Isaiah 52
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 52
The Joy of Zion
1 Awake, awake!
Clothe yourself in strength, O Zion.
Put on your glorious garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city.
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
will no longer enter you.
2 Shake off the dust from yourself and rise up
O captive Jerusalem.
Remove the chains from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord:
You were sold for nothing
and you will be redeemed without money.
4 Then the Lord God continues:
Long ago my people went down to Egypt
and settled there as aliens;
the Assyrians also oppressed them without cause.
5 Therefore, says the Lord,
what should now be done?
My people have been carried off without cause;
their rulers boast triumphantly,
and my name is constantly reviled
throughout the day, declares the Lord.
6 Therefore, on that day,
my people will know my name
and understand that it is I who say:
Here I am!
7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who bears good news and proclaims glad tidings,
announcing salvation and saying to Zion,
“Your God is king.”
8 Listen! Your watchmen raise a cry
and together they shout for joy,
for with their own eyes they clearly behold
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 Burst forth together with songs of joy,
you ruins of Jerusalem.
For the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations.
All the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart! Leave that place behind!
Touch nothing that is unclean.
Go forth from its midst and purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.[a]
12 But you need not rush forth in haste,
nor should you take flight like fugitives.
For the Lord will go before you,
and your rear guard will be the God of Israel.
Humiliation and Triumph of the Lord’s Servant[b]
13 Behold, my servant will prosper;
he will be exalted and raised to great heights.
14 Just as many people recoiled at the sight of him—
he was so disfigured
that he no longer appeared to be human—
15 so will he startle many nations,
and kings will be speechless before him.
For they will see what they had not been told,
and they will contemplate
what they had not previously heard.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 52:11 Cyrus restored the sacred vessels of the temple, “the vessels of the house of the Lord” (Ezr 1:7-11).
- Isaiah 52:13 The song turns into a kind of dialogue in which two divine oracles frame the reflections of people astounded by what happens to the Servant.
But who is this suffering Servant? We have already seen his mysterious face in three other poetic compositions (Isa 42:1-7; 49:19a; 50:4-11). We think spontaneously of a wise man or a prophet, a man of God who disagrees with his compatriots on their very ideas of God’s plan. For the Servant, the success of God’s plan means something quite different from political success. But the people could not tolerate this criticism of their all too human hopes. The prophet was mistreated and condemned to death (Isa 53:7-8).
But the Servant is also Israel, whose destiny the prophet embodies. The chosen people, contaminated by pagan forms of worship, was almost eradicated by the Exile. But it carries out its mission as a people that bears witness to God who chose it and is bringing it back to life; in the radiance of its resurrection, pagans will be able to recognize that the Lord of Israel is the living God who loves his people without ever changing his mind, the Savior of the human race.
The experience of the suffering Just One, whether prophet or people of God, highlights the fundamental law governing the history of salvation and every spiritual life: the power of God is manifested in human weakness. What a paradox: the Servant succeeds where Cyrus failed, because salvation comes not from battles but from martyrdom!
Isaiah 52
Complete Jewish Bible
52 Awake! Awake, Tziyon!
Clothe yourself with your strength!
Dress in your splendid garments,
Yerushalayim, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
will enter you no more.
2 Shake off the dust! Arise!
Be enthroned, Yerushalayim!
Loosen the chains on your neck,
captive daughter of Tziyon!
3 For thus says Adonai:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will be redeemed without money.”
4 For thus says Adonai Elohim:
“Long ago my people went down to Egypt
to live there as aliens,
and Ashur oppressed them for no reason.
5 So now, what should I do here,” asks Adonai,
“since my people were carried off for nothing?
Their oppressors are howling,” says Adonai,
“and my name is always being insulted, daily.
6 Therefore my people will know my name;
therefore on that day they will know
that I, the one speaking — here I am!”
7 How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
proclaiming shalom, bringing good news
of good things, announcing salvation
and saying to Tziyon, “Your God is King!”
8 Listen! Your watchmen are raising their voices,
shouting for joy together.
For they will see, before their own eyes,
Adonai returning to Tziyon.
9 Break out into joy! Sing together,
you ruins of Yerushalayim!
For Adonai has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Yerushalayim!
10 Adonai has bared his holy arm
in the sight of every nation,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out from inside it, and be clean,
you who carry Adonai’s temple equipment.
12 You need not leave in haste,
you do not have to flee;
for Adonai will go ahead of you,
and the God of Isra’el will also be behind you.
13 “See how my servant will succeed!
He will be raised up, exalted, highly honored!
14 Just as many were appalled at him,
because he was so disfigured
that he didn’t even seem human
and simply no longer looked like a man,
15 so now he will startle many nations;
because of him, kings will be speechless.
For they will see what they had not been told,
they will ponder things they had never heard.”
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!
3 For thus says the Lord:
4 For 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.
5 Now 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.
6 Therefore 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!”
8 Your 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.
9 Break 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.
12 For (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
13 Behold, (Q)My Servant shall [d]deal prudently;
(R)He shall be exalted and [e]extolled and be very high.
14 Just 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
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
