Beginning
The Servant of the Lord
49 “Listen to me, you coastlands!
Pay[a] attention, you people[b] from far away!
The Lord called me from the womb;
while I was still in my mother’s body,
he pronounced my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
he hid me in the shadow of his hands.[c]
He made me like a polished arrow
and hid me away in his quivers.[d]
3 He said to me: ‘You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.’
4 “I[e] said: ‘I’ve labored for nothing.
I’ve exhausted my strength on futility and on[f] emptiness.’
Yet surely my recompense is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.
5 “And now, says the Lord,
who formed you[g] from the womb as his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
so that Israel might be gathered[h] to him—
and I am honored in the Lord’s sight
and my God has been my help[i]—
6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Israel[j]
and bring back those of Jacob[k] I have preserved.
I’ll also make you as a light to the nations,
to be my salvation to the ends[l] of the earth.
7 “This is what my Lord[m] says—
the Lord your Redeemer, O Israel,[n]
and his Holy One—
to one despised by people,[o]
to those abhorred[p] as a nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings see[q] and arise,
and princes[r] will bow down,
because of the Lord who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel,
the one who has[s] chosen you.”
The Restoration of Israel
8 “This what the Lord says:
“I’ll answer[t] you in a time of favor,
and on a day of salvation I’ll help[u] you.
I have watched over you,
and given you as a covenant for the people,
to restore the land,
to reassign the inheritances that have been devastated;
9 saying to captives, ‘Come out!’
and[v] to those who are in darkness, ‘Be free!’[w]
“They will feed on all the mountains,[x]
and their pasture will be on all the barren hills.
10 They won’t hunger or thirst,
nor will the desert heat or sun beat upon them;
for the one who has compassion on them will drive them
and guide them alongside springs of water.
11 I’ll turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways will be raised up.
12 “Watch! They’ll come from far away—
some from the north and from the west,
and others from the region of China.”[y]
13 Shout with joy, you heavens,
and rock with glee, you earth!
Break out in song, you mountains![z]
The Lord is comforting[aa] his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
Zion Not Forgotten
14 “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me,
and my God[ab] has forgotten me.’
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or have no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these mothers may forget;
But as for me, I’ll never forget you!
16 Look! I’ve inscribed you on the palms of my hands,
and[ac] your walls are forever before me.
17 Your builders[ad] are working faster than your destroyers,
and those who devastated you go away from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around—
they have all gathered together
and are coming to you.
“As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“you will clothe yourself with all of them like ornaments,
and tie them on like a bride.
19 Indeed, your ruins, your desolate places,
and your devastated land
will now be too crowded for your inhabitants,
while those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 “The children who are grieving at present[ae]
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too crowded for me;
make room for me,
so I may have a place to live.’
21 Then you’ll ask[af] in your heart,
‘Who bore these children for me,
although I was childless and barren,
and[ag] an exile[ah] and cast aside?
Who[ai] brought these up?
Look![aj] For my part I was left all alone;
but as for these, where have they come from?’
22 “For[ak] this what the Lord[al] says,
‘Watch! I’ll lift up my hand to the nations
and raise my banner to the[am] peoples.[an]
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.’
23 “Oh, yes![ao] Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens will be your nursing mothers.
They will bow to you with their faces to the ground,
and lick the dust from your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who hope in me will not be disappointed.
24 “Can they seize plunder[ap] from warriors,
or[aq] can the captives of tyrants[ar] be rescued?
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“He will seize[as] even the warriors’ plunder,[at]
and the captives[au] of tyrants will be rescued.
I myself will quarrel with those who have a quarrel with you,[av]
and I myself will save your children.
26 “I’ll make those who mistreat you[aw] eat their own flesh,
and they will get drunk on their own blood, as with new wine.
“Then all mankind will know that I am the Lord
your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Jacob.”
A Call to Return to God
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?
Look! It’s because of your sins that you were sold,
and because of your transgressions that your mother was sent away.
2 Why is it that when I came, no one was there?
Why was there no answer when I called?
