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Isaiah 52-57
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)

53 Who has believed what we have heard?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?(P)
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.(Q)
3 He was despised and rejected by others;
    a man of suffering[e] and acquainted with infirmity,
and as one from whom others hide their faces[f]
    he was despised, and we held him of no account.(R)

4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
    and carried our diseases,
yet we accounted him stricken,
    struck down by God, and afflicted.(S)
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
    crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
    and by his bruises we are healed.(T)
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.(U)

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.(V)
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
    Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people.(W)
9 They made his grave with the wicked
    and his tomb[g] with the rich,[h]
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.(X)

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with affliction.
When you make his life an offering for sin,[i]
    he shall see his offspring and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.(Y)
11     Out of his anguish he shall see;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
    The righteous one,[j] my servant, shall make many righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.(Z)
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out himself to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors,
yet he bore the sin of many
    and made intercession for the transgressors.(AA)

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54 Shout for joy, O barren one who has borne no children;
    burst into song and shout,
    you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
    than the children of the one who is married, says the Lord.(AB)
2 Enlarge the site of your tent,
    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
    and strengthen your stakes.(AC)
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
    and your descendants will possess nations
    and will settle desolate towns.(AD)

4 Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
    do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace,
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.(AE)
5 For your Maker is your husband;
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    the God of the whole earth he is called.(AF)
6 For the Lord has called you
    like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,
    says your God.(AG)
7 For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.(AH)
8 In overflowing wrath for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.(AI)

9 This is like the days of Noah to me:
    Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
    would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
    and will not rebuke you.(AJ)
10 For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.(AK)

11 O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    I am about to set your stones in antimony
    and lay your foundations with sapphires.[k](AL)
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
    your gates of jewels,
    and all your wall of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
    and great shall be the prosperity of your children.(AM)
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
    you shall be far from oppression; indeed, you shall not fear;
    and from terror; indeed, it shall not come near you.(AN)
15 If anyone stirs up strife,
    it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
    shall fall because of you.(AO)
16 See, it is I who have created the smith
    who blows the fire of coals
    and produces a weapon fit for its purpose;
I have also created the ravager to destroy.
17     No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper,
    and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
    and their vindication from me, says the Lord.(AP)

An Invitation to Abundant Life

55 Hear, everyone who thirsts;
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.(AQ)
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread
    and your earnings for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.(AR)
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
    listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.(AS)
4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.(AT)
5 Now you shall call nations that you do not know,
    and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you.(AU)

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;(AV)
7 let the wicked forsake their way
    and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.(AW)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.(AX)

10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,(AY)
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose
    and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.(AZ)

12 For you shall go out in joy
    and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall burst into song,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.(BA)
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle,
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
    for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.(BB)

The Covenant Extended to All Who Obey

56 Thus says the Lord:
    Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come
    and my deliverance be revealed.(BC)

2 Happy is the mortal who does this,
    the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
    and refrains from doing any evil.(BD)

3 Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely separate me from his people,”
and do not let the eunuch say,
    “I am just a dry tree.”(BE)
4 For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose the things that please me
    and hold fast my covenant,(BF)
5 I will give, in my house and within my walls,
    a monument and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that shall not be cut off.(BG)

6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath and do not profane it
    and hold fast my covenant—(BH)
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar,
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.(BI)
8 Thus says the Lord God,
    who gathers the outcasts of Israel:
I will gather others to them
    besides those already gathered.[l](BJ)

The Corruption of Israel’s Rulers

9 All you wild animals,
    all you wild animals in the forest, come to devour!(BK)
10 Israel’s[m] sentinels are blind;
    they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs
    that cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
    loving to slumber.(BL)
11 The dogs have a mighty appetite;
    they never have enough.
The shepherds also have no understanding;
    they have all turned to their own way,
    to their own gain, one and all.
12 “Come,” they say, “let us[n] get wine;
    let us fill ourselves with strong drink.
And tomorrow will be like today,
    great beyond measure.”

