Isaiah 53–55

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.

CHAPTER 54

The Inheritance of the Slaves of Yahweh

¹“^aShout for joy, O barren woman, who has not given birth;

Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in ¹labor;

For ^bmore numerous are the sons of the ^cdesolate one

Than the sons of the married woman,” says Yahweh.

²“^aEnlarge the place of your tent;

¹Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back;

Lengthen your ^bcords

And strengthen your ^cpegs.

³“For you will ^aspread abroad to the right and to the left.

And your seed will ^bpossess nations

And will ^cresettle the desolate cities.

⁴“Do not be afraid, for you will ^anot be put to shame;

And do not feel dishonored, for you will not be humiliated;

But you will forget the ^bshame of your virginity,

And the ^creproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

⁵“For your ^ahusband is your Maker,

Whose name is Yahweh of hosts;

And your ^bRedeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

Who is called the ^cGod of all the earth.

⁶“For Yahweh has called you,

Like a wife ^aforsaken and grieved in spirit,

Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”

Says your God.

⁷“¹For a ^abrief moment I forsook you,

But with great compassion I will ^bgather you.

⁸“In ¹a ^aflood of fury

I hid My face from you for a moment,

But with everlasting ^blovingkindness I will ^chave compassion on you,”

Says Yahweh your ^dRedeemer.

⁹“For ¹this is like the days of Noah to Me,

When I swore that the waters of Noah

Would ^anot ²overflow the earth again;

So I have sworn that I will ^bnot be furious with you

Nor will I rebuke you.

¹⁰“For the ^amountains may be removed and the hills may shake,

But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,

And My ^bcovenant of peace will not be shaken,”

Says ^cYahweh who has compassion on you.

¹¹“O ^aafflicted one, storm-tossed, and ^bnot comforted,

Behold, I will lay your stones in antimony,

And your foundations I will ^cset in ^1dsapphires.

¹²“Moreover, I will make your battlements of ¹rubies,

And your gates of ²crystal,

And your entire ³wall of ⁴precious stones.

¹³“^aAll your sons will be ¹taught of Yahweh;

And the peace of your sons will be ^bgreat.

¹⁴“In ^arighteousness you will be established;

You will be far from ^boppression, for you will ^cnot fear,

And from ^dterror, for it will not come near you.

¹⁵“If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.

^aWhoever attacks you will fall because of you.

¹⁶“Behold, I Myself have created the craftsman who blows the fire of coals

And brings out a weapon for its work;

And I have created the bringer of ruin to wreak destruction.

¹⁷“^aNo weapon that is formed against you will succeed;

And ^bevery tongue that ¹accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the inheritance of the ²slaves of Yahweh,

And their ^crighteousness is from Me,” declares Yahweh.

CHAPTER 55

Seek Yahweh While He May Be Found

¹“Ho! Every one who ^athirsts, come to the waters;

And you who have ^bno ¹money come, buy and eat.

Come, buy ^cwine and milk

^dWithout money and without cost.

²“Why do you ¹spend money for what is ^anot bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and ^beat what is good,

And ^cdelight your soul in richness.

³“^aIncline your ear and come to Me.

Listen, that your soul may ^blive;

And I will cut ^can everlasting covenant with you,

According to the ^dfaithful lovingkindnesses of David.

⁴“Behold, I have given ^ahim as a witness to the peoples,

A ^bruler and commander for the peoples.

⁵“Behold, you will call a ^anation you do not know,

And a nation which knows you not will ^brun to you,

Because of Yahweh your God, even the Holy One of Israel;

For He has ^cadorned you with beautiful glory.”

^6aSeek Yahweh while He may be found;

^bCall upon Him while He is near.

^7aLet the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his ^bthoughts;

And let him ^creturn to Yahweh,

And He will have ^dcompassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will ^eabundantly pardon.

⁸“For My thoughts are not ^ayour thoughts,

Nor are ^byour ways My ways,” declares Yahweh.

⁹“For ^aas the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰“For as the ^arain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And giving ^bseed to the sower and bread to the eater,

¹¹So will My ^aword be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will ^bnot return to Me empty,

Without ^caccomplishing what pleases Me,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

¹²“For you will go out with ^agladness

And be led forth with ^bpeace;

The ^cmountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the ^dtrees of the field will clap their hands.

¹³“Instead of the ^athorn bush the ^bcypress will come up,

And instead of the ^cnettle the myrtle will come up,

And ¹it will be to Yahweh for His ^2drenown,

For an everlasting ^esign which ^fwill not be cut off.”