Isaiah 52

God Will Rescue Jerusalem

52^*Jerusalem, be strong and great again!

Holy city of God, clothe yourself with splendour!

The heathen will never enter your gates again.

²Shake yourself free, Jerusalem!

Rise from the dust and sit on your throne!

Undo the chains that bind you,

captive people of Zion!

³The 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. ⁴When 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*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. ⁶In time to come you will acknowledge that I am God and that I have spoken to you.”

^7*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!”

⁸Those who guard the city are

shouting, shouting together for joy!

They can see with their own eyes

the return of the Lord to Zion!

⁹Break into shouts of joy,

you ruins of Jerusalem!

The Lord will rescue his city

and comfort his people.

¹⁰The Lord will use his holy power;

he will save his people,

and all the world will see it.

^11*Make sure you leave Babylonia,

all you that carry the temple equipment!

Touch no forbidden thing;^d

keep yourselves holy and leave.

¹²This 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

¹³The Lord says,

“My servant will succeed in his task;

he will be highly honoured.^e

¹⁴Many people were shocked when they saw him;

he was so disfigured that he hardly looked human.

^15*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.”