Israel’s Futile Idolatry

57 The righteous perish,
    and no one considers why;
the devout are taken away,
    while no one understands
    that it is due to evil that the righteous are taken away.(BM)
2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace
    and rest on their couches.(BN)
3 But as for you, come here,
    you children of a sorceress,
    you offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute.[o](BO)
4 Whom are you mocking?
    Against whom do you open your mouth wide
    and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
    the offspring of deceit—(BP)
5 you who burn with lust among the oaks,
    under every green tree;
you who slaughter your children in the valleys,
    under the clefts of the rocks?(BQ)
6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;
    it is they who are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering;
    you have brought a grain offering.
    Should these acts cause me to relent?(BR)
7 Upon a high and lofty mountain
    you have set your bed,
    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.(BS)
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
    you have set up your symbol,
for in deserting me[p] you have uncovered your bed;
    you have gone up to it;
    you have made it wide;
and you have made a bargain for yourself with them;
    you have loved their bed;
    you have gazed on their nakedness.[q](BT)
9 You journeyed to Molech[r] with oil
    and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away
    and sent them down to Sheol.(BU)
10 You grew weary from your many wanderings,
    but you did not say, “It is no use!”
You found your desire rekindled,
    and so you did not weaken.(BV)

11 Whom did you dread and fear
    so that you lied
and did not remember me
    or give me a thought?
Have I not kept silent and closed my eyes,[s]
    and so you do not fear me?(BW)
12 I will announce your verdict,
    and the objects you made will not help you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
    The wind will carry them off;
    a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me shall possess the land
    and inherit my holy mountain.(BX)

A Promise of Help and Healing

14 It shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way;
    remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”(BY)
15 For thus says the high and lofty one
    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place
    and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.(BZ)
16 For I will not continually accuse,
    nor will I always be angry,
for then the spirits would grow faint before me,
    even the souls that I have made.(CA)
17 Because of their wicked covetousness I was angry;
    I struck them; I hid and was angry,
    but they kept turning back to their own ways.(CB)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;
    I will lead them and repay them with comfort,
19     creating for their mourners the fruit of the lips.[t]
Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says the Lord,
    and I will heal them.(CC)
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea
    that cannot keep still;
    its waters toss up mire and mud.(CD)
21 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.(CE)

Footnotes

  1. 52.2 Cn: Heb rise up, sit
  2. 52.6 Q ms Syr Vg Tg: MT therefore on
  3. 52.14 Syr Tg: Heb you
  4. 52.15 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 53.3 Or a man of sorrows
  6. 53.3 Or as one who hides his face from us
  7. 53.9 Q ms: MT and in his death
  8. 53.9 Cn: Heb with a rich person
  9. 53.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  10. 53.11 Or and he shall find satisfaction. Through his knowledge, the righteous one
  11. 54.11 Or lapis lazuli
  12. 56.8 Heb besides his gathered ones
  13. 56.10 Heb His
  14. 56.12 Q ms Syr Vg Tg: MT me
  15. 57.3 Heb an adulterer and she prostitutes herself
  16. 57.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  17. 57.8 Or phallus; Heb hand
  18. 57.9 Or the king
  19. 57.11 Gk Vg: Heb silent even for a long time
  20. 57.19 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Listen to Isaiah 52-57
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Isaiah 52-57
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)
2 Shake 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.

3 For this is what the Lord says:

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

4 For 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)
6 Therefore 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.”

7 How 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)
8 Listen! 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.
9 Burst into songs of joy(AE) together,
    you ruins(AF) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted(AG) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.(AH)
10 The 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.

11 Depart,(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.
12 But 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

13 See, my servant(AT) will act wisely[b];
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.(AU)
14 Just 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)—
15 so 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)

53 Who has believed our message(BC)
    and to whom has the arm(BD) of the Lord been revealed?(BE)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(BF)
    and like a root(BG) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance(BH) that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering,(BI) and familiar with pain.(BJ)
Like one from whom people hide(BK) their faces
    he was despised,(BL) and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,(BM)
yet we considered him punished by God,(BN)
    stricken by him, and afflicted.(BO)
5 But he was pierced(BP) for our transgressions,(BQ)
    he was crushed(BR) for our iniquities;
the punishment(BS) that brought us peace(BT) was on him,
    and by his wounds(BU) we are healed.(BV)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(BW)
    each of us has turned to our own way;(BX)
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity(BY) of us all.

