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Isaiah 43:1-56:2
English Standard Version
Isaiah 43:1-56:2
English Standard Version
Israel's Only Savior
43 But now thus says the Lord,
(A)he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
(B)“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
(C)I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 (D)When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
(E)when you walk through fire (F)you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For (G)I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
(H)I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and (I)Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5 (J)Fear not, for I am with you;
(K)I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring (L)my sons from afar
and (M)my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
8 Bring out (N)the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
9 (O)All the nations gather together,
and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
and let them hear and say, It is true.
10 (P)“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and (Q)my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
(R)Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
11 (S)I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and (T)you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.
13 Also (U)henceforth I am he;
there is none who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can turn it back?”
14 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
(V)“For your sake I send to Babylon
and (W)bring them all down as fugitives,
(X)even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.”
16 Thus says the Lord,
(Y)who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17 who (Z)brings forth chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
(AA)they are extinguished, (AB)quenched like a wick:
18 (AC)“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
19 (AD)Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
(AE)I will make a way in the wilderness
(AF)and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild beasts will honor me,
(AG)the jackals and the ostriches,
(AH)for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
(AI)that they might declare my praise.
22 “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but (AJ)you have been weary of me, O Israel!
23 (AK)You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
(AL)or wearied you with frankincense.
24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25 “I, I am he
(AM)who blots out (AN)your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
26 Put me in remembrance; (AO)let us argue together;
set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
27 (AP)Your first father sinned,
and (AQ)your mediators transgressed against me.
28 Therefore (AR)I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
and (AS)deliver Jacob to utter destruction
and Israel to reviling.
Israel the Lord's Chosen
44 “But now hear, (AT)O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
2 Thus says the Lord who made you,
(AU)who formed you from the womb and will help you:
(AV)Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
(AW)Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 (AX)For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They shall spring up among the grass
(AY)like willows by flowing streams.
5 (AZ)This one will say, ‘I am the Lord's,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord's,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”
Besides Me There Is No God
6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and (BA)his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
(BB)“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7 (BC)Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.[a]
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
8 Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
(BD)And you are my witnesses!
(BE)Is there a God besides me?
There is no (BF)Rock; I know not any.”
The Folly of Idolatry
9 (BG)All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 (BH)Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 (BI)Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
12 (BJ)The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.[b] He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. (BK)He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 (BL)He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. (BM)He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an (BN)abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 (BO)He feeds on (BP)ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not (BQ)a lie in my right hand?”
The Lord Redeems Israel
21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are (BR)my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
(BS)O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 (BT)I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 (BU)Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O (BV)depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
(BW)and will be glorified[c] in Israel.
24 Thus says the Lord, (BX)your Redeemer,
(BY)who formed you from the womb:
(BZ)“I am the Lord, who made all things,
(CA)who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
(CB)who turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 (CC)who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
(CD)and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 (CE)who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
28 who says of (CF)Cyrus, ‘He is (CG)my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
(CH)and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
Cyrus, God's Instrument
45 Thus says the Lord to (CI)his anointed, to Cyrus,
(CJ)whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and (CK)to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and (CL)level the exalted places,[d]
(CM)I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 (CN)I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, (CO)who call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
(CP)I call you by your name,
(CQ)I name you, though you do not know me.
5 (CR)I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
(CS)I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 (CT)that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and (CU)create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 (CV)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and (CW)let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 (CX)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
(CY)Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says (CZ)the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
(DA)“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me (DB)concerning my children and (DC)the work of my hands?[e]
12 (DD)I made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands (DE)that stretched out the heavens,
and (DF)I commanded all their host.
13 (DG)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
(DH)and I will make all his ways level;
(DI)he shall build my city
(DJ)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord, the Only Savior
14 Thus says the Lord:
(DK)“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you (DL)and be yours;
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
15 (DM)Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 (DN)All of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
(DO)you shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 (DP)For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he (DQ)did not create it empty,
(DR)he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 (DS)I did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
(DT)‘Seek me in vain.’[f]
I the Lord speak (DU)the truth;
I declare what is right.
20 (DV)“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
(DW)They have no knowledge
who (DX)carry about their wooden idols,
(DY)and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 (DZ)Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God (EA)and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
(EB)all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (EC)By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in (ED)righteousness
a word that shall not return:
(EE)‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’[g]
24 (EF)“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and (EG)strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
(EH)all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”
The Idols of Babylon and the One True God
46 (EI)Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but (EJ)themselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
(EK)who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 (EL)even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 (EM)“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 (EN)Those who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
(EO)then they fall down and worship!
7 (EP)They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
(EQ)it cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, (ER)you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 (ES)declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, (ET)‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 (EU)calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
(EV)I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 (EW)I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
(EX)I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”
The Humiliation of Babylon
47 (EY)Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin (EZ)daughter of Babylon;
(FA)sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of (FB)the Chaldeans!
(FC)For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones and (FD)grind flour,
(FE)put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your disgrace shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no one.
4 (FF)Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 (FG)Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of (FH)the Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
(FI)the mistress of kingdoms.
