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.
(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!

For thus says the Lord:

(D)“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed (E)without money.”

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.
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.
Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’ ”

(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!”
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.
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

  1. Isaiah 52:4 As resident aliens
  2. Isaiah 52:5 DSS Mock; LXX Marvel and wail; Tg. Boast themselves; Vg. Treat them unjustly
  3. Isaiah 52:10 Revealed His power
  4. Isaiah 52:13 prosper
  5. Isaiah 52:13 Lit. be lifted up
  6. Isaiah 52:14 appearance
  7. Isaiah 52:15 Or startle

52 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.

12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.

13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Freedom for Zion

52 

Wake, awake!
Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion.
Put on your beautiful garments,
Jerusalem, you holy city,
for never again will the uncircumcised
and the unclean enter you.
Shake off the dust.
Get up and take your seat, Jerusalem.
Loosen the chains from your neck,
you captive daughter of Zion.

Yes, this is what the Lord says.
You were sold for nothing,
and you will be redeemed without money.

Yes, this is what the Lord God says.
In the beginning, my people went down to Egypt to stay there
    for a while.
Later Assyria oppressed them without cause.

Now what do I have here? declares the Lord.
Indeed, my people have been taken away for nothing.
Their rulers howl with mockery, declares the Lord.
My name is continually despised all day.
Therefore my people will know my name.
So on that day they will know that I am the one—
the one who is saying, “Here I am!”

The Herald of the Gospel

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of a herald,
    who proclaims peace and preaches good news,
    who proclaims salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God is king!”
The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voices.
Together they shout for joy,
because with both eyes they will see it
when the Lord returns to Zion.
Break out, shout for joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem,
because the Lord is comforting his people.
    He is redeeming Jerusalem.
10 The Lord lays bare[a] his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation from our God.

Get Away From Babylon

11 Get away! Get away! Get out of there!
Do not touch any unclean thing!
Go out from her midst.
Purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord!
12 You will not be in a hurry when you go out.
You will not be fleeing when you walk out,
because the one who walks in front of you is the Lord,
and your rearguard is the God of Israel.

The Fourth Servant Song
The Lord’s Servant Suffers for Straying Sheep

13 Look, my servant will succeed.[b]
He will rise. He will be lifted up. He will be highly exalted.
14 Just as many were appalled at him[c]
his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man,
and his form was disfigured more than any other person—
15 so he will sprinkle[d] many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him,
because they will see something they had never been told before,
and they will understand something they had never heard before.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 52:10 Or flexes
  2. Isaiah 52:13 Or act wisely
  3. Isaiah 52:14 The translation follows some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. The main Hebrew reading is at you. Sudden shifts in person are not unusual in Hebrew poetry.
  4. Isaiah 52:15 Or startle