Isaiah 50–52

50TH CHAPTER

The Lord’s People Were Sold because of Their Sin

¹This is what the Lord says: 

Where are your mother’s divorce papers? 

Did I give her any to get rid of her? 

To which of my creditors did I sell you? 

You were sold because of your sins. 

I got rid of your mother because of your rebellion. 

²Why was no one here when I came? 

Why was no one here to answer when I called? 

Am I too weak to reclaim you? 

Don’t I have the power to rescue you? 

I dry up the sea with my command, 

and I turn rivers into deserts. 

Their fish stink because there is no water, 

and people die of thirst. 

³I clothe the heavens in darkness 

and cover them with sackcloth. 

The Lord’s Servant Trusts in the Lord’s Help

⁴The Almighty Lord will teach me what to say, 

so I will know how to encourage weary people. 

Morning after morning he will wake me 

to listen like a student. 

⁵The Almighty Lord will open my ears. 

I will not rebel, nor will I turn away ⸤from him⸥. 

⁶I will offer my back to those who whip me 

and my cheeks to those who pluck hairs out of my beard. 

I will not turn my face away from those who humiliate me 

and spit on me. 

⁷The Almighty Lord helps me. 

That is why I will not be ashamed. 

I have set my face like a flint. 

I know that I will not be put to shame. 

⁸The one who pronounces me innocent is near. 

Who will bring a case against me? 

Let us confront each other! 

Who accuses me? 

Let him confront me! 

⁹The Almighty Lord helps me. 

Who will find me guilty? 

They will all wear out like a garment. 

Moths will eat them. 

¹⁰Who among you fears the Lord 

and obeys his servant? 

Let those who walk in darkness and have no light 

trust the name of the Lord 

and depend upon their God. 

¹¹But all of you light fires 

and arm yourselves with flaming torches. 

So walk in your own light 

and among the torches you have lit. 

This is what you will receive from me: 

You will be tormented. 

51ST CHAPTER

The Lord Will Save His People

¹Listen to me, you people who pursue what is right and seek the Lord. 

Look to the rock from which you were cut 

and to the quarry from which you were dug. 

²Look to Abraham, your ancestor, 

and to Sarah, from whom you are descended. 

When I called Abraham, he was childless. 

I blessed him and gave him many descendants. 

³So the Lord will comfort Zion. 

He will comfort all those who live among its ruins. 

He will make its desert like Eden. 

He will make its wilderness like the garden of the Lord. 

Joy and gladness will be found in it, 

thanksgiving and the sound of singing. 

⁴Pay attention to me, my people. 

Open your ears to hear me, my nation. 

My teachings will go out from me. 

My justice will become a light for the people. 

⁵My righteousness is near. 

My salvation is on the way. 

I will bring justice to people. 

The coastlands put their hope in me, 

and they wait eagerly for me. 

⁶Look at the sky. 

Look at the earth below. 

The sky will vanish like smoke. 

The earth will wear out like clothing, 

and those who live there will die like flies. 

But my salvation will last forever, 

and my righteousness will never fail. 

⁷Listen to me, you people who know righteousness, 

you people who have my teachings in your hearts. 

Don’t be afraid of being insulted by people. 

Don’t be discouraged by their ridicule. 

⁸Moths will eat them like clothing. 

Worms will devour them like wool. 

But my righteousness will last forever, 

and my salvation will last throughout every generation. 

⁹Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Lord! 

Wake up as you did in days long past, as in generations long ago. 

Didn’t you cut Rahab^ainto pieces and stab the serpent? 

¹⁰Didn’t you dry up the sea, the water of the great ocean? 

You made a road in the depths of the sea 

so that the people reclaimed ⸤by the Lord⸥ 

might pass through it. 

¹¹The people ransomed by the Lord will return. 

They will come to Zion singing with joy. 

Everlasting happiness will be on their heads ⸤as a crown⸥. 

They will be glad and joyful. 

They will have no sorrow or grief. 

¹²I alone am the one who comforts you. 

