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Isaiah 52:7-56:8
International Children’s Bible
Isaiah 52:7-56:8
International Children’s Bible
7 How beautiful is the person
who comes over the mountains to bring good news.
How beautiful is the one who announces peace.
He brings good news
and announces salvation.
How beautiful are the feet of the one who says to Jerusalem,
“Your God is king.”
8 Listen! Your guards are shouting.
They are all shouting for joy!
They all will see with their own eyes
when the Lord returns to Jerusalem.
9 Jerusalem, your buildings are destroyed now.
But shout and rejoice together.
You can rejoice because the Lord has comforted his people.
He has saved Jerusalem.
10 The Lord will show his holy power
to all the nations.
Then everyone on earth
will see the salvation of our God.
11 You people, leave, leave; get out of Babylon!
Touch nothing that is unclean.
You men who carry the things used in worship,
leave there and make yourselves pure.
12 You will not be forced to leave Babylon quickly.
You will not be forced to run away.
The Lord will go before you.
And the God of Israel will guard you from behind.
God’s Suffering Servant
13 The Lord says, “See, my servant will act wisely.
People will greatly honor and respect him.
14 Many people were shocked when they saw him.
His appearance was so damaged he did not look like a man.
His form was changed so much they could barely tell he was human.
15 But now he will sprinkle many people.
Kings will be amazed and shut their mouths.
They will see the things they had not been told about my servant.
They will understand the things they had not heard.”
53 Who would have believed what we heard?
Who saw the Lord’s power in this?
2 He grew up like a small plant before the Lord.
He was like a root growing in a dry land.
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him.
There was nothing in his appearance to make us desire him.
3 He was hated and rejected by people.
He had much pain and suffering.
People would not even look at him.
He was hated, and we didn’t even notice him.
4 But he took our suffering on him
and felt our pain for us.
We saw his suffering.
We thought God was punishing him.
5 But he was wounded for the wrong things we did.
He was crushed for the evil things we did.
The punishment, which made us well, was given to him.
And we are healed because of his wounds.
6 We all have wandered away like sheep.
Each of us has gone his own way.
But the Lord has put on him the punishment
for all the evil we have done.
7 He was beaten down and punished.
But he didn’t say a word.
He was like a lamb being led to be killed.
He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut.
He never opened his mouth.
8 Men took him away roughly and unfairly.
He died without children to continue his family.
He was put to death.
He was punished for the sins of my people.
9 He was buried with wicked men.
He died with the rich.
He had done nothing wrong.
He had never lied.
10 But it was the Lord who decided
to crush him and make him suffer.
So the Lord made his life a penalty offering.
But he will see his descendants and live a long life.
He will complete the things the Lord wants him to do.
11 He will suffer many things in his soul.
But then he will see life and be satisfied.
My good servant will make many people right with God.
He carried away their sins.
12 For this reason I will make him a great man among people.
He will share in all things with those who are strong.
He willingly gave his life.
He was treated like a criminal.
But he carried away the sins of many people.
And he asked forgiveness for those who sinned.
People Will Return to Jerusalem
54 The Lord says, “Sing, Jerusalem.
You are like a woman who never gave birth to children.
Start singing and shout for joy.
You never felt the pain of giving birth.
But you will have more children
than the woman who has a husband.
2 Make your tent bigger.
Stretch it out and make it wider.
Do not hold back.
Make the ropes longer.
Make its stakes stronger.
3 Do this because you will begin growing very much.
Your children will take over other nations.
And they will again live in cities that once were destroyed.
4 “Don’t be afraid because you will not be ashamed.
Don’t be embarrassed because you will not be disgraced.
You will forget the shame you felt earlier.
You will not remember the shame you felt when you lost your husband.
5 This is because the God who made you is like your husband.
His name is the Lord of heaven’s armies.
The Holy One of Israel is the one who saves you.
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 You were like a woman whose husband left her.
And you were very sad.
You were like a wife who married young
and then her husband left her.
But the Lord called you to be his,”
says your God.
7 God says, “I left you, but only for a short time.
But with great kindness I will bring you back again.
8 I became very angry
and hid from you for a short time.
But I will show you mercy with kindness forever,”
says the Lord your close relative who saves you.
9 The Lord says, “This is like the time of Noah.
I promised then
that I would never flood the world again.
In the same way, I promise
I will not be angry with you or punish you again.
10 The mountains may disappear,
and the hills may come to an end.
But my love will never disappear.
My promise of peace will not come to an end,”
says the Lord who shows mercy to you.
11 “You poor city. Storms have hurt you,
and you have not been comforted.
But I will rebuild you using turquoise stones.
I will build your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will use rubies to build your walls.
I will use shining jewels for the gates.
I will build all your outer walls from precious jewels.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord.
And they will have much peace.
14 I will build you using fairness.
You will be safe from those who would hurt you.
So you will have nothing to fear.
Nothing will come to make you afraid.