6 (FJ)I was angry with my people;
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
(FK)you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
7 You said, “I shall be (FL)mistress forever,”
so that you did not lay these things to heart
or remember their end.
8 Now therefore hear this, (FM)you lover of pleasures,
(FN)who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
(FO)“I am, and there is no one besides me;
(FP)I shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children”:
9 (FQ)These two things shall come to you
in a moment, (FR)in one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
(FS)in spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your enchantments.
10 You felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
(FT)“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
11 But evil shall come upon you,
which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
for which you will not be able to atone;
(FU)and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
12 (FV)Stand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
perhaps you may inspire terror.
13 You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
(FW)those who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, (FX)they are like stubble;
(FY)the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
15 Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have done business with you from your youth;
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.
Israel Refined for God's Glory
48 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
(FZ)who are called by the name of Israel,
and (GA)who came from the waters of Judah,
(GB)who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
(GC)and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 “The former things (GD)I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4 Because I know that (GE)you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
5 (GF)I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, (GG)‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
6 “You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth (GH)I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that (GI)from before birth you were called a rebel.
9 (GJ)“For my name's sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, (GK)but not as silver;
(GL)I have tried[h] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 (GM)For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name[i] be profaned?
(GN)My glory I will not give to another.
The Lord's Call to Israel
12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; (GO)I am the first,
and I am the last.
13 My hand (GP)laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand (GQ)spread out the heavens;
(GR)when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!
(GS)Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
(GT)he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against (GU)the Chaldeans.
15 (GV)I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 (GW)Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now (GX)the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 (GY)Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
(GZ)Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 (HA)your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
20 (HB)Go out from Babylon, flee from (HC)Chaldea,
declare this (HD)with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, (HE)“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 (HF)They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
(HG)he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 (HH)“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen to me, (HI)O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples (HJ)from afar.
(HK)The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 (HL)He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
(HM)in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, (HN)in whom I will be glorified.”[j]
4 (HO)But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
5 (HP)And now the Lord says,
he (HQ)who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for (HR)I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
(HS)I will make you (HT)as a light for the nations,
that (HU)my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord,
(HV)the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
(HW)to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
(HX)“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
The Restoration of Israel
8 Thus says the Lord:
(HY)“In a (HZ)time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you (IA)and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
(IB)to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 (IC)saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
(ID)They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 (IE)they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them (IF)will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 (IG)And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 (IH)Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, (II)these from the north and from the west,[k]
and these from the land of Syene.”[l]
13 (IJ)Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord (IK)has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, (IL)“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 (IM)“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, (IN)I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders make haste;[m]
(IO)your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 (IP)Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
(IQ)As I live, declares the Lord,
(IR)you shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
19 “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
(IS)surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 (IT)The children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
(IU)‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
21 Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
(IV)I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
from where have these come?’”
22 Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
(IW)and raise my signal to the peoples;
(IX)and they shall bring your sons in their arms,[n]
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 (IY)Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
(IZ)With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and (JA)lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
(JB)those who wait for me (JC)shall not be put to shame.”
24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant[o] be rescued?
25 For thus says the Lord:
(JD)“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
26 (JE)I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk (JF)with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that (JG)I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
50 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is (JH)your mother's certificate of divorce,
with which (JI)I sent her away?
Or (JJ)which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
(JK)Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 (JL)Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
(JM)Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
(JN)Behold, by my rebuke (JO)I dry up the sea,
(JP)I make the rivers a desert;
(JQ)their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 (JR)I clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering.”
4 The Lord God has given (JS)me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that (JT)I may know how to sustain with a word
(JU)him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 (JV)The Lord God has opened my ear,
(JW)and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 (JX)I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
(JY)therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 (JZ)He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 (KA)Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys (KB)the voice of his servant?
(KC)Let him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
(KD)This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
The Lord's Comfort for Zion
51 (KE)“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for (KF)he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the Lord (KG)comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like (KH)Eden,
her desert like (KI)the garden of the Lord;
(KJ)joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 (KK)“Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
(KL)for a law[p] will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 (KM)My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
(KN)the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 (KO)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
(KP)for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;[q]
(KQ)but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
7 (KR)“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people (KS)in whose heart is my law;
(KT)fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 (KU)For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool,
(KV)but my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.”
9 (KW)Awake, awake, (KX)put on strength,
O (KY)arm of the Lord;
awake, (KZ)as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut (LA)Rahab in pieces,
who pierced (LB)the dragon?
10 (LC)Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?
11 (LD)And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, I am he (LE)who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of (LF)man who dies,
of the son of man who is made (LG)like grass,
13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
(LH)who stretched out the heavens
and (LI)laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of (LJ)the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of (LK)the oppressor?
14 (LL)He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down (LM)to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the Lord your God,
(LN)who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 (LO)And I have put my words in your mouth
(LP)and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
(LQ)establishing[r] the heavens
and (LR)laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
17 (LS)Wake yourself, wake yourself,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
(LT)you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl, (LU)the cup of staggering.
18 (LV)There is none to guide her
among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
among all the sons she has brought up.
