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Isaiah 52-53
Good News Translation
Isaiah 52-53
Good News Translation
God Will Rescue Jerusalem
52 (A)Jerusalem, be strong and great again!
Holy city of God, clothe yourself with splendor!
The heathen will never enter your gates again.
2 Shake yourself free, Jerusalem!
Rise from the dust and sit on your throne!
Undo the chains that bind you,
captive people of Zion!
3 The Sovereign Lord says to his people, “When you became slaves, no money was paid for you; in the same way nothing will be paid to set you free. 4 When you went to live in Egypt as foreigners, you did so of your own free will; Assyria, however, took you away by force and paid nothing for you. 5 (B)And now in Babylonia the same thing has happened: you are captives, and nothing was paid for you. Those who rule over you boast and brag and constantly show contempt for me. 6 In time to come you will acknowledge that I am God and that I have spoken to you.”
7 (C)How wonderful it is to see
a messenger coming across the mountains,
bringing good news, the news of peace!
He announces victory and says to Zion,
“Your God is king!”
8 Those who guard the city are shouting,
shouting together for joy.
They can see with their own eyes
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 Break into shouts of joy,
you ruins of Jerusalem!
The Lord will rescue his city
and comfort his people.
10 The Lord will use his holy power;
he will save his people,
and all the world will see it.
11 (D)Be sure to leave Babylonia,
all you that carry the Temple equipment.
Touch no forbidden thing;[a]
keep yourselves holy and leave.
12 This time you will not have to leave in a hurry;
you will not be trying to escape.
The Lord your God will lead you
and protect you on every side.
The Suffering Servant
13 The Lord says,
“My servant will succeed in his task;
he will be highly honored.[b]
14 Many people were shocked when they saw him;
he was so disfigured that he hardly looked human.
15 (E)But now many nations will marvel at him,
and kings will be speechless with amazement.
They will see and understand
something they had never known.”
53 (F)The people reply,
“Who would have believed what we now report?
Who could have seen the Lord's hand in this?
2 It was the will of the Lord that his servant
grow like a plant taking root in dry ground.
He had no dignity or beauty
to make us take notice of him.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing that would draw us to him.
3 We despised him and rejected him;
he endured suffering and pain.
No one would even look at him—
we ignored him as if he were nothing.
4 (G)“But he endured the suffering that should have been ours,
the pain that we should have borne.
All the while we thought that his suffering
was punishment sent by God.
5 (H)But because of our sins he was wounded,
beaten because of the evil we did.
We are healed by the punishment he suffered,
made whole by the blows he received.
6 (I)All of us were like sheep that were lost,
each of us going his own way.
But the Lord made the punishment fall on him,
the punishment all of us deserved.
7 (J)“He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly;
he never said a word.
Like a lamb about to be slaughtered,
like a sheep about to be sheared,
he never said a word.
8 He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die,
and no one cared about his fate.
He was put to death for the sins of our people.
9 (K)He was placed in a grave with those who are evil,
he was buried with the rich,
even though he had never committed a crime
or ever told a lie.”
10 The Lord says,
“It was my will that he should suffer;
his death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness.
And so he will see his descendants;
he will live a long life,
and through him my purpose will succeed.
11 After a life of suffering, he will again have joy;
he will know that he did not suffer in vain.
My devoted servant, with whom I am pleased,
will bear the punishment of many
and for his sake I will forgive them.
12 (L)And so I will give him a place of honor,
a place among the great and powerful.
He willingly gave his life
and shared the fate of evil men.
He took the place of many sinners
and prayed that they might be forgiven.”[c]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 52:11 Any object that was considered ritually unclean.
- Isaiah 52:13 he will be highly honored; or he will be restored to greatness and honor.
- Isaiah 53:12 prayed that they might be forgiven; or suffered the punishment they deserved.
Isaiah 52-53
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah 52-53
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Let Zion Rejoice
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
shall enter you no more.(A)
2 Shake yourself from the dust; rise up,
O captive[a] Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter Zion!(B)
3 For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.(C) 4 For thus says the Lord God: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.(D) 5 Now therefore what am I doing here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day long, my name is despised.(E) 6 Therefore my people shall know my name; on[b] that day they shall know that it is I who speak—it is I!(F)
7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”(G)
8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy,
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.(H)
9 Break forth; shout together for joy,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.(I)
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.(J)
11 Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of it; purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.(K)
12 For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.(L)
The Suffering Servant
13 See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up
and shall be very high.(M)
14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him[c]
—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals—(N)
15 so he shall startle[d] many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.(O)
53 Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?(P)
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.(Q)
3 He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering[e] and acquainted with infirmity,
and as one from whom others hide their faces[f]
he was despised, and we held him of no account.(R)
4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases,
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.(S)
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.(T)
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.(U)
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.(V)
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.(W)
9 They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb[g] with the rich,[h]
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.(X)
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with affliction.
