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50 This is what the Lord says:

“Was your mother sent away because I divorced her?
    Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors?
No, you were sold because of your sins.
    And your mother, too, was taken because of your sins.
Why was no one there when I came?
    Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?
Is it because I have no power to rescue?
    No, that is not the reason!
For I can speak to the sea and make it dry up!
    I can turn rivers into deserts covered with dying fish.
I dress the skies in darkness,
    covering them with clothes of mourning.”

The Lord’s Obedient Servant

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
    so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
    and opens my understanding to his will.
The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me,
    and I have listened.
    I have not rebelled or turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat me
    and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.
I did not hide my face
    from mockery and spitting.

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,
    determined to do his will.
    And I know that I will not be put to shame.
He who gives me justice is near.
    Who will dare to bring charges against me now?
Where are my accusers?
    Let them appear!
See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side!
    Who will declare me guilty?
All my enemies will be destroyed
    like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!

10 Who among you fears the Lord
    and obeys his servant?
If you are walking in darkness,
    without a ray of light,
trust in the Lord
    and rely on your God.
11 But watch out, you who live in your own light
    and warm yourselves by your own fires.
This is the reward you will receive from me:
    You will soon fall down in great torment.

A Call to Return to God

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?
    Look! It’s because of your sins that you were sold,
        and because of your transgressions that your mother was sent away.
Why is it that when I came, no one was there?
    Why was there no answer when I called?
Was my arm[a] too short to redeem you?
    Do[b] I lack the strength to rescue you?
Look! By my mere rebuke I dry up the sea,
    I turn rivers into a desert.
Their fish stink for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
I clothe the skies with darkness
    and make sackcloth their covering.”

The Servant’s Obedience

“The Lord God has given me
    a learned tongue, so that I may know
        how to sustain the weary with words.
And[c] morning after morning he wakens,
    and[d] he wakens my ear to
        listen like those who are being taught.
My Lord God[e] has opened my ears,
    and I did not rebel;
        I did not shrink back.
I gave my back to those who beat me
    and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.[f]
I did not turn away[g] my face
    from insults and spitting.
For the Lord God helps me,
    so I won’t be disgraced.
Therefore I’ve made my face like flint,
    and I know that I won’t be put to shame.”

The Servant’s Vindication

The one who vindicates me is near.
    Who, then, will bring a charge against me?
        Let’s face each other!
Who has a case against me?
    Let him confront me!
See! It is the Lord God who will help me.
    Who is it that will declare me guilty?
See! They will all wear out like a garment;
    moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears[h] the Lord,
    obeying the voice of his servant,
who among you[i] walks[j] in darkness[k]
    and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord,
    and rely upon his God.
11 Look! All those[l] who light a fire,
    who surround yourselves with flaming torches—
walk by the light of your fire,
    and by the torches that you have set ablaze!
This is what you will receive from my hand:
    you will lie down in torment.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 50:2 Lit. my hand
  2. Isaiah 50:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read Or do
  3. Isaiah 50:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack And
  4. Isaiah 50:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
  5. Isaiah 50:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads the Lord
  6. Isaiah 50:6 So MT; 1QIsaa employs an incorrect reading; LXX reads to blows
  7. Isaiah 50:6 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads hide
  8. Isaiah 50:10 So 1QIsaa (pl.); MT LXX read fear (sing.)
  9. Isaiah 50:10 1QIsaa MT LXX lack among you
  10. Isaiah 50:10 So 1QIsaa LXX (pl.); MT reads walks (sing.)
  11. Isaiah 50:10 So 1QIsaa; MT employs a different form
  12. Isaiah 50:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read you

50 (A)The Lord says,

“Do you think I sent my people away
    like a man who divorces his wife?
    Where, then, are the papers of divorce?
Do you think I sold you into captivity
    like a man who sells his children as slaves?
No, you went away captive because of your sins;
    you were sent away because of your crimes.

“Why did my people fail to respond
    when I went to them to save them?
Why did they not answer when I called?
Am I too weak to save them?
I can dry up the sea with a command
    and turn rivers into a desert,
    so that the fish in them die for lack of water.
I can make the sky turn dark,
    as if it were in mourning for the dead.”

The Obedience of the Lord's Servant

The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say,
    so that I can strengthen the weary.
Every morning he makes me eager
    to hear what he is going to teach me.
The Lord has given me understanding,
    and I have not rebelled
    or turned away from him.
(B)I bared my back to those who beat me.
    I did not stop them when they insulted me,
    when they pulled out the hairs of my beard
    and spit in my face.

But their insults cannot hurt me
    because the Sovereign Lord gives me help.
I brace myself to endure them.
    I know that I will not be disgraced,
    (C)for God is near,
    and he will prove me innocent.
Does anyone dare bring charges against me?
    Let us go to court together!
    Let him bring his accusation!
The Sovereign Lord himself defends me—
    who, then, can prove me guilty?
All my accusers will disappear;
    they will vanish like moth-eaten cloth.

10 All of you that honor the Lord
    and obey the words of his servant,
the path you walk may be dark indeed,
    but trust in the Lord, rely on your God.
11 All of you that plot to destroy others
    will be destroyed by your own plots.
The Lord himself will make this happen;
    you will suffer a miserable fate.

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(A)
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell(B) you?
Because of your sins(C) you were sold;(D)
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?(E)
Was my arm too short(F) to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength(G) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(H) I dry up the sea,(I)
    I turn rivers into a desert;(J)
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with darkness(K)
    and make sackcloth(L) its covering.”

The Sovereign Lord(M) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(N)
    to know the word that sustains the weary.(O)
He wakens me morning by morning,(P)
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(Q)
The Sovereign Lord(R) has opened my ears;(S)
    I have not been rebellious,(T)
    I have not turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat(U) me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(V)
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.(W)
Because the Sovereign Lord(X) helps(Y) me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(Z)
    and I know I will not be put to shame.(AA)
He who vindicates(AB) me is near.(AC)
    Who then will bring charges against me?(AD)
    Let us face each other!(AE)
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord(AF) who helps(AG) me.
    Who will condemn(AH) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths(AI) will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears(AJ) the Lord
    and obeys(AK) the word of his servant?(AL)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,(AM)
trust(AN) in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(AO)
go, walk in the light of your fires(AP)
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(AQ)
    You will lie down in torment.(AR)

50 Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.

The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.

Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.

11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.