Isaiah 52
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh Redeems Zion
52 Awake! Awake; put on your strength, Zion!
Put on the garments of your beauty, Jerusalem, holy city![a]
For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall not continue to[b] enter you any longer.
2 Shake yourself free from the dust! Rise up; sit, Jerusalem!
Free yourselves from the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion!
3 For thus says Yahweh:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you shall be redeemed without money.”
4 For thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“My people went down to Egypt in the beginning, to dwell as aliens there, and Assyria oppressed him without cause.[c] 5 And now what do I have here?”declares[d] Yahweh, “for my people is taken without cause. Its rulers howl,” declares[e] Yahweh—“and my name is reviled continually, all day. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name, therefore in that day, that I am the one who speaks. Here am I.”[f]
7 How delightful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,
who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns as a king.”
8 The voices[g] of your watchmen! They lift up their voices;[h]
together they sing for joy;
for they clearly[i] see Yahweh’s return to Zion.
9 Break forth,
sing for joy together, ruins of Jerusalem,
for Yahweh has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 Yahweh has bared his holy arm[j] to the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends[k] of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there! You must not touch any unclean thing.
Go out from the midst of it, keep clean, you who carry the vessels of Yahweh.
12 For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
for Yahweh is going before you,
and your rear guard is the God of Israel.
The Servant’s Suffering and Exaltation
13 Look, my servant shall achieve success;
he shall be exalted,
and he shall be lifted up,
and he shall be very high.
14 Just as many were appalled at you—
such was his appearance beyond human disfigurement,
and his form beyond the sons of mankind—
15 so he shall sprinkle many nations;
because of him, kings shall shut their mouths.[l]
For they shall see what has not been told them,
and they shall consider with full attention what they have not heard.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 52:1 Literally “city of the holiness”
- Isaiah 52:1 Literally “do again he shall”
- Isaiah 52:4 Literally “in nothing”
- Isaiah 52:5 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 52:5 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 52:6 Literally “Look at me”
- Isaiah 52:8 Hebrew “voice”
- Isaiah 52:8 Hebrew “voice”
- Isaiah 52:8 Literally “eye in eye “
- Isaiah 52:10 Literally “the arm of his holiness”
- Isaiah 52:10 Hebrew “end”
- Isaiah 52:15 Hebrew “mouth”
Isaiah 52
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Let Zion Rejoice
52 Awake; awake;
put on your strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city,
for the uncircumcised and the unclean
shall enter you no more.(A)
2 Shake yourself from the dust; rise up,
O captive[a] Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter Zion!(B)
3 For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.(C) 4 For thus says the Lord God: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.(D) 5 Now therefore what am I doing here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day long, my name is despised.(E) 6 Therefore my people shall know my name; on[b] that day they shall know that it is I who speak—it is I!(F)
7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”(G)
8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy,
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.(H)
9 Break forth; shout together for joy,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.(I)
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.(J)
11 Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of it; purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.(K)
12 For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(L)
The Suffering Servant
13 See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up
and shall be very high.(M)
14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him[c]
—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals—(N)
15 so he shall startle[d] many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.(O)
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