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.
2 Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem.
Sit in a place of honor.
Remove the chains of slavery from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For 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.”
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Long ago my people chose to live in Egypt. Now they are oppressed by Assyria. 5 What 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] 6 But 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.”
7 How 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!
8 The watchmen shout and sing with joy,
for before their very eyes
they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.[d]
9 Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song,
for the Lord has comforted his people.
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The 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.
11 Get 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.
12 You 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
13 See, my servant will prosper;
he will be highly exalted.
14 But 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.
15 And 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
International Standard Version
The Redemption of Zion
52 Awake, awake!
Clothe yourself with strength,[a] O Zion!
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city,
for the uncircumcised and the unclean won’t enter you.[b]
2 Shake yourself from the dust and[c] arise,
and[d] sit on your throne, O Jerusalem!
Loosen the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you’ll be redeemed without money.”
4 For this is what the Lord[e] says: “My people went down long ago into Egypt to live[f] there; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.
5 “Now therefore, what[g] am I doing here,” asks[h] the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Those who rule over them are deluded,”[i] says the Lord, “and continuously, all the day long, my name is blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people will know my name; in that day[j] they’ll know that it is I who speaks, ‘Here I am!’
7 “How beautiful[k] on the mountains
are the feet of the one who brings news of peace,[l]
who announces good things,
who announces salvation,[m]
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,[n]
together they sing for joy;
for they will see in plain sight
the return of the Lord to Zion with compassion.[o]
9 “Break forth together into singing,[p]
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
and[q] he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm[r]
in the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
11 “Depart! Depart! Go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her;
purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you won’t go out in haste,
nor will you go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you;
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
He is called the God of all the earth.”[s]
The Suffering Servant
13 “Look! My servant will prosper,
and[t] he will be exalted and lifted up,
and will be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you[u]—
so was he marred in[v] his appearance, more than any human,
and his form beyond that of human semblance[w]—
15 so will he startle[x] many nations.
Kings will shut their mouths at him;
for what had not been told them they will see,
and what they had not heard they will understand.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 52:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read with your strength
- Isaiah 52:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read you any more
- Isaiah 52:2 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsab MT lack and
- Isaiah 52:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 52:4 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads the Lord God
- Isaiah 52:4 Or sojourn
- Isaiah 52:5 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads who
- Isaiah 52:5 Lit. declares
- Isaiah 52:5 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read them wail; or them taunt
- Isaiah 52:6 So 1QIsaa LXX. MT reads therefore in that day
- Isaiah 52:7 Lit. they are beautiful; so 1QIsaa MTT LXXmss; 4QIsab reads It is beautiful
- Isaiah 52:7 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read who brings good news
- Isaiah 52:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads who announces peace, who brings news of good things, who announces salvation; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 52:8 Lit. their voice; so 1QIsaa; MT reads the voice
- Isaiah 52:8 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks with compassion
- Isaiah 52:9 Lit. sing for joy (sing.); so 1QIsaa; MT reads sing for joy (pl.)
- Isaiah 52:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks and
- Isaiah 52:10 I.e. the Messiah
- Isaiah 52:12 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack this line
- Isaiah 52:13 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab 4QIsac MT lack and; LXX lacks and he will be exalted
- Isaiah 52:14 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; MTmss Syriac read at him
- Isaiah 52:14 Or was my marring; so 1QIsaa; MT reads was the marring of
- Isaiah 52:14 Lit. of the descendants of humans; so 1QIsaa; LXX reads of the humans; MT reads of the human
- Isaiah 52:15 Or sprinkle
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