Old/New Testament

53 

Who has believed our report,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot^[a]
and like a root from dry ground.
He had no attractiveness and no majesty.
When we saw him, nothing about his appearance made us desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by men,
a man who knew grief,
who was well acquainted with suffering.
Like someone whom people cannot bear to look at,
he was despised,
and we thought nothing of him.

⁴ Surely he was taking up our weaknesses,^[b]
and he was carrying our sufferings.
We thought it was because of God
    that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
⁵ but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced.
He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved.
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all have gone astray like sheep.
Each of us has turned to his own way,
but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep^[c] that is silent in front of its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
⁸ He was taken away without a fair trial^[d] and without justice,
and of his generation, who even cared?^[e]
So, he was cut off from the land of the living.
He was struck because of the rebellion of my people.
⁹ They would have assigned him a grave with the wicked,
but he was given a grave with the rich in his death,
because he had done no violence,
and no deceit was in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him
and to allow him to suffer.
Because you^[f] made his life a guilt offering, he will see offspring.

He will prolong his days,
and the Lord’s gracious plan will succeed in his hand.
¹¹ After his soul experiences anguish, he will see the light of life.^[g]
He will provide satisfaction.^[h]
Through their knowledge of him, my just servant will justify the many,
for he himself carried their guilt.^[i]
12 Therefore I will give him an allotment among the great,^[j]
and with the strong he will share plunder,
because he poured out his life to death,
and he let himself be counted with rebellious sinners.
He himself carried the sin of many,
and he intercedes for the rebels.

You barren woman who never gave birth, shout for joy.
Burst forth with shouts of joy!
Cry aloud, you who have never been in labor,
because the deserted woman has more children
    than the woman who is married, says the Lord.
² Make more room for your tent.
Tell them to stretch out the curtains of your dwelling.
Do not hold back!
Make your tent ropes longer.
Make your tent stakes stronger,
³ because you will spread out to the right and to the left.
Your offspring will take possession of nations,
and they will repopulate devastated cities.
⁴ Do not be afraid,
because you will not be put to shame.
Do not be worried,
because you will not be embarrassed.
You will forget the shame of your youth,
and you will never remember the disgrace of your widowhood,
⁵ because your Maker is your husband.
The Lord of Armies is his name.
Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
He is called the God of all the earth.
⁶ Though you are like an abandoned wife with a wounded spirit,
though you are like the wife from a man’s youth who has been rejected,
the Lord is calling you back, says your God.
⁷ For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I am gathering you.
⁸ In a flood of anger I hid my face from you for a moment,
but in everlasting mercy I will have compassion on you,
says your Redeemer, the Lord.
⁹ To me this is like the time of the waters of Noah.
As I swore that the waters of Noah will never again cover the earth,
so I am swearing that I will not be angry at you,
and I will not rebuke you.
¹⁰ For even if the mountains are removed,
and the hills are overthrown,
my mercy will not be removed from you,
and my covenant of peace will not be overthrown,
says the Lord, who is showing you mercy.
¹¹ Watch me, you afflicted woman, storm-tossed and not comforted,
I will set your precious stones in black mortar^[k]
and lay down sapphires as your foundation.
¹² I will decorate your parapets with rubies,
your gates with sparkling stones,
and your city boundaries with precious gems.^[l]
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and the peace and prosperity of your children will be great.
¹⁴ In righteousness you will be established.
Oppression will be far from you, so you will not be afraid.
Terror will be far from you. It will never come near you.
¹⁵ If anyone attacks you, because of me he will accomplish nothing.^[m]
Whoever launches an attack against you will fall before you.

¹⁶ See, I myself created the craftsman
    who blows on the charcoal in the fire
    to produce weapons for their task.
I myself have created a destroyer to cause devastation.
¹⁷ Every weapon formed against you will fail,
and you will condemn every tongue that rises up to judge you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.
Their righteousness is from me, declares the Lord.

Hey,^[n] all of you who are thirsty, come to the water,
even if you have no money!
Come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
² Why do you spend money on something that is not bread?
Why do you waste your labor on something that does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good.
Satisfy your appetite with rich food.
³ Turn your ear toward me, and come to me.
Listen, so that you may continue to live.

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found!
Call on him while he is near!
⁷ Let the wicked man abandon his way.
Let an evil man abandon his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord,
and he will show him mercy.
Let him turn to our God,
because he will abundantly pardon.

⁸ Certainly my plans are not your plans,
and your ways are not my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my plans are higher than your plans.

¹⁰ Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky
and do not return there
unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout,
so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth
    will not return to me empty.
Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please,
and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it.

¹² Yes, you will go out with joy,
and in peace you will be carried along.
The mountains and the hills will break out in shouts of joy before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of thorns, a fir tree will grow up.
Instead of briers, a myrtle tree will grow up.
This will make a name for the Lord.
It will serve as an everlasting sign that will not be cut off.