Isaiah 52

New International Version

52 Awake, awake,^(A) Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(B)
Put on your garments of splendor,^(C)
    Jerusalem, the holy city.^(D)
The uncircumcised^(E) and defiled^(F)
    will not enter you again.^(G)
²Shake off your dust;^(H)
    rise up,^(I) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,^(J)
    Daughter Zion,^(K) now a captive.

³For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,^(L)
and without money^(M) you will be redeemed.^(N)”

⁴For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt^(O) to live;
lately, Assyria^(P) has oppressed them.

⁵“And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,^[a]”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.^(Q)
⁶Therefore my people will know^(R) my name;^(S)
    therefore in that day^(T) they will know
that it is I who foretold^(U) it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷How beautiful on the mountains^(V)
    are the feet of those who bring good news,^(W)
who proclaim peace,^(X)
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”^(Y)
⁸Listen! Your watchmen^(Z) lift up their voices;^(AA)
    together they shout for joy.^(AB)
When the Lord returns^(AC) to Zion,^(AD)
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹Burst into songs of joy^(AE) together,
    you ruins^(AF) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted^(AG) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.^(AH)
¹⁰The Lord will lay bare his holy arm^(AI)
    in the sight of all the nations,^(AJ)
and all the ends of the earth^(AK) will see
    the salvation^(AL) of our God.

¹¹Depart,^(AM) depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!^(AN)
Come out from it and be pure,^(AO)
    you who carry the articles^(AP) of the Lord’s house.
¹²But you will not leave in haste^(AQ)
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,^(AR)
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.^(AS)

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

¹³See, my servant^(AT) will act wisely^[b];
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.^(AU)
¹⁴Just as there were many who were appalled^(AV) at him^[c]—
    his appearance was so disfigured^(AW) beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness^(AX)—
¹⁵so he will sprinkle^(AY) many nations,^[d]
    and kings^(AZ) will shut their mouths^(BA) because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.^(BB)

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:5 Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail
Isaiah 52:13 Or will prosper
Isaiah 52:14 Hebrew you
Isaiah 52:15 Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)

Isaiah 52

New American Standard Bible

Cheer for Prostrate Zion

52 ^(A)Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, Zion;
Clothe yourself with your ^(B)beautiful garments,
Jerusalem, the ^(C)holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the ^(D)unclean
Will no longer come into you.
²Shake yourself ^(E)from the dust, ^(F)rise up,
Captive Jerusalem;
^(G)Release yourself from the chains around your neck,
Captive daughter of Zion.

³For this is what the Lord says: “You were ^(H)sold for nothing, and you will be ^(I)redeemed ^(J)without money.” ⁴For this is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “My people ^(K)went down to Egypt first to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without reason. ⁵And now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My ^(L)name is continually reviled all day long. ⁶Therefore, My people shall ^(M)know My name; therefore on that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”

⁷How delightful on the mountains
Are the feet of one who brings ^(N)good news,
Who announces ^[b]peace
And brings good news of ^[c]happiness,
Who announces salvation,
And says to Zion, “Your ^(O)God ^[d]reigns!”
⁸Listen! Your watchmen raise their ^(P)voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see ^[e]with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
⁹^(Q)Be cheerful, shout joyfully together,
You ^(R)ruins of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has ^(S)redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰The Lord has bared His holy ^(T)arm
In the sight of all the nations,
^[f]So that ^(U)all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.

¹¹^(V)Depart, depart, go out from there,
^(W)Do not touch what is unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, ^(X)purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
¹²But you will not go out in ^(Y)a hurry,
Nor will you go ^[g]as fugitives;
For the ^(Z)Lord will go before you,
And ^(AA)the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

¹³Behold, My ^(AB)Servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and ^[h]greatly ^(AC)exalted.
¹⁴Just as many were appalled at you, My people,
So His ^(AD)appearance was marred beyond that of a man,
And His form beyond the sons of mankind.
¹⁵So ^[i]He will ^(AE)sprinkle many nations,
Kings will ^(AF)shut their mouths on account of Him;
For ^(AG)what they had not been told, they will see,
And what they had not heard, they will understand.

Footnotes

Isaiah 52:4 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Isaiah 52:7 Or well-being
Isaiah 52:7 Lit good
Isaiah 52:7 Or is King
Isaiah 52:8 Lit eye to eye
Isaiah 52:10 Or And all...will see
Isaiah 52:12 Lit in flight
Isaiah 52:13 Or very high
Isaiah 52:15 LXX many nations will wonder at Him

Isaiah 52

Amplified Bible

Cheer for Downtrodden Zion

52 Awake, awake,
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you.^(A)
²
Shake yourself from the dust, arise,
O captive Jerusalem;
Rid yourself of the chains around your neck,
O captive Daughter of Zion.