19 (LW)These two things have happened to you—
who will console you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
who will comfort you?[s]
20 (LX)Your sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an (LY)antelope (LZ)in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.
21 (MA)Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
your God (MB)who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand (MC)the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
23 (MD)and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
(ME)who have said to you,
‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and (MF)you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to pass over.”
The Lord's Coming Salvation
52 (MG)Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
(MH)put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, (MI)the holy city;
(MJ)for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 (MK)Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
(ML)loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord: (MM)“You were sold for nothing, and (MN)you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord God: (MO)“My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.[t] 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and (MP)continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. (MQ)Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”
7 (MR)How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, (MS)who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 The voice of (MT)your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
(MU)for eye to eye they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 (MV)Break forth together into singing,
(MW)you waste places of Jerusalem,
for (MX)the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 (MY)The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
(MZ)and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
11 (NA)Depart, depart, go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
(NB)you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you shall not (NC)go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
(ND)for the Lord will go before you,
(NE)and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions
13 Behold, (NF)my servant shall act wisely;[u]
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
(NG)his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so (NH)shall he sprinkle[v] many nations.
(NI)Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
(NJ)for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
53 (NK)Who has believed what he has heard from us?[w]
And to whom has (NL)the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
(NM)and like a root out of dry ground;
(NN)he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 (NO)He was despised and rejected[x] by men,
a man of sorrows[y] and acquainted with[z] grief;[aa]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[ab]
he was despised, and (NP)we esteemed him not.
4 (NQ)Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
(NR)smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 (NS)But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
(NT)and with his wounds we are healed.
6 (NU)All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
(NV)and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
(NW)yet he opened not his mouth;
(NX)like a (NY)lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, (NZ)who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
(OA)and with a rich man in his death,
although (OB)he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet (OC)it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;[ac]
(OD)when his soul makes[ad] an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
(OE)the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see[ae] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall (OF)the righteous one, my servant,
(OG)make many to be accounted righteous,
(OH)and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 (OI)Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[af]
(OJ)and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[ag]
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
(OK)yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The Eternal Covenant of Peace
54 (OL)“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of (OM)the desolate one (ON)will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 (OO)“Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 (OP)For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, (OQ)for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 (OR)For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
(OS)and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
(OT)the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 (OU)For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 (OV)For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 (OW)In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
(OX)but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “This is like (OY)the days of Noah[ah] to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and (OZ)my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
11 (PA)“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, (PB)I will set your stones in antimony,
(PC)and lay your foundations with sapphires.[ai]
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,[aj]
your gates of carbuncles,[ak]
and all your wall of precious stones.
13 (PD)All your children (PE)shall be taught by the Lord,
(PF)and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 (PG)If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
(PH)and their vindication[al] from me, declares the Lord.”
The Compassion of the Lord
55 (PI)“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
(PJ)come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 (PK)Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
(PL)hear, that your soul may live;
(PM)and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
(PN)my steadfast, sure love for (PO)David.
4 (PP)Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
(PQ)a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 (PR)Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and (PS)a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
(PT)for he has glorified you.
6 (PU)“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 (PV)For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 (PW)“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
(PX)giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but (PY)it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 (PZ)“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
(QA)the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (QB)Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Salvation for Foreigners
56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
(QC)for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
(QD)who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:7 Or Who like me can proclaim it?
- Isaiah 44:13 Hebrew stylus
- Isaiah 44:23 Or will display his beauty
- Isaiah 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains
- Isaiah 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?
- Isaiah 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
- Isaiah 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God
- Isaiah 48:10 Or I have chosen
- Isaiah 48:11 Hebrew lacks my name
- Isaiah 49:3 Or I will display my beauty
- Isaiah 49:12 Hebrew from the sea
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim
- Isaiah 49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste
- Isaiah 49:22 Hebrew in their bosom
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man
- Isaiah 51:4 Or for teaching; also verse 7
- Isaiah 51:6 Or will die like gnats
- Isaiah 51:16 Or planting
- Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text how shall I comfort you
- Isaiah 52:4 Or the Assyrian has oppressed them of late
- Isaiah 52:13 Or shall prosper
- Isaiah 52:15 Or startle
- Isaiah 53:1 Or Who has believed what we have heard?
- Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
- Isaiah 53:3 Or pains; also verse 4
- Isaiah 53:3 Or and knowing
- Isaiah 53:3 Or sickness; also verse 4
- Isaiah 53:3 Or as one who hides his face from us
- Isaiah 53:10 Or he has made him sick
- Isaiah 53:10 Or when you make his soul
- Isaiah 53:11 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll he shall see light
- Isaiah 53:12 Or with the great
- Isaiah 53:12 Or with the numerous
- Isaiah 54:9 Some manuscripts For this is as the waters of Noah
- Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
- Isaiah 54:12 Or jasper, or ruby
- Isaiah 54:12 Or crystal
- Isaiah 54:17 Or righteousness
Isaiah 43:1-56:2
New International Version
Isaiah 43:1-56:2
New International Version
Israel’s Only Savior
43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created(A) you, Jacob,
he who formed(B) you, Israel:(C)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed(D) you;
I have summoned you by name;(E) you are mine.(F)
2 When you pass through the waters,(G)
I will be with you;(H)
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,(I)
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.(J)
3 For I am the Lord your God,(K)
the Holy One(L) of Israel, your Savior;(M)
I give Egypt(N) for your ransom,
Cush[a](O) and Seba(P) in your stead.(Q)
4 Since you are precious and honored(R) in my sight,
and because I love(S) you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid,(T) for I am with you;(U)
I will bring your children(V) from the east
and gather(W) you from the west.(X)
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south,(Y) ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters(Z) from the ends of the earth(AA)—
7 everyone who is called by my name,(AB)
whom I created(AC) for my glory,(AD)
whom I formed and made.(AE)”
8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,(AF)
who have ears but are deaf.(AG)
9 All the nations gather together(AH)
and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold(AI) this
and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,(AJ)” declares the Lord,
“and my servant(AK) whom I have chosen,
so that you may know(AL) and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god(AM) was formed,
nor will there be one after me.(AN)
11 I, even I, am the Lord,(AO)
and apart from me there is no savior.(AP)
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god(AQ) among you.
You are my witnesses,(AR)” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days(AS) I am he.(AT)
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”(AU)
God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness
14 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(AV) the Holy One(AW) of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives(AX) all the Babylonians,[b](AY)
in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord,(AZ) your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator,(BA) your King.(BB)”
16 This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,(BC)
17 who drew out(BD) the chariots and horses,(BE)
the army and reinforcements together,(BF)
and they lay(BG) there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:(BH)
18 “Forget the former things;(BI)
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!(BJ)
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness(BK)
and streams in the wasteland.(BL)
20 The wild animals(BM) honor me,
the jackals(BN) and the owls,
because I provide water(BO) in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed(BP) for myself(BQ)
that they may proclaim my praise.(BR)
22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
you have not wearied(BS) yourselves for[c] me, Israel.(BT)
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,(BU)
nor honored(BV) me with your sacrifices.(BW)
I have not burdened(BX) you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands(BY) for incense.(BZ)
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus(CA) for me,
or lavished on me the fat(CB) of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied(CC) me with your offenses.(CD)
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions,(CE) for my own sake,(CF)
and remembers your sins(CG) no more.(CH)
26 Review the past for me,
let us argue the matter together;(CI)
state the case(CJ) for your innocence.
27 Your first father(CK) sinned;
those I sent to teach(CL) you rebelled(CM) against me.
28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
I consigned Jacob to destruction[d](CN)
and Israel to scorn.(CO)
Israel the Chosen
44 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant,(CP)
Israel, whom I have chosen.(CQ)
2 This is what the Lord says—
he who made(CR) you, who formed you in the womb,(CS)
and who will help(CT) you:
Do not be afraid,(CU) Jacob, my servant,(CV)
Jeshurun,[e](CW) whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water(CX) on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;(CY)
I will pour out my Spirit(CZ) on your offspring,
and my blessing(DA) on your descendants.(DB)
4 They will spring up like grass(DC) in a meadow,
like poplar trees(DD) by flowing streams.(DE)
5 Some will say, ‘I belong(DF) to the Lord’;
others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;
still others will write on their hand,(DG) ‘The Lord’s,’(DH)
and will take the name Israel.
The Lord, Not Idols
6 “This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King(DI) and Redeemer,(DJ) the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;(DK)
apart from me there is no God.(DL)
7 Who then is like me?(DM) Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let them foretell(DN) what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim(DO) this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God(DP) besides me?
No, there is no other Rock;(DQ) I know not one.”
9 All who make idols(DR) are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.(DS)
Those who would speak up for them are blind;(DT)
they are ignorant, to their own shame.(DU)
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,(DV)
which can profit nothing?(DW)
11 People who do that will be put to shame;(DX)
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.(DY)
12 The blacksmith(DZ) takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.(EA)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.(EB)
13 The carpenter(EC) measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,(ED)
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.(EE)
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine,(EF) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(EG) for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships(EH) it;
he makes an idol and bows(EI) down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.(EJ)”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.(EK)
He prays(EL) to it and says,
“Save(EM) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(EN) nothing;
their eyes(EO) are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding(EP) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(EQ)
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(ER) thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(ES)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(ET) a deluded(EU) heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(EV)”
21 “Remember(EW) these things, Jacob,
for you, Israel, are my servant.(EX)
I have made you, you are my servant;(EY)
Israel, I will not forget you.(EZ)
22 I have swept away(FA) your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return(FB) to me,
for I have redeemed(FC) you.”
23 Sing for joy,(FD) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, you earth(FE) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,(FF)
you forests and all your trees,(FG)
for the Lord has redeemed(FH) Jacob,
he displays his glory(FI) in Israel.