When you make his life an offering for sin,[i]
he shall see his offspring and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.(Y)
11 Out of his anguish he shall see;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one,[j] my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.(Z)
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out himself to death
and was numbered with the transgressors,
yet he bore the sin of many
and made intercession for the transgressors.(AA)
Footnotes
- 52.2 Cn: Heb rise up, sit
- 52.6 Q ms Syr Vg Tg: MT therefore on
- 52.14 Syr Tg: Heb you
- 52.15 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 53.3 Or a man of sorrows
- 53.3 Or as one who hides his face from us
- 53.9 Q ms: MT and in his death
- 53.9 Cn: Heb with a rich person
- 53.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 53.11 Or and he shall find satisfaction. Through his knowledge, the righteous one
Isaiah 52-53
The Message
Isaiah 52-53
The Message
God Is Leading You Out of Here
52 1-2 Wake up, wake up! Pull on your boots, Zion!
Dress up in your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city!
Those who want no part of God have been culled out.
They won’t be coming along.
Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem!
Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!
3 God says, “You were sold for nothing. You’re being bought back for nothing.”
4-6 Again, the Master, God, says, “Early on, my people went to Egypt and lived, strangers in the land. At the other end, Assyria oppressed them. And now, what have I here?” God’s Decree. “My people are hauled off again for no reason at all. Tyrants on the warpath, whooping it up, and day after day, incessantly, my reputation blackened. Now it’s time that my people know who I am, what I’m made of—yes, that I have something to say. Here I am!”
7-10 How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,
Breaking the news that all’s well,
proclaiming good times, announcing salvation,
telling Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts,
shouting in joyful unison.
They see with their own eyes
God coming back to Zion.
Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem:
“God has comforted his people!
He’s redeemed Jerusalem!”
God has rolled up his sleeves.
All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm.
Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other,
sees him at work, doing his salvation work.
11-12 Out of here! Out of here! Leave this place!
Don’t look back. Don’t contaminate yourselves with plunder.
Just leave, but leave clean. Purify yourselves
in the process of worship, carrying the holy vessels of God.
But you don’t have to be in a hurry.
You’re not running from anybody!
God is leading you out of here,
and the God of Israel is also your rear guard.
It Was Our Pains He Carried
13-15 “Just watch my servant blossom!
Exalted, tall, head and shoulders above the crowd!
But he didn’t begin that way.
At first everyone was appalled.
He didn’t even look human—
a ruined face, disfigured past recognition.
Nations all over the world will be in awe, taken aback,
kings shocked into silence when they see him.
For what was unheard of they’ll see with their own eyes,
what was unthinkable they’ll have right before them.”
53 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Isaiah 52-53
New International Version
Isaiah 52-53
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)
2 Shake 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.
3 For this is what the Lord says:
4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
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)
6 Therefore 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.”
7 How 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)
8 Listen! 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.
9 Burst into songs of joy(AE) together,
you ruins(AF) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted(AG) his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.(AH)
10 The 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.
11 Depart,(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.
12 But 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
13 See, my servant(AT) will act wisely[b];
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.(AU)
14 Just 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)—
15 so 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)
53 Who has believed our message(BC)
and to whom has the arm(BD) of the Lord been revealed?(BE)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(BF)
and like a root(BG) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance(BH) that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering,(BI) and familiar with pain.(BJ)
Like one from whom people hide(BK) their faces
he was despised,(BL) and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,(BM)
yet we considered him punished by God,(BN)
stricken by him, and afflicted.(BO)
5 But he was pierced(BP) for our transgressions,(BQ)
he was crushed(BR) for our iniquities;
the punishment(BS) that brought us peace(BT) was on him,
and by his wounds(BU) we are healed.(BV)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(BW)
each of us has turned to our own way;(BX)
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity(BY) of us all.
7 He was oppressed(BZ) and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;(CA)
he was led like a lamb(CB) to the slaughter,(CC)
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[e] and judgment(CD) he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(CE)
for the transgression(CF) of my people he was punished.[f]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(CG)
and with the rich(CH) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(CI)
nor was any deceit in his mouth.(CJ)
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(CK) to crush(CL) him and cause him to suffer,(CM)
and though the Lord makes[g] his life an offering for sin,(CN)
he will see his offspring(CO) and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper(CP) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(CQ)
he will see the light(CR) of life[h] and be satisfied[i];
by his knowledge[j] my righteous servant(CS) will justify(CT) many,
and he will bear their iniquities.(CU)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[k](CV)
and he will divide the spoils(CW) with the strong,[l]
because he poured out his life unto death,(CX)
and was numbered with the transgressors.(CY)
For he bore(CZ) the sin of many,(DA)
and made intercession(DB) for the transgressors.
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 53:8 Or From arrest
- Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
- Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
- Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
- Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
- Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
- Isaiah 53:12 Or many
- Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.