Why, then, are you afraid of mortals, who must die, 

of humans, who are like grass? 

¹³Why have you forgotten the Lord, your Creator? 

He stretched out the heavens 

and laid the foundations of the earth. 

Why should you live in constant fear of the fury 

of those who oppress you, 

of those who are ready to destroy you? 

Where is the fury of those who oppress you? 

¹⁴Chained prisoners will be set free. 

They will not die in prison. 

They will not go without food. 

¹⁵I am the Lord your God who stirs up the sea 

and makes its waves roar. 

My name is the Lord of Armies. 

¹⁶I put my words in your mouth 

and sheltered you in the palm of my hand. 

I stretched out the heavens, 

laid the foundations of the earth, 

and said to Zion, “You are my people.” 

Wake Up, Jerusalem

¹⁷Wake up! Wake up! 

Stand up, Jerusalem! 

You drank from the cup in the Lord’s hand. 

That cup was filled with his anger. 

You drank from the bowl, the cup that makes people stagger, 

and you drained it! 

¹⁸From all the children she gave birth to, 

there was no one to guide her. 

From all the children she raised, 

there was no one to take her by the hand. 

¹⁹Twice as many disasters have happened to you. 

Who will feel sorry for you? 

Violence, destruction, famine, and war have happened to you. 

Who will comfort you? 

²⁰Your children have fainted. 

They lie sleeping at every street corner. 

They are like an antelope caught in a net. 

They experience the anger of the Lord, 

the fury of your God. 

²¹Listen to this, you humble people 

who are drunk but not from wine. 

²²The Lord your God defends his people. 

This is what your master says: 

I’m taking from your hand the cup that makes people stagger, 

the bowl, the cup of my fury. 

You will never drink from it again. 

²³I will put it in the hands of those who made you suffer. 

They said to you, “Lie down so that we can walk over you.” 

So you made your back like the ground 

and like a street for them to cross. 

52ND CHAPTER

Wake Up, Zion

¹Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, Zion! 

Put on your beautiful clothes, holy city of Jerusalem. 

Godless and evil people will no longer come to you. 

²Shake the dust from yourselves. 

Get up, captive Jerusalem. 

Free yourself from the chains around your neck, captive people of Zion. 

³This is what the Lord says: You were sold, but no price was paid. You will be bought back, but without money. 

⁴This is what the Almighty Lord says: In the beginning my people went to Egypt to live there as foreigners. Later the Assyrians oppressed them for no reason. ⁵So what do I find here? asks the Lord. My people are taken away for no reason. Their rulers are screaming, declares the Lord. And my name is cursed all day long. ⁶Now my people will know my name. When that day comes, ⸤they will know⸥ that I am the one who says, “Here I am!” 

⁷How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger 

who announces the good news, “All is well.” 

He brings the good news, 

announces salvation, 

and tells Zion that its God rules as king. 

⁸Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices 

and shout together joyfully. 

When the Lord brings Zion back, 

they will see it with their own eyes. 

⁹Break out into shouts of joy, ruins of Jerusalem. 

The Lord will comfort his people. 

He will reclaim Jerusalem. 

¹⁰The Lord will show his holy power to all the nations. 

All the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. 

¹¹Run away! Run away! 

Get away from there! 

Do not touch anything unclean.^a

Get away from it! 

Make yourselves pure, 

you Levites who carry the utensils for the Lord’s temple. 

¹²You will not go away in a hurry, 

nor will you go away quickly. 

The Lord will go ahead of you. 

The God of Israel will guard you from behind. 

The Suffering Servant

¹³My servant will be successful. 

He will be respected, praised, and highly honored. 

¹⁴Many will be shocked by him.^b

His appearance will be so disfigured 

that he won’t look like any other man. 

His looks will be so disfigured 

that he will hardly look like a human. 

¹⁵He will cleanse many nations ⸤with his blood⸥. 

Kings will shut their mouths because of him. 

They will see things that they had never been told. 

They will understand things that they had never heard.