³For the Lord says this, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed, but not with money.” ⁴For the Lord God says this, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and [many years later Sennacherib] the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. ⁵But now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason? Those who rule over them howl [with taunting and mockery of salvation],” declares the Lord, “and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.^(B) ⁶Therefore My people shall know My Name and what it means. Therefore in that day I am the One who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”^(C)

⁷
How beautiful and delightful on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace,
Who brings good news of good [things],
Who announces salvation,
Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”^(D)
⁸
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
Together they shout for joy;
For they will see face to face
The return of the Lord to Zion.
⁹
Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You ruins of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰
The Lord has bared His holy arm (His infinite power)
Before the eyes of all the nations [revealing Himself as the One by Whom Israel is redeemed from captivity],
That all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.^(E)

¹¹
Depart, depart, go out from there (the lands of exile),
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out of the midst of her (Babylon), purify yourselves,
You who carry the articles of the Lord [on your journey from there].^(F)
¹²
For you will not go out in a hurry [as when you left Egypt],
Nor will you go in flight [fleeing, as you did from the Egyptians];
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

¹³
Indeed, My Servant (the Messiah) will act wisely and prosper;
He will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.
¹⁴
Just as many were astonished and appalled at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form [marred] more than the sons of men.
¹⁵
So He will sprinkle many nations [with His blood, providing salvation],
Kings will shut their mouths because of Him;
For what they had not been told they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.^(G)

Isaiah 52

King James Version

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.

²Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

³For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

⁴For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

⁵Now 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.

⁶Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

⁷How 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!

⁸Thy 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.

⁹Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰The 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.

¹¹Depart 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.

¹²For 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.

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

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

¹⁵So 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.

Isaiah 52

Contemporary English Version

Jerusalem Can Celebrate

52 ^(A) Jerusalem, wake up!
    Stand up and be strong.
Holy city of Zion,
    dress in your best clothes.
Those foreigners who ruined
your sacred city
    won't bother you again.
²Zion, rise from the dirt!
Free yourself from the rope
    around your neck.

Suffering Will End

³The Lord says:
My people, you were sold,
    but not for money;
now you will be set free,
    but not for a payment.
⁴Long ago you went to Egypt
where you lived
    as foreigners.
Then Assyria was cruel to you,
⁵    ^(B) and now another nation^[a]
has taken you prisoner
    for no reason at all.
Your leaders groan with pain,^[b]
and day after day
    my own name is cursed.
⁶My people, you will learn
who I am and who is speaking
    because I am here.

A Message of Hope for Jerusalem

⁷^(C) What a beautiful sight!
On the mountains a messenger
    announces to Jerusalem,
“Good news! You're saved.
There will be peace.
    Your God is now King.”
⁸Everyone on guard duty,
    sing and celebrate!
Look! You can see the Lord
    returning to Zion.
⁹Jerusalem, rise from the ruins!
    Join in the singing.
The Lord has given comfort
to his people;
    he comes to your rescue.
¹⁰The Lord has shown all nations
    his mighty strength;
now everyone will see
    the saving power of our God.

A Command To Leave Babylon

¹¹^(D) Leave the city of Babylon!
    Don't touch anything filthy.
Wash yourselves. Be ready
to carry back everything sacred
    that belongs to the Lord.
¹²You won't need to run.
    No one is chasing you.
The Lord God of Israel
will lead and protect you
    from enemy attacks.

The Suffering Servant

¹³The Lord says:
    My servant will succeed!
He will be given great praise
    and the highest honors.
¹⁴Many were horrified
    at what happened to him.^[c]
But everyone who saw him
    was even more horrified
because he suffered until
    he no longer looked human.^[d]
¹⁵^(E) My servant will make
nations worthy to worship me;^[e]
    kings will be silent
    as they bow in wonder.^[f]
They will see and think about
things they have never seen
    or thought about before.

Footnotes

52.5 another nation: Babylonia.
52.5 groan with pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
52.14 him: One ancient translation; Hebrew “you.”
52.14 human: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
52.15 My … me: Hebrew; one ancient translation “The nations will be amazed at him.”
52.15 kings … wonder: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

New International Version (NIV)