Jerusalem to Be Inhabited
I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,(FM)
who spreads out the earth(FN) by myself,
25 who foils(FO) the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,(FP)
who overthrows the learning of the wise(FQ)
and turns it into nonsense,(FR)
26 who carries out the words(FS) of his servants
and fulfills(FT) the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem,(FU) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
and of their ruins,(FV) ‘I will restore them,’(FW)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
and I will dry up(FX) your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus,(FY) ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,(FZ) “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple,(GA) “Let its foundations(GB) be laid.”’
45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(GC)
to Cyrus,(GD) whose right hand I take hold(GE) of
to subdue nations(GF) before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you(GG)
and will level(GH) the mountains[f];
I will break down gates(GI) of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.(GJ)
3 I will give you hidden treasures,(GK)
riches stored in secret places,(GL)
so that you may know(GM) that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(GN)
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,(GO)
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge(GP) me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;(GQ)
apart from me there is no God.(GR)
I will strengthen you,(GS)
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting(GT)
people may know(GU) there is none besides me.(GV)
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,(GW)
I bring prosperity and create disaster;(GX)
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain(GY) down my righteousness;(GZ)
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation(HA) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to those who quarrel(HB) with their Maker,(HC)
those who are nothing but potsherds(HD)
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(HE)
‘What are you making?’(HF)
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?(HG)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’
11 “This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One(HH) of Israel, and its Maker:(HI)
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?(HJ)
12 It is I who made the earth(HK)
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(HL)
I marshaled their starry hosts.(HM)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[g](HN) in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.(HO)
He will rebuild my city(HP)
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(HQ)
says the Lord Almighty.”
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products(HR) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[h]
and those tall Sabeans(HS)—
they will come over to you(HT)
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(HU)
coming over to you in chains.(HV)
They will bow down before you
and plead(HW) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(HX) and there is no other;
there is no other god.(HY)’”
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(HZ) himself,
the God and Savior(IA) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(IB)
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(IC) by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;(ID)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(IE)
to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,(IF)
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(IG)
but formed it to be inhabited(IH)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.(II)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(IJ)
from somewhere in a land of darkness;(IK)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(IL)
‘Seek(IM) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.(IN)
20 “Gather together(IO) and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(IP) are those who carry(IQ) about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.(IR)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(IS) this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?(IT)
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,(IU)
a righteous God(IV) and a Savior;(IW)
there is none but me.
22 “Turn(IX) to me and be saved,(IY)
all you ends of the earth;(IZ)
for I am God, and there is no other.(JA)
23 By myself I have sworn,(JB)
my mouth has uttered in all integrity(JC)
a word that will not be revoked:(JD)
Before me every knee will bow;(JE)
by me every tongue will swear.(JF)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance(JG) and strength.(JH)’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.(JI)
25 But all the descendants(JJ) of Israel
will find deliverance(JK) in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.(JL)
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(JM) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(JN) are borne by beasts of burden.[i]
The images that are carried(JO) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(JP)
3 “Listen(JQ) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(JR) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(JS)
and have carried(JT) since you were born.(JU)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(JV)
I am he,(JW) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(JX) you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?(JY)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(JZ) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(KA)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(KB) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(KC)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(KD)
it cannot save(KE) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(KF) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(KG)
9 Remember the former things,(KH) those of long ago;(KI)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(KJ)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(KK)
from ancient times,(KL) what is still to come.(KM)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(KN)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(KO) a bird of prey;(KP)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(KQ) that I will do.(KR)
12 Listen(KS) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(KT)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(KU)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(KV) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(KW) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(KX)
my splendor(KY) to Israel.
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(KZ)
Virgin Daughter(LA) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.[j](LB)
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.(LC)
2 Take millstones(LD) and grind(LE) flour;
take off your veil.(LF)
Lift up your skirts,(LG) bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness(LH) will be exposed
and your shame(LI) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(LJ)
I will spare no one.(LK)”
5 “Sit in silence,(LP) go into darkness,(LQ)
queen city of the Babylonians;(LR)
no more will you be called
queen(LS) of kingdoms.(LT)
6 I was angry(LU) with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;(LV)
I gave them into your hand,(LW)
and you showed them no mercy.(LX)
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forever(LY)—
the eternal queen!’(LZ)
But you did not consider these things
or reflect(MA) on what might happen.(MB)
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
lounging in your security(MC)
and saying to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.(MD)
I will never be a widow(ME)
or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
in a moment,(MF) on a single day:
loss of children(MG) and widowhood.(MH)
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries(MI)
and all your potent spells.(MJ)
10 You have trusted(MK) in your wickedness
and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(ML)
Your wisdom(MM) and knowledge mislead(MN) you
when you say to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(MO) will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenly(MP) come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,(MQ)
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(MR)
Let your astrologers(MS) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save(MT) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(MU)
the fire(MV) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.(MW)
These are not coals for warmth;
this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
these you have dealt with
and labored(MX) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
there is not one that can save(MY) you.
