Isaiah 52
GOD’S WORD Translation
Wake Up, Zion
52 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, Zion!
Put on your beautiful clothes, holy city of Jerusalem.
Godless and evil people will no longer come to you.
2 Shake the dust from yourselves.
Get up, captive Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains around your neck, captive people of Zion.
3 This is what the Lord says: You were sold, but no price was paid. You will be bought back, but without money.
4 This is what the Almighty Lord says: In the beginning my people went to Egypt to live there as foreigners. Later the Assyrians oppressed them for no reason. 5 So what do I find here? asks the Lord. My people are taken away for no reason. Their rulers are screaming, declares the Lord. And my name is cursed all day long. 6 Now my people will know my name. When that day comes, ⌞they will know⌟ that I am the one who says, “Here I am!”
7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger
who announces the good news, “All is well.”
He brings the good news,
announces salvation,
and tells Zion that its God rules as king.
8 Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices
and shout together joyfully.
When the Lord brings Zion back,
they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Break out into shouts of joy, ruins of Jerusalem.
The Lord will comfort his people.
He will reclaim Jerusalem.
10 The Lord will show his holy power to all the nations.
All the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
11 Run away! Run away!
Get away from there!
Do not touch anything unclean.[a]
Get away from it!
Make yourselves pure,
you Levites who carry the utensils for the Lord’s temple.
12 You will not go away in a hurry,
nor will you go away quickly.
The Lord will go ahead of you.
The God of Israel will guard you from behind.
The Suffering Servant
13 My servant will be successful.
He will be respected, praised, and highly honored.
14 Many will be shocked by him.[b]
His appearance will be so disfigured
that he won’t look like any other man.
His looks will be so disfigured
that he will hardly look like a human.
15 He will cleanse many nations ⌞with his blood⌟.
Kings will shut their mouths because of him.
They will see things that they had never been told.
They will understand things that 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
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