Was my arm[ax] too short to redeem you?
Do[ay] I lack the strength to rescue you?
Look! By my mere rebuke I dry up the sea,
I turn rivers into a desert.
Their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the skies with darkness
and make sackcloth their covering.”
The Servant’s Obedience
4 “The Lord God has given me
a learned tongue, so that I may know
how to sustain the weary with words.
And[az] morning after morning he wakens,
and[ba] he wakens my ear to
listen like those who are being taught.
5 My Lord God[bb] has opened my ears,
and I did not rebel;
I did not shrink back.
6 I gave my back to those who beat me
and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.[bc]
I did not turn away[bd] my face
from insults and spitting.
7 For the Lord God helps me,
so I won’t be disgraced.
Therefore I’ve made my face like flint,
and I know that I won’t be put to shame.”
The Servant’s Vindication
8 The one who vindicates me is near.
Who, then, will bring a charge against me?
Let’s face each other!
Who has a case against me?
Let him confront me!
9 See! It is the Lord God who will help me.
Who is it that will declare me guilty?
See! They will all wear out like a garment;
moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears[be] the Lord,
obeying the voice of his servant,
who among you[bf] walks[bg] in darkness[bh]
and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord,
and rely upon his God.
11 Look! All those[bi] who light a fire,
who surround yourselves with flaming torches—
walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have set ablaze!
This is what you will receive from my hand:
you will lie down in torment.
Deliverance for Zion
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord!
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
to the quarry from which you were hewn.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave you birth.
For when he was only one person I called him,
but I made him fruitful[bj] and made him many.
3 For the Lord will have compassion on Zion,
have compassion on all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her deserts like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving, and the sound of singing.[bk]
Sorrow and sighing will flee away.[bl]
4 “Pay attention to me, my people!
Listen to me, my nation!
For instruction[bm] will go out from me,
and my justice will become a light for the nations.[bn]
I will quickly bring 5 my deliverance near;
my salvation is on the way.
His arm[bo] will bring justice to[bp] the nations;[bq]
the coastlands will hope for him,[br]
and they will wait for his arm.[bs]
6 “Lift up your eyes, you[bt] heavens
and look to the earth beneath;
and see who created these.[bu]
Its inhabitants will die just like this;[bv]
but my salvation will be forever,
and my deliverance will never fail.
7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
you people who have my instruction[bw] in their hearts.
Don’t fear the insults of mortals,
and don’t be dismayed at their hateful words.[bx]
8 For moths will eat them up just like a garment,
and worms will devour them like wool;
but my deliverance will last[by] forever,
and my salvation to all generations.
9 “Awake! Awake! Clothe yourself with strength,
you arm[bz] of the Lord!
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of long ago.
Was it not you who split apart[ca] Rehob,[cb]
who pierced that sea monster through?[cc]
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in[cd] the depths of the sea
so that the redeemed could cross over?”
A Promise of Return to the Land
11 “The scattered ones[ce] of the Lord will return,
and they will enter Zion with singing.
Everlasting joy will be upon their heads;
they will attain joy and gladness,
and[cf] sorrow and sighing will flee away.[cg]
12 “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you.
Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die,
descendants of mere[ch] men, who have been made[ci] like grass?
13 As a result, you have forgotten the Lord who made you,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the earth’s foundations,
and you live in constant fear every day
because of the oppressor’s fury,
since he’s ready to destroy.
Now where is the[cj] oppressor’s fury?
14 Distress[ck] will quickly be set free.
He won’t die in the Pit,[cl]
nor will he lack food.”
A Promise of Restoration
15 “For I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea, so that its waves roar,
‘The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.’
16 I have put my words in your mouth
and have covered you with the shadow of my hand,
so that I could plant the heavens
and lay the earth’s foundations,
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’
17 “Awake, Awake!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the Lord’s hand
from the cup that is[cm] his anger.
You have drunk to the dregs
the cup that makes you stagger,[cn]
and have drained it.
18 There is no one to guide you[co]
out of all the children she bore,
no one to take her by the hand
out of all the children she brought up.
