Isaiah 52

New International Version

52 Awake, awake,^(A) Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(B)
Put on your garments of splendor,^(C)
    Jerusalem, the holy city.^(D)
The uncircumcised^(E) and defiled^(F)
    will not enter you again.^(G)
²Shake off your dust;^(H)
    rise up,^(I) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,^(J)
    Daughter Zion,^(K) now a captive.

³For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,^(L)
and without money^(M) you will be redeemed.^(N)”

⁴For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt^(O) to live;
lately, Assyria^(P) has oppressed them.

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,^[a]”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.^(Q)
⁶Therefore my people will know^(R) my name;^(S)
    therefore in that day^(T) they will know
that it is I who foretold^(U) it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷How beautiful on the mountains^(V)
    are the feet of those who bring good news,^(W)
who proclaim peace,^(X)
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”^(Y)
⁸Listen! Your watchmen^(Z) lift up their voices;^(AA)
    together they shout for joy.^(AB)
When the Lord returns^(AC) to Zion,^(AD)
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹Burst into songs of joy^(AE) together,
    you ruins^(AF) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted^(AG) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.^(AH)
¹⁰The Lord will lay bare his holy arm^(AI)
    in the sight of all the nations,^(AJ)
and all the ends of the earth^(AK) will see
    the salvation^(AL) of our God.

¹¹Depart,^(AM) depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!^(AN)
Come out from it and be pure,^(AO)
    you who carry the articles^(AP) of the Lord’s house.
¹²But you will not leave in haste^(AQ)
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,^(AR)
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.^(AS)

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

¹³See, my servant^(AT) will act wisely^[b];
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.^(AU)
¹⁴Just as there were many who were appalled^(AV) at him^[c]—
    his appearance was so disfigured^(AW) beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness^(AX)—
¹⁵so he will sprinkle^(AY) many nations,^[d]
    and kings^(AZ) will shut their mouths^(BA) because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.^(BB)

Footnotes

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 52

New King James Version

God Redeems Jerusalem

52 Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised ^(A)and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
²^(B)Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
^(C)Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!

³For thus says the Lord:

^(D)“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed ^(E)without money.”

⁴For thus says the Lord God:

“My people went down at first
Into ^(F)Egypt to ^[a]dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
⁵Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord,
“That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
^[b]Make them wail,” says the Lord,
“And My name is ^(G)blasphemed continually every day.
⁶Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’ ”

⁷^(H)How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
^(I)“Your God reigns!”
⁸Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
⁹Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰^(J)The Lord has ^[c]made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of ^(K)all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.

¹¹^(L)Depart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
^(M)Be clean,
You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
¹²For ^(N)you shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
^(O)For the Lord will go before you,
^(P)And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Sin-Bearing Servant

¹³Behold, ^(Q)My Servant shall ^[d]deal prudently;
^(R)He shall be exalted and ^[e]extolled and be very high.
¹⁴Just as many were astonished at you,
So His ^(S)visage^[f] was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
¹⁵^(T)So shall He ^[g]sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For ^(U)what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:4 As resident aliens
Isaiah 52:5 DSS Mock; LXX Marvel and wail; Tg. Boast themselves; Vg. Treat them unjustly
Isaiah 52:10 Revealed His power
Isaiah 52:13 prosper
Isaiah 52:13 Lit. be lifted up
Isaiah 52:14 appearance
Isaiah 52:15 Or startle

Isaiah 52

New Living Translation

Deliverance for Jerusalem

52 Wake up, wake up, O Zion!
    Clothe yourself with strength.
Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem,
    for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer.
²Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem.
    Sit in a place of honor.
Remove the chains of slavery from your neck,
    O captive daughter of Zion.
³For this is what the Lord says:
“When I sold you into exile,
    I received no payment.
Now I can redeem you
    without having to pay for you.”

⁴This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Long ago my people chose to live in Egypt. Now they are oppressed by Assyria. ⁵What is this?” asks the Lord. “Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation.^[a] My name is blasphemed all day long.^[b] ⁶But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that I am the one who speaks to them.”

⁷How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,
the good news of peace and salvation,
    the news that the God of Israel^[c] reigns!
⁸The watchmen shout and sing with joy,
    for before their very eyes
    they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.^[d]
⁹Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song,
    for the Lord has comforted his people.
    He has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰The Lord has demonstrated his holy power
    before the eyes of all the nations.
All the ends of the earth will see
    the victory of our God.

¹¹Get out! Get out and leave your captivity,
    where everything you touch is unclean.
Get out of there and purify yourselves,
    you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord.
¹²You will not leave in a hurry,
    running for your lives.
For the Lord will go ahead of you;
    yes, the God of Israel will protect you from behind.

The Lord’s Suffering Servant

¹³See, my servant will prosper;
    he will be highly exalted.
¹⁴But many were amazed when they saw him.^[e]
    His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human,
    and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
¹⁵And he will startle^[f] many nations.
    Kings will stand speechless in his presence.
For they will see what they had not been told;
    they will understand what they had not heard about.^[g]

Footnotes

52:5a As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads Those who rule them wail.
52:5b Greek version reads The Gentiles continually blaspheme my name because of you. Compare Rom 2:24.
52:7 Hebrew of Zion.
52:8 Hebrew to Zion.
52:14 As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads you.
52:15a Or cleanse.
52:15b Greek version reads Those who have never been told about him will see, / and those who have never heard of him will understand. Compare Rom 15:21.

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.

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)
²Shake yourself from the dust; rise up,
    O captive^[a] Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
    O captive daughter Zion!^(B)

³For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.^(C) ⁴For 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) ⁵Now 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) ⁶Therefore my people shall know my name; on^[b] that day they shall know that it is I who speak—it is I!^(F)

⁷How 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)
⁸Listen! 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)
⁹Break forth; shout together for joy,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.^(I)
¹⁰The 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)

¹¹Depart, 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)
¹²For 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

¹³See, my servant shall prosper;
    he shall be exalted and lifted up
    and shall be very high.^(M)
¹⁴Just 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)
¹⁵so 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)

Footnotes

52.2 Cn: Heb rise up, sit
52.6 Q ms Syr Vg Tg: MT therefore on
52.14 Syr Tg: Heb you
52.15 Meaning of Heb uncertain

New International Version (NIV)