Isaiah 51–53

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.

CHAPTER 53

The Suffering Servant

^1aWho has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?

²For He grew up before Him like a ^atender ¹shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has ^bno stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should desire Him.

³He was ^adespised and forsaken of men,

A man of ¹sorrows and ^bacquainted with ²grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was ^cdespised, and we did not ^desteem Him.

⁴Surely our ¹griefs He Himself ^2abore,

And our ³sorrows He ⁴carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

⁵Smitten of ^bGod, and afflicted.

⁵But He was ¹pierced through for ^aour transgressions,

He was crushed for ^bour iniquities;

The ^cchastening for our peace fell upon Him,

And by ^dHis ²wounds we are healed.

⁶All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all

To ¹fall on Him.

⁷He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not ^aopen His mouth;

^bLike a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

⁸By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered

That He was cut off out of the land of ¹the living,

^aThat for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?

⁹So His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a ^arich man in His death,

^bBecause He had ^cdone no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰But ¹Yahweh was pleased

To ^acrush Him, ^2bputting Him to grief;

If You would place His soul as a guilt ^coffering,

He will see ^dHis seed,

He will prolong His days,

And the ³good ^epleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand.

¹¹As a result of the ¹anguish of His soul,

He will ^asee ²it and be satisfied;

By His ^bknowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will ³justify the many,

As He will ^cbear their iniquities.

¹²Therefore, I will divide for Him a ^aportion with the many,

And He will divide the spoil with the strong;

Because He poured out ^bHis soul to death,

And was ^cnumbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself ^1dbore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors.