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.

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

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