Isaiah 50–52

CHAPTER 50

Yahweh Helps His Servant

¹Thus says Yahweh,

“Where is the ^acertificate of divorce

By which I have ^bsent your mother away?

Or to which of My creditors did I ^csell you?

Behold, you were sold for your ^diniquities,

And for your ^etransgressions your mother ^fwas sent away.

²“Why was there ^ano man when I came?

When I called, why was there none to answer?

Is My ^bhand so short that it cannot ransom?

Or have I no power to deliver?

Behold, I ^cdry up the sea with My rebuke;

I ^dmake the rivers a wilderness;

Their fish stink for lack of water

And die of thirst.

³“I ^aclothe the heavens with blackness

And make sackcloth their covering.”

⁴Lord Yahweh has given Me the tongue of ^adisciples,

That I may know how to ^bsustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me ^cmorning by morning;

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

⁵Lord Yahweh has ^aopened My ear;

And I did ^bnot rebel

Nor did I turn back.

⁶I ^agave My back to those who strike Me,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not hide My face from dishonor and spitting.

⁷Even now Lord Yahweh ^ahelps Me,

Therefore, I am ^bnot dishonored;

Therefore, I have set My face like ^cflint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

⁸He who ^1avindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us ^bstand up to each other;

Who has a judgment against Me?

Let him approach Me.

⁹Behold, ^aLord Yahweh helps Me;

^bWho is he who condemns Me?

Behold, ^cthey will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

¹⁰Who is among you that fears Yahweh,

That listens to the voice of His ^aServant,

That ^bwalks in darkness and has no light?

Let him ^ctrust in the name of Yahweh and rely on his God.

¹¹Behold, all you who ^akindle a fire,

Who gird yourselves with firebrands,

Walk in the light of your fire

And among the brands you have set ablaze.

This you will have from My hand:

You will ^blie down in torment.

CHAPTER 51

Yahweh’s Righteousness is Forever

¹“^aListen to Me, you who ^bpursue righteousness,

Who seek Yahweh:

Look to the ^crock from which you were hewn

And to the ¹quarry from which you were dug.

²“Look to ^aAbraham your father

And to Sarah who brought you forth through labor pains;

When he ^bwas but one I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

³Indeed, ^aYahweh will comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her ^bwaste places.

And her ^cwilderness He will make like ^dEden,

And her desert like the ^egarden of Yahweh;

^fJoy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

⁴“^aPay attention to Me, O My people,

And give ear to Me, O My ¹nation;

For a ^blaw will go forth from Me,

And I will ²set My ^cjustice for a ^dlight of the peoples.

⁵“My ^arighteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,

And My ^barms will judge the peoples;

The ^ccoastlands will hope in Me,

And for My ^darm they will wait expectantly.

⁶“^aLift up your eyes to the sky,

Then look to the earth beneath;

For the ^bsky will vanish like smoke,

And the ^cearth will wear out like a garment,

And its inhabitants will die ¹in like manner;

But My ^dsalvation will be forever,

And My righteousness will not be dismayed.

⁷“^aListen to Me, you who know righteousness,

A people in whose ^bheart is My law;

Do not fear the ^creproach of man,

Nor be dismayed at their revilings.

⁸“For the ^amoth will eat them like a garment,

And the ^bgrub will eat them like wool.

But My ^crighteousness will be forever,

And My salvation to all generations.”

^9aAwake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Yahweh;

Awake as in the ^bdays of old, the generations of long ago.

^cWas it not You who chopped Rahab in pieces,

Who pierced the ^ddragon?

¹⁰Was it not You who ^adried up the sea,

The waters of the great deep,

Who made the depths of the sea a pathway

For the ^bredeemed to cross over?

¹¹So the ^aransomed of Yahweh will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And ^beverlasting gladness will be on their heads.

They will obtain joy and gladness,

And ^csorrow and sighing will flee away.