Stubborn Israel
48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel(MZ)
and come from the line of Judah,(NA)
you who take oaths(NB) in the name of the Lord(NC)
and invoke(ND) the God of Israel—
but not in truth(NE) or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(NF)
and claim to rely(NG) on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:(NH)
3 I foretold the former things(NI) long ago,
my mouth announced(NJ) them and I made them known;
then suddenly(NK) I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn(NL) you were;
your neck muscles(NM) were iron,
your forehead(NN) was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced(NO) them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;(NP)
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,(NQ)
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created(NR) now, and not long ago;(NS)
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew(NT) of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;(NU)
from of old your ears(NV) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(NW) you are;
you were called a rebel(NX) from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake(NY) I delay my wrath;(NZ)
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.(OA)
10 See, I have refined(OB) you, though not as silver;
I have tested(OC) you in the furnace(OD) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(OE) for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?(OF)
I will not yield my glory to another.(OG)
Israel Freed
12 “Listen(OH) to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:(OI)
I am he;(OJ)
I am the first and I am the last.(OK)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(OL)
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(OM)
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.(ON)
14 “Come together,(OO) all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold(OP) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(OQ)
will carry out his purpose(OR) against Babylon;(OS)
his arm will be against the Babylonians.[k]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called(OT) him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed(OU) in his mission.
16 “Come near(OV) me and listen(OW) to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(OX)
at the time it happens, I am there.”
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(PB) the Holy One(PC) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(PD) you what is best for you,
who directs(PE) you in the way(PF) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(PG) to my commands,
your peace(PH) would have been like a river,(PI)
your well-being(PJ) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(PK) would have been like the sand,(PL)
your children like its numberless grains;(PM)
their name would never be blotted out(PN)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(PO) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(PP)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(PQ)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(PR) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(PS) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(PT) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(PU)
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen(PX) to me, you islands;(PY)
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(PZ) the Lord called(QA) me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(QB)
2 He made my mouth(QC) like a sharpened sword,(QD)
in the shadow of his hand(QE) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(QF)
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,(QG)
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(QH)”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;(QI)
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(QJ)
and my reward(QK) is with my God.”(QL)
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb(QM) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel(QN) to himself,
for I am[l] honored(QO) in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength(QP)—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(QQ)
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(QR)
I will also make you a light(QS) for the Gentiles,(QT)
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(QU)
7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(QV)—
to him who was despised(QW) and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(QX) will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,(QY)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(QZ)
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(RA) you.”
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favor(RB) I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;(RC)
I will keep(RD) you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,(RE)
to restore the land(RF)
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(RG)
9 to say to the captives,(RH) ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness,(RI) ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.(RJ)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(RK)
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(RL)
He who has compassion(RM) on them will guide(RN) them
and lead them beside springs(RO) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways(RP) will be raised up.(RQ)
12 See, they will come from afar(RR)—
some from the north, some from the west,(RS)
some from the region of Aswan.[m]”
13 Shout for joy,(RT) you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;(RU)
burst into song, you mountains!(RV)
For the Lord comforts(RW) his people
and will have compassion(RX) on his afflicted ones.(RY)
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child(SB) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!(SC)
16 See, I have engraved(SD) you on the palms of my hands;
your walls(SE) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste(SF) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather(SG) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(SH)” declares the Lord,
“you will wear(SI) them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(SJ)
and your land laid waste,(SK)
now you will be too small for your people,(SL)
and those who devoured(SM) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’(SN)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?(SO)
I was bereaved(SP) and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.(SQ)
Who brought these(SR) up?
I was left(SS) all alone,(ST)
but these—where have they come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(SU) says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations,
I will lift up my banner(SV) to the peoples;
they will bring(SW) your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their hips.(SX)
23 Kings(SY) will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.(SZ)
They will bow down(TA) before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust(TB) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(TC)
those who hope(TD) in me will not be disappointed.(TE)”
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives(TG) will be taken from warriors,(TH)
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(TI)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(TJ)
and your children I will save.(TK)
26 I will make your oppressors(TL) eat(TM) their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood,(TN) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(TO)
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(TP)
your Redeemer,(TQ) the Mighty One of Jacob.(TR)”
Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(TS)
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
did I sell(TT) you?
Because of your sins(TU) you were sold;(TV)
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?(TW)
Was my arm too short(TX) to deliver you?
Do I lack the strength(TY) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(TZ) I dry up the sea,(UA)
I turn rivers into a desert;(UB)
their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness(UC)
and make sackcloth(UD) its covering.”
4 The Sovereign Lord(UE) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(UF)
to know the word that sustains the weary.(UG)
He wakens me morning by morning,(UH)
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(UI)
5 The Sovereign Lord(UJ) has opened my ears;(UK)
I have not been rebellious,(UL)
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat(UM) me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(UN)
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.(UO)
7 Because the Sovereign Lord(UP) helps(UQ) me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(UR)
and I know I will not be put to shame.(US)
8 He who vindicates(UT) me is near.(UU)
Who then will bring charges against me?(UV)
Let us face each other!(UW)
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord(UX) who helps(UY) me.