15 I will not send anyone to attack you.
And you will defeat those who do attack you.
16 “See, I made the blacksmith.
He fans the fire to make it hotter.
And he makes the kind of tool he wants.
In the same way I have made the destroyer to destroy.
17 So no weapon that is used against you will defeat you.
You will show that those who speak against you are wrong.
These are the good things my servants receive.
Their victory comes from me,” says the Lord.
God Gives What Is Good
55 The Lord says, “All you who are thirsty,
come and drink.
Those of you who do not have money,
come, buy and eat!
Come buy wine and milk.
You don’t need money; it will cost you nothing.
2 Why spend your money on something that is not real food?
Why work for something that doesn’t really satisfy you?
Listen closely to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the food that satisfies your soul.
3 Come to me and listen.
Listen to me so you may live.
I will make an agreement with you that will last forever.
I will give you the blessings I promised to David.
4 I made David a witness of my power for all nations.
I made him a ruler and commander of many nations.
5 You will call for nations that you don’t yet know.
And these nations will run to you.
This will happen because of the Lord your God.
The Holy One of Israel honors you.”
6 So you should look for the Lord before it is too late.
You should call to him while he is near.
7 Evil people should stop being evil.
They should stop thinking bad thoughts.
They should return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them.
They should come to our God, because he will freely forgive them.
8 The Lord says, “Your thoughts are not like my thoughts.
Your ways are not like my ways.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways.
And my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.
10 Rain and snow fall from the sky.
They don’t return without watering the ground.
They cause the plants to sprout and grow.
And the plants make seeds for the farmer.
And from these seeds people have bread to eat.
11 The words I say do the same thing.
They will not return to me empty.
They make the things happen that I want to happen.
They succeed in doing what I send them to do.
12 “So you will go out with joy.
You will be led out in peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song before you.
All the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
13 Large cypress trees will grow where thornbushes were.
Myrtle trees will grow where weeds were.
These things will be a reminder of the Lord’s promise.
And this reminder will never be destroyed.”
All Nations Will Obey the Lord
56 This is what the Lord says:
“Give justice to all people.
Do what is right.
Do this because my salvation will come to you soon.
Soon everyone will know that I do what is right.
2 The person who obeys the law about the Sabbath
will be blessed.
And the person who does no evil
will be blessed.”
3 Foreigners have joined the Lord. They should not say,
“The Lord will not accept me with his people.”
The eunuch should not say,
“Because I cannot have children the Lord will not accept me.”
4 This is what the Lord says:
“The eunuchs should obey the law about the Sabbath.
They should do what I want.
They should keep my agreement.
5 If they do, I will make their names remembered
within my Temple and its walls.
It will be better for them than children.
I will give them a name that will last forever.
It will never be forgotten.
6 Foreigners will join the Lord to serve him.
They will worship and love him.
They will worship him.
They will obey the law about the Sabbath.
They will keep the agreement with the Lord.
7 I will bring these people to my holy mountain.
I will give them joy in my house of prayer.
The offerings and sacrifices
they place on my altar will please me.
This is because my Temple will be called
a house for prayer for people from all nations.”
8 The Lord gathers the Israelites who were forced to leave their country.
This is what the Lord God says,
“I will bring other people to those who are already gathered.”
Isaiah 52:7-56:8
New International Version
Isaiah 52:7-56:8
New International Version
7 How beautiful on the mountains(A)
are the feet of those who bring good news,(B)
who proclaim peace,(C)
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”(D)
8 Listen! Your watchmen(E) lift up their voices;(F)
together they shout for joy.(G)
When the Lord returns(H) to Zion,(I)
they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joy(J) together,
you ruins(K) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted(L) his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.(M)
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm(N)
in the sight of all the nations,(O)
and all the ends of the earth(P) will see
the salvation(Q) of our God.
11 Depart,(R) depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!(S)
Come out from it and be pure,(T)
you who carry the articles(U) of the Lord’s house.
12 But you will not leave in haste(V)
or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,(W)
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(X)
The Suffering and Glory of the Servant
13 See, my servant(Y) will act wisely[a];
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.(Z)
14 Just as there were many who were appalled(AA) at him[b]—
his appearance was so disfigured(AB) beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness(AC)—
15 so he will sprinkle(AD) many nations,[c]
and kings(AE) will shut their mouths(AF) because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.(AG)
53 Who has believed our message(AH)
and to whom has the arm(AI) of the Lord been revealed?(AJ)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(AK)
and like a root(AL) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance(AM) that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering,(AN) and familiar with pain.(AO)
Like one from whom people hide(AP) their faces
he was despised,(AQ) and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,(AR)
yet we considered him punished by God,(AS)
stricken by him, and afflicted.(AT)
5 But he was pierced(AU) for our transgressions,(AV)
he was crushed(AW) for our iniquities;
the punishment(AX) that brought us peace(AY) was on him,
and by his wounds(AZ) we are healed.(BA)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(BB)
each of us has turned to our own way;(BC)
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity(BD) of us all.