19 “These twin things have come upon you
(who can feel sorry for you?):
ruin and destruction,
famine and the sword—
who can console you?
20 Your children have fainted.
They lie at the head of every street,
like antelope caught in a trap,
filled with the anger of the Lord
and the rebuke of your God.
21 Now listen to this, you afflicted one,
made drunk, but not with wine:
22 This is what your Lord, the Lord,[cp] says,
your[cq] God, who defends his people’s cause:
“See, I have taken from your hand the cup that made you stagger.[cr]
And you will never again drink to the dregs the cup that is my anger.
23 But I will put it into the hands of those who tormented and oppressed you,[cs]
those who said to you,
‘Lie down,[ct] so we can step over you,’
so that you had to make your back like the ground,
and like a street for them to walk over.”
The Redemption of Zion
52 Awake, awake!
Clothe yourself with strength,[cu] O Zion!
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city,
for the uncircumcised and the unclean won’t enter you.[cv]
2 Shake yourself from the dust and[cw] arise,
and[cx] sit on your throne, O Jerusalem!
Loosen the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you’ll be redeemed without money.”
4 For this is what the Lord[cy] says: “My people went down long ago into Egypt to live[cz] there; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.
5 “Now therefore, what[da] am I doing here,” asks[db] the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Those who rule over them are deluded,”[dc] says the Lord, “and continuously, all the day long, my name is blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people will know my name; in that day[dd] they’ll know that it is I who speaks, ‘Here I am!’
7 “How beautiful[de] on the mountains
are the feet of the one who brings news of peace,[df]
who announces good things,
who announces salvation,[dg]
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,[dh]
together they sing for joy;
for they will see in plain sight
the return of the Lord to Zion with compassion.[di]
9 “Break forth together into singing,[dj]
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
and[dk] he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm[dl]
in the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
11 “Depart! Depart! Go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her;
purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you won’t go out in haste,
nor will you go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you;
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
He is called the God of all the earth.”[dm]
The Suffering Servant
13 “Look! My servant will prosper,
and[dn] he will be exalted and lifted up,
and will be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you[do]—
so was he marred in[dp] his appearance, more than any human,
and his form beyond that of human semblance[dq]—
15 so will he startle[dr] many nations.
Kings will shut their mouths at him;
for what had not been told them they will see,
and what they had not heard they will understand.
53 “Who[ds] has believed our message,
and[dt] to[du] whom has the arm[dv] of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a tender plant,
and like a root out of a dry ground;
he had no form and he had[dw] no majesty that we should look at him,[dx]
and there is no attractiveness that we should desire him.[dy]
3 “He was despised and rejected by others,
and[dz] a man of sorrows,
intimately familiar with[ea] suffering;
and like one from whom people hide their faces;
and[eb] we despised him[ec]
and did not value him.
4 “Surely he has borne our sufferings
and carried our sorrows;
yet we considered him stricken,
and[ed] struck down by God,
and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
and[ee] he was crushed for our iniquities,
and[ef] the punishment that made us whole was upon him,
and by his bruises we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray,
we have turned, each of us, to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he didn’t open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
as[eg] a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open[eh] his mouth.
8 “From detention and[ei] judgment he was taken away[ej]—
and who can even think about his descendants?[ek]
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
he was stricken[el] for the transgression of my people.
9 Then they made[em] his grave with the wicked,
and with rich people[en] in his death,[eo]
although he had committed no violence,
nor was there any deceit in his mouth.”
The Exaltation of the Servant
10 “Yet the Lord was willing to crush him,
and he made him suffer.[ep]
Although you make his soul an offering for sin,
he[eq] will see his offspring,
and[er] he will prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will triumph in his hand.
11 Out of the suffering of his soul he will see light[es]
and[et] find satisfaction.
And[eu] through his knowledge his servant,[ev] the righteous one,
will make many righteous,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,[ew]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong;
because he poured out his life to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he carried the sins[ex] of many,
and made intercession for their transgressions.”[ey]
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.