Isaiah 52 Contemporary English Version

Jerusalem Can Celebrate

52 ^(A) Jerusalem, wake up!
    Stand up and be strong.
Holy city of Zion,
    dress in your best clothes.
Those foreigners who ruined
your sacred city
    won't bother you again.
²Zion, rise from the dirt!
Free yourself from the rope
    around your neck.

Suffering Will End

³The Lord says:
My people, you were sold,
    but not for money;
now you will be set free,
    but not for a payment.
⁴Long ago you went to Egypt
where you lived
    as foreigners.
Then Assyria was cruel to you,
⁵    ^(B) and now another nation^[a]
has taken you prisoner
    for no reason at all.
Your leaders groan with pain,^[b]
and day after day
    my own name is cursed.
⁶My people, you will learn
who I am and who is speaking
    because I am here.

A Message of Hope for Jerusalem

⁷^(C) What a beautiful sight!
On the mountains a messenger
    announces to Jerusalem,
“Good news! You're saved.
There will be peace.
    Your God is now King.”
⁸Everyone on guard duty,
    sing and celebrate!
Look! You can see the Lord
    returning to Zion.
⁹Jerusalem, rise from the ruins!
    Join in the singing.
The Lord has given comfort
to his people;
    he comes to your rescue.
¹⁰The Lord has shown all nations
    his mighty strength;
now everyone will see
    the saving power of our God.

A Command To Leave Babylon

¹¹^(D) Leave the city of Babylon!
    Don't touch anything filthy.
Wash yourselves. Be ready
to carry back everything sacred
    that belongs to the Lord.
¹²You won't need to run.
    No one is chasing you.
The Lord God of Israel
will lead and protect you
    from enemy attacks.

The Suffering Servant

¹³The Lord says:
    My servant will succeed!
He will be given great praise
    and the highest honors.
¹⁴Many were horrified
    at what happened to him.^[c]
But everyone who saw him
    was even more horrified
because he suffered until
    he no longer looked human.^[d]
¹⁵^(E) My servant will make
nations worthy to worship me;^[e]
    kings will be silent
    as they bow in wonder.^[f]
They will see and think about
things they have never seen
    or thought about before.

Footnotes

52.5 another nation: Babylonia.
52.5 groan with pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
52.14 him: One ancient translation; Hebrew “you.”
52.14 human: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
52.15 My … me: Hebrew; one ancient translation “The nations will be amazed at him.”
52.15 kings … wonder: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.