Isaiah 52-53
New American Standard Bible 1995
Cheer for Prostrate Zion
52 (A)Awake, awake,
Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;
Clothe yourself in your (B)beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the (C)holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the (D)unclean
Will no longer come into you.
2 Shake yourself (E)from the dust, (F)rise up,
O captive Jerusalem;
(G)Loose yourself from the chains around your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord, “You were (H)sold for nothing and you will be (I)redeemed (J)without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord [a]God, “My people (K)went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My (L)name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6 Therefore My people shall (M)know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”
7 How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him 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!”
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their (P)voices,
They shout joyfully together;
For they will see [e]with their own eyes
When the Lord restores Zion.
9 (Q)Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You (R)waste places of Jerusalem;
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has (S)redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared His holy (T)arm
In the sight of all the nations,
[f]That (U)all the ends of the earth may see
The salvation of our God.
11 (V)Depart, depart, go out from there,
(W)Touch nothing unclean;
Go out of the midst of her, (X)purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 But you will not go out in (Y)haste,
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
13 Behold, My (AB)servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and [h]greatly (AC)exalted.
14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His (AD)appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He will (AE)sprinkle many nations,
Kings will (AF)shut their mouths on account of Him;
For (AG)what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.
The Suffering Servant
53 (AH)Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a (AI)tender [i]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has (AJ)no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [j]be attracted to Him.
3 He was (AK)despised and forsaken of men,
A man of [k]sorrows and (AL)acquainted with [l]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was (AM)despised, and we did not (AN)esteem Him.
4 Surely our [m]griefs He Himself (AO)bore,
And our [n]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[o]Smitten of (AP)God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [p]pierced through for (AQ)our transgressions,
He was crushed for (AR)our iniquities;
The (AS)chastening for our [q]well-being fell upon Him,
And by (AT)His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To [r]fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not (AU)open His mouth;
(AV)Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the [s]living
(AW)For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a (AX)rich man in His death,
(AY)Because He had (AZ)done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To (BA)crush Him, [t](BB)putting Him to grief;
If [u]He would render Himself as a guilt (BC)offering,
He will see (BD)His [v]offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the [w]good (BE)pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the [x]anguish of His soul,
He will (BF)see [y]it and be satisfied;
By His (BG)knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will (BH)bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a (BI)portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out [z](BJ)Himself to death,
And was (BK)numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself (BL)bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
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 Lit And...earth will see
- Isaiah 52:12 Lit in flight
- Isaiah 52:13 Or very high
- Isaiah 53:2 Lit suckling
- Isaiah 53:2 Lit desire
- Isaiah 53:3 Or pains
- Isaiah 53:3 Or sickness
- Isaiah 53:4 Or sickness
- Isaiah 53:4 Or pains
- Isaiah 53:4 Or Struck down by
- Isaiah 53:5 Or wounded
- Isaiah 53:5 Or peace
- Isaiah 53:6 Lit encounter Him
- Isaiah 53:8 Or life
- Isaiah 53:10 Lit He made Him sick
- Isaiah 53:10 Lit His soul
- Isaiah 53:10 Lit seed
- Isaiah 53:10 Or will of
- Isaiah 53:11 Or toilsome labor
- Isaiah 53:11 Another reading is light
- Isaiah 53:12 Lit His soul
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
