Isaiah 49-53

New American Standard Bible 1995

⁵ And now says ^(J)the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ^(K)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am ^(L)honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My ^(M)strength),
⁶ He says, “It is too ^[d]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ^(N)preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a ^(O)light ^[e]of the nations
So that My salvation may ^[f]reach to the ^(P)end of the earth.”
⁷ Thus says the Lord, the ^(Q)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the ^(R)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“^(S)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also ^(T)bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

⁸ Thus says the Lord,
“In a ^(U)favorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will ^(V)keep You and ^(W)give You for a covenant of the people,
To ^[g](X)restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;
⁹ Saying to those who are ^(Y)bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all ^(Z)bare heights.
¹⁰ “They will ^(AA)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching ^(AB)heat or sun strike them down;
For ^(AC)He who has compassion on them will ^(AD)lead them
And will guide them to ^(AE)springs of water.
¹¹ “I will make all ^(AF)My mountains a road,
And My ^(AG)highways will be raised up.
¹² “Behold, these will come ^(AH)from afar;
And lo, these will come from the ^(AI)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
^13 (AJ)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the ^(AK)Lord has comforted His people
And will ^(AL)have compassion on His afflicted.

²⁴ “^(BM)Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of ^[m]a tyrant be rescued?”

⁴ The Lord ^[n]God has given Me the tongue of ^(CF)disciples,
That I may know how to ^(CG)sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me ^(CH)morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
⁵ The Lord God has ^(CI)opened My ear;
And I was ^(CJ)not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.
⁶ I ^(CK)gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
⁷ For the Lord God ^(CL)helps Me,
Therefore, I am ^(CM)not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like ^(CN)flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
⁸ He who ^(CO)vindicates Me is near;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us ^(CP)stand up to each other;
Who has a case against Me?
Let him draw near to Me.
⁹ Behold, ^(CQ)the Lord God helps Me;
^(CR)Who is he who condemns Me?
Behold, ^(CS)they will all wear out like a garment;
The moth will eat them.
¹⁰ Who is among you that fears the Lord,
That obeys the voice of His ^(CT)servant,
That ^(CU)walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him ^(CV)trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
¹¹ Behold, all you who ^(CW)kindle a fire,
Who ^[o]encircle yourselves with firebrands,
Walk in the light of your fire
And among the brands you have set ablaze.
This you will have from My hand:
You will ^(CX)lie down in torment.

⁴ “^(DJ)Pay attention to Me, O My people,
And give ear to Me, O My ^[q]nation;
For a ^(DK)law will go forth from Me,
And I will ^[r]set My ^(DL)justice for a ^(DM)light of the peoples.
⁵ “My ^(DN)righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,
And My ^(DO)arms will judge the peoples;
The ^(DP)coastlands will wait for Me,
And for My ^(DQ)arm they will wait expectantly.
⁶ “^(DR)Lift up your eyes to the sky,
Then look to the earth beneath;
For the ^(DS)sky will vanish like smoke,
And the ^(DT)earth will wear out like a garment
And its inhabitants will die ^[s]in like manner;
But My ^(DU)salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not ^[t]wane.
⁷ “^(DV)Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
A people in whose ^(DW)heart is My law;
Do not fear the ^(DX)reproach of man,
Nor be dismayed at their revilings.
⁸ “For the ^(DY)moth will eat them like a garment,
And the ^(DZ)grub will eat them like wool.
But My ^(EA)righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation to all generations.”

^9 (EB)Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;
Awake as in the ^(EC)days of old, the generations of long ago.
^(ED)Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces,
Who pierced the ^(EE)dragon?
¹⁰ Was it not You who ^(EF)dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
Who made the depths of the sea a pathway
For the ^(EG)redeemed to cross over?
¹¹ So the ^(EH)ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
And ^(EI)everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And ^(EJ)sorrow and sighing will flee away.

¹² “I, even I, am He who ^(EK)comforts you.
Who are you that you are afraid of ^(EL)man who dies
And of the son of man who is made ^(EM)like grass,
¹³ That you have ^(EN)forgotten the Lord your Maker,
Who ^(EO)stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you ^(EP)fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,
As he makes ready to destroy?
But where is the fury of the ^(EQ)oppressor?

²¹ Therefore, please hear this, you ^(FE)afflicted,
Who are ^(FF)drunk, but not with wine:
²² Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God
Who ^(FG)contends for His people,
“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the ^(FH)cup of reeling,
The ^[y]chalice of My anger;
You will never drink it again.
²³ “I will ^(FI)put it into the hand of your tormentors,
Who have said to ^[z]you, ‘^(FJ)Lie down that we may walk over you.’
You have even made your back like the ground
And like the street for those who walk over it.”

^11 (GF)Depart, depart, go out from there,
^(GG)Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, ^(GH)purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
¹² But you will not go out in ^(GI)haste,
Nor will you go ^[ag]as fugitives;
For the ^(GJ)Lord will go before you,
And ^(GK)the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

⁴ Surely our ^[am]griefs He Himself ^(GY)bore,
And our ^[an]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
^[ao]Smitten of ^(GZ)God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was ^[ap]pierced through for ^(HA)our transgressions,
He was crushed for ^(HB)our iniquities;
The ^(HC)chastening for our ^[aq]well-being fell upon Him,
And by ^(HD)His scourging we are healed.
⁶ All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To ^[ar]fall on Him.

⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not ^(HE)open His mouth;
^(HF)Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the ^[as]living
^(HG)For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
⁹ His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a ^(HH)rich man in His death,
^(HI)Because He had ^(HJ)done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰ But the Lord was pleased
To ^(HK)crush Him, ^[at](HL)putting Him to grief;
If ^[au]He would render Himself as a guilt ^(HM)offering,
He will see ^(HN)His ^[av]offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the ^[aw]good ^(HO)pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
¹¹ As a result of the ^[ax]anguish of His soul,
He will ^(HP)see ^[ay]it and be satisfied;
By His ^(HQ)knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will ^(HR)bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore, I will allot Him a ^(HS)portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out ^[az](HT)Himself to death,
And was ^(HU)numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself ^(HV)bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.