7 He was oppressed(BZ) and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;(CA)
he was led like a lamb(CB) to the slaughter,(CC)
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[e] and judgment(CD) he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(CE)
    for the transgression(CF) of my people he was punished.[f]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(CG)
    and with the rich(CH) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(CI)
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.(CJ)

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(CK) to crush(CL) him and cause him to suffer,(CM)
    and though the Lord makes[g] his life an offering for sin,(CN)
he will see his offspring(CO) and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper(CP) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(CQ)
    he will see the light(CR) of life[h] and be satisfied[i];
by his knowledge[j] my righteous servant(CS) will justify(CT) many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.(CU)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[k](CV)
    and he will divide the spoils(CW) with the strong,[l]
because he poured out his life unto death,(CX)
    and was numbered with the transgressors.(CY)
For he bore(CZ) the sin of many,(DA)
    and made intercession(DB) for the transgressors.

The Future Glory of Zion

54 “Sing, barren woman,(DC)
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(DD)
    you who were never in labor;(DE)
because more are the children(DF) of the desolate(DG) woman
    than of her who has a husband,(DH)”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,(DI)
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.(DJ)
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants(DK) will dispossess nations(DL)
    and settle in their desolate(DM) cities.

4 “Do not be afraid;(DN) you will not be put to shame.(DO)
    Do not fear disgrace;(DP) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(DQ)
    and remember no more the reproach(DR) of your widowhood.(DS)
5 For your Maker(DT) is your husband(DU)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(DV) of Israel is your Redeemer;(DW)
    he is called the God of all the earth.(DX)
6 The Lord will call you back(DY)
    as if you were a wife deserted(DZ) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(EA)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment(EB) I abandoned(EC) you,
    but with deep compassion(ED) I will bring you back.(EE)
8 In a surge of anger(EF)
    I hid(EG) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(EH)
    I will have compassion(EI) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.(EJ)

9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(EK)
So now I have sworn(EL) not to be angry(EM) with you,
    never to rebuke(EN) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(EO)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(EP) for you will not be shaken(EQ)
    nor my covenant(ER) of peace(ES) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion(ET) on you.

11 “Afflicted(EU) city, lashed by storms(EV) and not comforted,(EW)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[m](EX)
    your foundations(EY) with lapis lazuli.(EZ)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates(FA) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(FB)
    and great will be their peace.(FC)
14 In righteousness(FD) you will be established:(FE)
Tyranny(FF) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.(FG)
Terror(FH) 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(FI) to you.

16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(FJ)
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon(FK) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(FL) to wreak havoc;
17     no weapon forged against you will prevail,(FM)
    and you will refute(FN) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(FO) of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication(FP) from me,”
declares the Lord.

Invitation to the Thirsty

55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,(FQ)
    come to the waters;(FR)
and you who have no money,
    come, buy(FS) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk(FT)
    without money and without cost.(FU)
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?(FV)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(FW)
    and you will delight in the richest(FX) of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
    listen,(FY) that you may live.(FZ)
I will make an everlasting covenant(GA) with you,
    my faithful love(GB) promised to David.(GC)
4 See, I have made him a witness(GD) to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander(GE) of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations(GF) you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,(GG)
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One(GH) of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”(GI)

6 Seek(GJ) the Lord while he may be found;(GK)
    call(GL) on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake(GM) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.(GN)
Let them turn(GO) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(GP) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(GQ)

8 “For my thoughts(GR) are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”(GS)
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,(GT)
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.(GU)
10 As the rain(GV) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(GW)
    so that it yields seed(GX) for the sower and bread for the eater,(GY)
11 so is my word(GZ) that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,(HA)
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose(HB) for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy(HC)
    and be led forth in peace;(HD)
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song(HE) before you,
and all the trees(HF) of the field
    will clap their hands.(HG)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers(HH) the myrtle(HI) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,(HJ)
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”

Salvation for Others

56 This is what the Lord says:

“Maintain justice(HK)
    and do what is right,(HL)
for my salvation(HM) is close at hand
    and my righteousness(HN) will soon be revealed.
2 Blessed(HO) is the one who does this—
    the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath(HP) without desecrating it,
    and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

3 Let no foreigner(HQ) who is bound to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”(HR)
And let no eunuch(HS) complain,
    “I am only a dry tree.”