Who will condemn(UZ) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths(VA) will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears(VB) the Lord
and obeys(VC) the word of his servant?(VD)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,(VE)
trust(VF) in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(VG)
go, walk in the light of your fires(VH)
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(VI)
You will lie down in torment.(VJ)
Everlasting Salvation for Zion
51 “Listen(VK) to me, you who pursue righteousness(VL)
and who seek(VM) the Lord:
Look to the rock(VN) from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham,(VO) your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.(VP)
3 The Lord will surely comfort(VQ) Zion(VR)
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(VS)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(VT)
her wastelands(VU) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(VV) will be found in her,
thanksgiving(VW) and the sound of singing.
4 “Listen to me, my people;(VX)
hear me,(VY) my nation:
Instruction(VZ) will go out from me;
my justice(WA) will become a light to the nations.(WB)
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation(WC) is on the way,(WD)
and my arm(WE) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(WF) will look to me
and wait in hope(WG) for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(WH)
the earth will wear out like a garment(WI)
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(WJ) will last forever,(WK)
my righteousness will never fail.(WL)
7 “Hear me, you who know what is right,(WM)
you people who have taken my instruction to heart:(WN)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
or be terrified by their insults.(WO)
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;(WP)
the worm(WQ) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,(WR)
my salvation through all generations.”
9 Awake, awake,(WS) arm(WT) of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!(WU)
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.(WV)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(WW) to pieces,
who pierced that monster(WX) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(WY)
the waters of the great deep,(WZ)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(XA)
so that the redeemed(XB) might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued(XC) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(XD)
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(XE) will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(XF)
12 “I, even I, am he who comforts(XG) you.
Who are you that you fear(XH) mere mortals,(XI)
human beings who are but grass,(XJ)
13 that you forget(XK) the Lord your Maker,(XL)
who stretches out the heavens(XM)
and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror(XN) every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?(XO)
14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;(XP)
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.(XQ)
15 For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea(XR) so that its waves roar(XS)—
the Lord Almighty(XT) is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth(XU)
and covered you with the shadow of my hand(XV)—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,(XW)
and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.(XX)’”
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
17 Awake, awake!(XY)
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup(XZ) of his wrath,(YA)
you who have drained to its dregs(YB)
the goblet that makes people stagger.(YC)
18 Among all the children(YD) she bore
there was none to guide her;(YE)
among all the children she reared
there was none to take her by the hand.(YF)
19 These double calamities(YG) have come upon you—
who can comfort you?(YH)—
ruin and destruction,(YI) famine(YJ) and sword(YK)—
who can[o] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at every street corner,(YL)
like antelope caught in a net.(YM)
They are filled with the wrath(YN) of the Lord,
with the rebuke(YO) of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(YP) one,
made drunk,(YQ) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
your God, who defends(YR) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup(YS) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,(YT)
who said to you,
‘Fall prostrate(YU) that we may walk(YV) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on.”(YW)
52 Awake, awake,(YX) Zion,
clothe yourself with strength!(YY)
Put on your garments of splendor,(YZ)
Jerusalem, the holy city.(ZA)
The uncircumcised(ZB) and defiled(ZC)
will not enter you again.(ZD)
2 Shake off your dust;(ZE)
rise up,(ZF) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,(ZG)
Daughter Zion,(ZH) now a captive.
3 For this is what the Lord says:
4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
5 “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,[p]”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
my name is constantly blasphemed.(ZN)
6 Therefore my people will know(ZO) my name;(ZP)
therefore in that day(ZQ) they will know
that it is I who foretold(ZR) it.
Yes, it is I.”
7 How beautiful on the mountains(ZS)
are the feet of those who bring good news,(ZT)
who proclaim peace,(ZU)
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”(ZV)
8 Listen! Your watchmen(ZW) lift up their voices;(ZX)
together they shout for joy.(ZY)
When the Lord returns(ZZ) to Zion,(AAA)
they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joy(AAB) together,
you ruins(AAC) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted(AAD) his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.(AAE)
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm(AAF)
in the sight of all the nations,(AAG)
and all the ends of the earth(AAH) will see
the salvation(AAI) of our God.
11 Depart,(AAJ) depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!(AAK)
Come out from it and be pure,(AAL)
you who carry the articles(AAM) of the Lord’s house.
12 But you will not leave in haste(AAN)
or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,(AAO)
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(AAP)
The Suffering and Glory of the Servant
13 See, my servant(AAQ) will act wisely[q];
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.(AAR)
14 Just as there were many who were appalled(AAS) at him[r]—
his appearance was so disfigured(AAT) beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness(AAU)—
15 so he will sprinkle(AAV) many nations,[s]
and kings(AAW) will shut their mouths(AAX) because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.(AAY)
53 Who has believed our message(AAZ)
and to whom has the arm(ABA) of the Lord been revealed?(ABB)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(ABC)
and like a root(ABD) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance(ABE) that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering,(ABF) and familiar with pain.(ABG)
Like one from whom people hide(ABH) their faces
he was despised,(ABI) and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,(ABJ)
yet we considered him punished by God,(ABK)
stricken by him, and afflicted.(ABL)
5 But he was pierced(ABM) for our transgressions,(ABN)
he was crushed(ABO) for our iniquities;
the punishment(ABP) that brought us peace(ABQ) was on him,
and by his wounds(ABR) we are healed.(ABS)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(ABT)
each of us has turned to our own way;(ABU)
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity(ABV) of us all.
