Isaiah 51:12–52:12

12  I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou fearest a man that shall die, and the son of man that shall become as grass; 13  and forgettest Jehovah thy Maker, who hath stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and thou art afraid continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he prepareth to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? 14  He that is bowed down shall speedily be loosed, and he shall not die in the pit, nor shall his bread fail. 15  And I am Jehovah thy God, who raiseth the sea, so that its waves roar: Jehovah of hosts is his name. 16  And I have put my words in thy mouth, and covered thee with the shadow of my hand, to plant the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

17  Arouse thyself, arouse thyself, stand up, Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury. Thou hast drunk, hast drained out the goblet-cup of bewilderment: 18  —there is none to guide her among all the children that she hath brought forth; neither is there any to take her by the hand of all the children that she hath brought up. 19  These two things are come unto thee; who will bemoan thee? —desolation and destruction, and famine and sword: how shall I comfort thee? 20  Thy children have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an oryx in a net: they are full of the fury of Jehovah, the rebuke of thy God. 21  Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: 22  thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, and thy God, who pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I take out of thy hand the cup of bewilderment, the goblet-cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: 23  and I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street to them that went over.

Chapter 52

1  Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2  Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, captive daughter of Zion. 3  For thus saith Jehovah: Ye have sold yourselves for nought, and ye shall be redeemed without money. 4  For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and Assyria oppressed them without cause; 5  and now, what have I here, saith Jehovah, that my people hath been taken away for nought? They that rule over them make them to howl, saith Jehovah; and continually all the day is my name scorned. 6  Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am HE, that saith, Here am I.

7  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that announceth glad tidings, that publisheth peace; that announceth glad tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! 8  —The voice of thy watchmen, they lift up the voice, they sing aloud together; for they shall see eye to eye, when Jehovah shall bring again Zion. 9  Break forth, sing aloud together, waste places of Jerusalem; for Jehovah comforteth his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10  Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 11  —Depart, depart, go out from thence, touch not what is unclean; go out of the midst of her, be ye clean, that bear the vessels of Jehovah. 12  For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for Jehovah will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear-guard.