4 For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs(HT) who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant(HU)—
5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls(HV)
    a memorial(HW) and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name(HX)
    that will endure forever.(HY)
6 And foreigners(HZ) who bind themselves to the Lord
    to minister(IA) to him,
to love the name(IB) of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath(IC) without desecrating it
    and who hold fast to my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain(ID)
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices(IE)
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations.(IF)”(IG)
8 The Sovereign Lord declares—
    he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather(IH) still others to them
    besides those already gathered.”

God’s Accusation Against the Wicked

9 Come, all you beasts of the field,(II)
    come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10 Israel’s watchmen(IJ) are blind,
    they all lack knowledge;(IK)
they are all mute dogs,
    they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
    they love to sleep.(IL)
11 They are dogs with mighty appetites;
    they never have enough.
They are shepherds(IM) who lack understanding;(IN)
    they all turn to their own way,(IO)
    they seek their own gain.(IP)
12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!(IQ)
    Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
    or even far better.”(IR)

57 The righteous perish,(IS)
    and no one takes it to heart;(IT)
the devout are taken away,
    and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
    to be spared from evil.(IU)
2 Those who walk uprightly(IV)
    enter into peace;
    they find rest(IW) as they lie in death.

3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,(IX)
    you offspring of adulterers(IY) and prostitutes!(IZ)
4 Who are you mocking?
    At whom do you sneer
    and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,(JA)
    the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks(JB)
    and under every spreading tree;(JC)
you sacrifice your children(JD) in the ravines
    and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols(JE) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
    indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings(JF)
    and offered grain offerings.
    In view of all this, should I relent?(JG)
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;(JH)
    there you went up to offer your sacrifices.(JI)
8 Behind your doors and your doorposts
    you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
    you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,(JJ)
    and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.(JK)
9 You went to Molek[n](JL) with olive oil
    and increased your perfumes.(JM)
You sent your ambassadors[o](JN) far away;
    you descended to the very realm of the dead!(JO)
10 You wearied(JP) yourself by such going about,
    but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(JQ)
You found renewal of your strength,(JR)
    and so you did not faint.

11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(JS)
    that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(JT) me
    nor taken this to heart?(JU)
Is it not because I have long been silent(JV)
    that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,(JW)
    and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out(JX) for help,
    let your collection of idols save(JY) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
    a mere breath will blow(JZ) them away.
But whoever takes refuge(KA) in me
    will inherit the land(KB)
    and possess my holy mountain.”(KC)

Comfort for the Contrite

14 And it will be said:

“Build up, build up, prepare the road!(KD)
    Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”(KE)
15 For this is what the high and exalted(KF) One says—
    he who lives forever,(KG) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(KH) and holy place,
    but also with the one who is contrite(KI) and lowly in spirit,(KJ)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.(KK)
16 I will not accuse(KL) them forever,
    nor will I always be angry,(KM)
for then they would faint away because of me—
    the very people(KN) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(KO)
    I punished them, and hid(KP) my face in anger,
    yet they kept on in their willful ways.(KQ)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(KR) them;
    I will guide(KS) them and restore comfort(KT) to Israel’s mourners,
19     creating praise on their lips.(KU)
Peace, peace,(KV) to those far and near,”(KW)
    says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(KX) are like the tossing sea,(KY)
    which cannot rest,
    whose waves cast up mire(KZ) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(LA) says my God, “for the wicked.”(LB)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 52:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail
  2. Isaiah 52:13 Or will prosper
  3. Isaiah 52:14 Hebrew you
  4. Isaiah 52:15 Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)
  5. Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
  6. 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?
  7. Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
  8. Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
  9. Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
  10. Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
  11. Isaiah 53:12 Or many
  12. Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
  13. Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  14. Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
  15. Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
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