Isaiah 61-63

Common English Bible

⁵ Foreigners will stay and shepherd your sheep,
    and strangers will be your farmers and vinedressers.
⁶ You will be called The Priests of the Lord;
    Ministers of Our God, they will say about you.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and fatten^[a] yourself on their riches.
⁷ Instead of shame, their^[b] portion will be double;
    instead of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share.
They will possess a double portion in their land;
    everlasting joy will be theirs.
⁸ I, the Lord, love justice;
    I hate robbery and dishonesty.^[c]
I will faithfully give them their wage,
    and make with them an enduring covenant.
⁹ Their offspring will be known among the nations,
    and their descendants among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
    that they are a people blessed by the Lord.

¹⁰ I surely rejoice in the Lord;
    my heart is joyful because of my God,
    because he has clothed me with clothes of victory,
    wrapped me in a robe of righteousness
    like a bridegroom in a priestly crown,
    and like a bride adorned in jewelry.
¹¹ As the earth puts out its growth,
    and as a garden grows its seeds,
    so the Lord God will grow righteousness and praise before all the nations.

⁶ Upon your walls, Jerusalem,
    I have appointed sentinels.
Continually, all day and all night,
    they won’t keep silent.
You who call on the Lord, don’t rest,
⁷     and don’t allow God to rest
    until he establishes Jerusalem,
    and makes it the praise of the earth.
⁸ The Lord has promised
    with raised hand and strong arm:
    I will never again give your grain
    as food for your enemies.
    Foreigners won’t drink your wine
    for which you labored.
⁹ Those who harvest will eat it
    and will praise the Lord;
    those who gather will drink it
    in my holy courtyards.

¹⁰ Pass through, pass through the gates;
    prepare the way for the people!
Build, build the road;
    clear away the stones!
    Raise up a signal for the peoples.
¹¹ This is what the Lord announced
    to the earth’s distant regions:
Say to Daughter Zion, “Look! Your deliverer arrives,
    bringing reward and payment!”
¹² They will be called The Holy People,
    Redeemed By the Lord.
And you will be called Sought After—
    A City That Is Not Abandoned.

¹¹ Then they remembered earlier times,
    when he rescued his people.^[e]
Where was the one who drew them up from the sea,
    the shepherd^[f] of the flock?
Where was the one who put within them his holy spirit;
¹²     the one who guided Moses’ strong hand
    with his glorious arm;
    who split the water for them
    to create an enduring reputation for himself,
¹³     and who guided them through the depths?
    Like a horse in the desert, they didn’t stumble.
¹⁴ Like cattle descending to the valley,
    the Lord’s spirit brought them to rest.
In this way you led your people
    and made for yourself a glorious reputation.

¹⁵ Look down from heaven and see,
    from your holy and glorious perch.
Where are your energy and your might,
    your concern and your pity?
    Don’t hold back!^[g]
16 You are surely our father,
    even though Abraham doesn’t know us,
    and Israel doesn’t recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
    your reputation since long ago is that of our redeemer.
¹⁷ Why do you lead us astray, Lord,
    from your ways?
Why do you harden our heart
    so we don’t fear you?
Return for the sake of your servants
    the tribes that are your heritage!
¹⁸ Why did the wicked bring down your holy place?^[h]
    Why did our enemies trample your sanctuary?
¹⁹ For too long we have been like those you don’t rule,
    like those not known by your name.