7 He was oppressed(ABW) and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;(ABX)
he was led like a lamb(ABY) to the slaughter,(ABZ)
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[t] and judgment(ACA) he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(ACB)
for the transgression(ACC) of my people he was punished.[u]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(ACD)
and with the rich(ACE) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(ACF)
nor was any deceit in his mouth.(ACG)
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(ACH) to crush(ACI) him and cause him to suffer,(ACJ)
and though the Lord makes[v] his life an offering for sin,(ACK)
he will see his offspring(ACL) and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper(ACM) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(ACN)
he will see the light(ACO) of life[w] and be satisfied[x];
by his knowledge[y] my righteous servant(ACP) will justify(ACQ) many,
and he will bear their iniquities.(ACR)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[z](ACS)
and he will divide the spoils(ACT) with the strong,[aa]
because he poured out his life unto death,(ACU)
and was numbered with the transgressors.(ACV)
For he bore(ACW) the sin of many,(ACX)
and made intercession(ACY) for the transgressors.
The Future Glory of Zion
54 “Sing, barren woman,(ACZ)
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(ADA)
you who were never in labor;(ADB)
because more are the children(ADC) of the desolate(ADD) woman
than of her who has a husband,(ADE)”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,(ADF)
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.(ADG)
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants(ADH) will dispossess nations(ADI)
and settle in their desolate(ADJ) cities.
4 “Do not be afraid;(ADK) you will not be put to shame.(ADL)
Do not fear disgrace;(ADM) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(ADN)
and remember no more the reproach(ADO) of your widowhood.(ADP)
5 For your Maker(ADQ) is your husband(ADR)—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(ADS) of Israel is your Redeemer;(ADT)
he is called the God of all the earth.(ADU)
6 The Lord will call you back(ADV)
as if you were a wife deserted(ADW) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(ADX)
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment(ADY) I abandoned(ADZ) you,
but with deep compassion(AEA) I will bring you back.(AEB)
8 In a surge of anger(AEC)
I hid(AED) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(AEE)
I will have compassion(AEF) on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.(AEG)
9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(AEH)
So now I have sworn(AEI) not to be angry(AEJ) with you,
never to rebuke(AEK) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(AEL)
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(AEM) for you will not be shaken(AEN)
nor my covenant(AEO) of peace(AEP) be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion(AEQ) on you.
11 “Afflicted(AER) city, lashed by storms(AES) and not comforted,(AET)
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[ab](AEU)
your foundations(AEV) with lapis lazuli.(AEW)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates(AEX) of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(AEY)
and great will be their peace.(AEZ)
14 In righteousness(AFA) you will be established:(AFB)
Tyranny(AFC) will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.(AFD)
Terror(AFE) 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(AFF) to you.
16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(AFG)
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon(AFH) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(AFI) to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,(AFJ)
and you will refute(AFK) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(AFL) of the Lord,
and this is their vindication(AFM) from me,”
declares the Lord.
Invitation to the Thirsty
55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,(AFN)
come to the waters;(AFO)
and you who have no money,
come, buy(AFP) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk(AFQ)
without money and without cost.(AFR)
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?(AFS)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(AFT)
and you will delight in the richest(AFU) of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen,(AFV) that you may live.(AFW)
I will make an everlasting covenant(AFX) with you,
my faithful love(AFY) promised to David.(AFZ)
4 See, I have made him a witness(AGA) to the peoples,
a ruler and commander(AGB) of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations(AGC) you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,(AGD)
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One(AGE) of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”(AGF)
6 Seek(AGG) the Lord while he may be found;(AGH)
call(AGI) on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake(AGJ) their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.(AGK)
Let them turn(AGL) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(AGM) on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(AGN)
8 “For my thoughts(AGO) are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”(AGP)
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,(AGQ)
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.(AGR)
10 As the rain(AGS) and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(AGT)
so that it yields seed(AGU) for the sower and bread for the eater,(AGV)
11 so is my word(AGW) that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,(AGX)
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose(AGY) for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy(AGZ)
and be led forth in peace;(AHA)
the mountains and hills
will burst into song(AHB) before you,
and all the trees(AHC) of the field
will clap their hands.(AHD)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers(AHE) the myrtle(AHF) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,(AHG)
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
Salvation for Others
56 This is what the Lord says:
“Maintain justice(AHH)
and do what is right,(AHI)
for my salvation(AHJ) is close at hand
and my righteousness(AHK) will soon be revealed.
2 Blessed(AHL) is the one who does this—
the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath(AHM) without desecrating it,
and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of
- Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
- Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
- Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
- Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
- Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous
- Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I
- Isaiah 52:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail
- Isaiah 52:13 Or will prosper
- Isaiah 52:14 Hebrew you
- Isaiah 52:15 Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)
- Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
- 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?
- Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
- Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
- Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
- Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
- Isaiah 53:12 Or many
- Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
- Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.