¹²“I, even I, am He who ^acomforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of ^bman who dies

And of the son of man who is made ^clike grass,

¹³That you have ^aforgotten Yahweh your Maker,

Who ^bstretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you ^ctremble in dread continually all day long because of the wrath of the one who brings distress,

As he makes ready to bring ruin?

But where is the wrath of the ^done who brings distress?

¹⁴“The ^aone in chains will soon be set free and will not die in the pit, ^bnor will his bread be lacking.

¹⁵“For I am Yahweh your God, who ^astirs up the sea, and its waves roar—Yahweh of hosts is His name.

¹⁶“I have ^aput My words in your mouth and have ^bcovered you with the shadow of My hand, to ^1cestablish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

^17aAwaken yourself! Awaken yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,

You who have ^bdrunk from the hand of Yahweh the cup of His wrath;

The ¹chalice of reeling you have ²drained to the dregs.

¹⁸There is ^anone to guide her among all the sons she has borne,

Nor is there one to take hold of her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

¹⁹These two things have befallen you;

Who will console you?

The ^adevastation and destruction, famine and sword;

How shall I comfort you?

²⁰Your sons have fainted;

They ^alie helpless at the head of every street,

Like an ^bantelope in a net,

Full of the wrath of Yahweh,

The ^crebuke of your God.

²¹Therefore, now, listen to this, you ^aafflicted,

Who are ^bdrunk, but not with wine:

²²Thus says your Lord, Yahweh, even your God

Who ^acontends for His people,

“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the ^bcup of reeling,

The ¹chalice of My wrath;

You will never drink it again.

²³“I will ^aset it into the hand of those who cause you grief,

Who have said to ¹you, ‘^bLie down that we may walk over you.’

You have even set your back down like the ground

And like the street for those who walk over it.”

CHAPTER 52

Hope for Captive Zion

^1aAwake, awake,

Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;

Clothe yourself in your ^bglorious garments,

O Jerusalem, the ^choly city;

For the uncircumcised and the ^dunclean

Will no longer come into you.

²Shake yourself ^afrom the dust, ^brise up,

O captive Jerusalem;

^cLoose yourself from the chains around your neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

³For thus says Yahweh, “You were ^asold for nothing, and you will be ^bredeemed ^cwithout money.”

⁴For thus says Lord Yahweh, “My people ^awent down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

⁵“So now, what do I have here,” declares Yahweh, “since My people have been taken away for nothing?” Yahweh declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My ^aname is continually blasphemed all day long.

⁶“Therefore My people shall ^aknow My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”

⁷How lovely on the mountains

Are the feet of him who proclaims ^agood news,

Who ¹announces ²peace

And proclaims good news of good things,

Who ³announces salvation,

And says to Zion, “Your ^bGod ⁴reigns!”

⁸The voice of Your watchmen! They lift up their ^avoices;

They shout joyfully together;

For they will see ¹with their own eyes

When Yahweh returns to Zion.

^9aBreak forth, shout joyfully together,

You ^bwaste places of Jerusalem;

For Yahweh has comforted His people;

He has ^credeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰Yahweh has bared His holy ^aarm

In the sight of all the nations,

¹That ^ball the ends of the earth may see

The salvation of our God.

^11aDepart, depart, go out from there,

^bTouch nothing unclean;

Go out of the midst of her, ^cpurify yourselves,

You who carry the vessels of Yahweh.

¹²But you will not go out in ^ahaste,

Nor will you go as those who flee;

For ^bYahweh will go before you,

And ^cthe God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Exalted Servant

¹³Behold, My ^aServant will prosper;

He will be high and lifted up and ¹greatly ^bexalted.

¹⁴Just as many were appalled at you, My people,

So His ^aappearance was marred more than any man

And His form more than the sons of men.

¹⁵Thus He will ^asprinkle many nations,

Kings will ^bshut their mouths on account of Him;

For ^cwhat had not been told them they will see,

And what they had not heard they will understand.