of us all.

He was oppressed(X) and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;(Y)
he was led like a lamb(Z) to the slaughter,(AA)
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression[a] and judgment(AB) he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(AC)
    for the transgression(AD) of my people he was punished.[b]
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(AE)
    and with the rich(AF) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(AG)
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.(AH)

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(AI) to crush(AJ) him and cause him to suffer,(AK)
    and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,(AL)
he will see his offspring(AM) and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper(AN) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(AO)
    he will see the light(AP) of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant(AQ) will justify(AR) many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.(AS)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g](AT)
    and he will divide the spoils(AU) with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,(AV)
    and was numbered with the transgressors.(AW)
For he bore(AX) the sin of many,(AY)
    and made intercession(AZ) for the transgressors.

The Future Glory of Zion

54 “Sing, barren woman,(BA)
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(BB)
    you who were never in labor;(BC)
because more are the children(BD) of the desolate(BE) woman
    than of her who has a husband,(BF)
says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,(BG)
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.(BH)
For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants(BI) will dispossess nations(BJ)
    and settle in their desolate(BK) cities.

“Do not be afraid;(BL) you will not be put to shame.(BM)
    Do not fear disgrace;(BN) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(BO)
    and remember no more the reproach(BP) of your widowhood.(BQ)
For your Maker(BR) is your husband(BS)
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(BT) of Israel is your Redeemer;(BU)
    he is called the God of all the earth.(BV)
The Lord will call you back(BW)
    as if you were a wife deserted(BX) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(BY)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment(BZ) I abandoned(CA) you,
    but with deep compassion(CB) I will bring you back.(CC)
In a surge of anger(CD)
    I hid(CE) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(CF)
    I will have compassion(CG) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.(CH)

“To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(CI)
So now I have sworn(CJ) not to be angry(CK) with you,
    never to rebuke(CL) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(CM)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(CN) for you will not be shaken(CO)
    nor my covenant(CP) of peace(CQ) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion(CR) on you.

11 “Afflicted(CS) city, lashed by storms(CT) and not comforted,(CU)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[i](CV)
    your foundations(CW) with lapis lazuli.(CX)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates(CY) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(CZ)
    and great will be their peace.(DA)
14 In righteousness(DB) you will be established:(DC)
Tyranny(DD) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.(DE)
Terror(DF) 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(DG) to you.

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

Invitation to the Thirsty

55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,(DO)
    come to the waters;(DP)
and you who have no money,
    come, buy(DQ) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk(DR)
    without money and without cost.(DS)
Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?(DT)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(DU)
    and you will delight in the richest(DV) of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
    listen,(DW) that you may live.(DX)
I will make an everlasting covenant(DY) with you,
    my faithful love(DZ) promised to David.(EA)
See, I have made him a witness(EB) to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander(EC) of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations(ED) you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,(EE)
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One(EF) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”(EG)

Seek(EH) the Lord while he may be found;(EI)
    call(EJ) on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake(EK) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.(EL)
Let them turn(EM) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(EN) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(EO)

“For my thoughts(EP) are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”(EQ)
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,(ER)
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.(ES)
10 As the rain(ET) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(EU)
    so that it yields seed(EV) for the sower and bread for the eater,(EW)
11 so is my word(EX) that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,(EY)
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose(EZ) for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy(FA)
    and be led forth in peace;(FB)
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song(FC) before you,
and all the trees(FD) of the field
    will clap their hands.(FE)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers(FF) the myrtle(FG) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,(FH)
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

Salvation for Others

56 This is what the Lord says:

“Maintain justice(FI)
    and do what is right,(FJ)
for my salvation(FK) is close at hand
    and my righteousness(FL) will soon be revealed.
Blessed(FM) is the one who does this—
    the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath(FN) without desecrating it,
    and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

Let no foreigner(FO) who is bound to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”(FP)
And let no eunuch(FQ) complain,
    “I am only a dry tree.”

For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs(FR) who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant(FS)
to them I will give within my temple and its walls(FT)
    a memorial(FU) and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name(FV)
    that will endure forever.(FW)
And foreigners(FX) who bind themselves to the Lord
    to minister(FY) to him,
to love the name(FZ) of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath(GA) without desecrating it
    and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain(GB)
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices(GC)
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations.(GD)(GE)
The Sovereign Lord declares—
    he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather(GF) still others to them
    besides those already gathered.”

God’s Accusation Against the Wicked

Come, all you beasts of the field,(GG)
    come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10 Israel’s watchmen(GH) are blind,
    they all lack knowledge;(GI)
they are all mute dogs,
    they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
    they love to sleep.(GJ)
11 They are dogs with mighty appetites;
    they never have enough.
They are shepherds(GK) who lack understanding;(GL)
    they all turn to their own way,(GM)
    they seek their own gain.(GN)
12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!(GO)
    Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
    or even far better.”(GP)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
  2. 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?
  3. Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
  4. Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
  5. Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
  6. Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
  7. Isaiah 53:12 Or many
  8. Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
  9. Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul 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 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

55 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

56 Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.

For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.

10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.

False Teachers and Their Destruction

But there were also false prophets(A) among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.(B) They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord(C) who bought them(D)—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct(E) and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed(F) these teachers will exploit you(G) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned,(H) but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment;(I) if he did not spare the ancient world(J) when he brought the flood on its ungodly people,(K) but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;(L) if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes,(M) and made them an example(N) of what is going to happen to the ungodly;(O) and if he rescued Lot,(P) a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless(Q) (for that righteous man,(R) living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials(S) and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.(T) 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire(U) of the flesh[c] and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;(V) 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from[d] the Lord.(W) 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.(X)

13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.(Y) They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[e](Z) 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce(AA) the unstable;(AB) they are experts in greed(AC)—an accursed brood!(AD) 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam(AE) son of Bezer,[f] who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.(AF)

17 These people are springs without water(AG) and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.(AH) 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words(AI) and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping(AJ) from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.”(AK) 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing(AL) our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ(AM) and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.(AN) 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.(AO) 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”[g](AP) and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
  2. 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons
  3. 2 Peter 2:10 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 18.
  4. 2 Peter 2:11 Many manuscripts beings in the presence of
  5. 2 Peter 2:13 Some manuscripts in their love feasts
  6. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor
  7. 2 Peter 2:22 Prov. 26:11

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.