7 He was oppressed(BE) and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;(BF)
he was led like a lamb(BG) to the slaughter,(BH)
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[d] and judgment(BI) he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(BJ)
for the transgression(BK) of my people he was punished.[e]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(BL)
and with the rich(BM) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(BN)
nor was any deceit in his mouth.(BO)
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(BP) to crush(BQ) him and cause him to suffer,(BR)
and though the Lord makes[f] his life an offering for sin,(BS)
he will see his offspring(BT) and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper(BU) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(BV)
he will see the light(BW) of life[g] and be satisfied[h];
by his knowledge[i] my righteous servant(BX) will justify(BY) many,
and he will bear their iniquities.(BZ)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[j](CA)
and he will divide the spoils(CB) with the strong,[k]
because he poured out his life unto death,(CC)
and was numbered with the transgressors.(CD)
For he bore(CE) the sin of many,(CF)
and made intercession(CG) for the transgressors.
The Future Glory of Zion
54 “Sing, barren woman,(CH)
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(CI)
you who were never in labor;(CJ)
because more are the children(CK) of the desolate(CL) woman
than of her who has a husband,(CM)”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,(CN)
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.(CO)
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants(CP) will dispossess nations(CQ)
and settle in their desolate(CR) cities.
4 “Do not be afraid;(CS) you will not be put to shame.(CT)
Do not fear disgrace;(CU) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(CV)
and remember no more the reproach(CW) of your widowhood.(CX)
5 For your Maker(CY) is your husband(CZ)—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(DA) of Israel is your Redeemer;(DB)
he is called the God of all the earth.(DC)
6 The Lord will call you back(DD)
as if you were a wife deserted(DE) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(DF)
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment(DG) I abandoned(DH) you,
but with deep compassion(DI) I will bring you back.(DJ)
8 In a surge of anger(DK)
I hid(DL) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(DM)
I will have compassion(DN) on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.(DO)
9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(DP)
So now I have sworn(DQ) not to be angry(DR) with you,
never to rebuke(DS) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(DT)
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(DU) for you will not be shaken(DV)
nor my covenant(DW) of peace(DX) be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion(DY) on you.
11 “Afflicted(DZ) city, lashed by storms(EA) and not comforted,(EB)
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[l](EC)
your foundations(ED) with lapis lazuli.(EE)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates(EF) of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(EG)
and great will be their peace.(EH)
14 In righteousness(EI) you will be established:(EJ)
Tyranny(EK) will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.(EL)
Terror(EM) 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(EN) to you.
16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(EO)
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon(EP) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(EQ) to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,(ER)
and you will refute(ES) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(ET) of the Lord,
and this is their vindication(EU) from me,”
declares the Lord.
Invitation to the Thirsty
55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,(EV)
come to the waters;(EW)
and you who have no money,
come, buy(EX) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk(EY)
without money and without cost.(EZ)
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?(FA)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(FB)
and you will delight in the richest(FC) of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen,(FD) that you may live.(FE)
I will make an everlasting covenant(FF) with you,
my faithful love(FG) promised to David.(FH)
4 See, I have made him a witness(FI) to the peoples,
a ruler and commander(FJ) of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations(FK) you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,(FL)
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One(FM) of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”(FN)
6 Seek(FO) the Lord while he may be found;(FP)
call(FQ) on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake(FR) their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.(FS)
Let them turn(FT) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(FU) on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(FV)
8 “For my thoughts(FW) are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”(FX)
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,(FY)
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.(FZ)
10 As the rain(GA) and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(GB)
so that it yields seed(GC) for the sower and bread for the eater,(GD)
11 so is my word(GE) that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,(GF)
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose(GG) for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy(GH)
and be led forth in peace;(GI)
the mountains and hills
will burst into song(GJ) before you,
and all the trees(GK) of the field
will clap their hands.(GL)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers(GM) the myrtle(GN) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,(GO)
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
Salvation for Others
56 This is what the Lord says:
“Maintain justice(GP)
and do what is right,(GQ)
for my salvation(GR) is close at hand
and my righteousness(GS) will soon be revealed.
2 Blessed(GT) is the one who does this—
the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath(GU) without desecrating it,
and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
3 Let no foreigner(GV) who is bound to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”(GW)
And let no eunuch(GX) complain,
“I am only a dry tree.”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs(GY) who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant(GZ)—
5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls(HA)
a memorial(HB) and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name(HC)
that will endure forever.(HD)
6 And foreigners(HE) who bind themselves to the Lord
to minister(HF) to him,
to love the name(HG) of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath(HH) without desecrating it
and who hold fast to my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain(HI)
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices(HJ)
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.(HK)”(HL)
8 The Sovereign Lord declares—
he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather(HM) still others to them
besides those already gathered.”
Footnotes
- 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.
International Children’s Bible (ICB) 
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
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.