Isaiah 50–52

Chapter 50

God Helps His Servant

¹Thus says the Lord,

“Where is the ^acertificate of divorce

By which I have ^bsent your mother away?

Or to whom 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.”

⁴The Lord ¹God 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.

⁵The Lord God has ^aopened My ear;

And I was ^bnot disobedient

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 cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

⁷For the Lord God ^ahelps Me,

Therefore, I am ^bnot disgraced;

Therefore, I have set My face like ^cflint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

⁸He who ^avindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us ^bstand up to each other;

Who has a case against Me?

Let him draw near to Me.

⁹Behold, ^athe Lord God 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 the Lord,

That obeys the voice of His ^aservant,

That ^bwalks in darkness and has no light?

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

¹¹Behold, all you who ^akindle a fire,

Who ¹encircle 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

Israel Exhorted

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

Who seek the Lord:

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 gave birth to you in pain;

When he ^bwas but one I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

³Indeed, ^athe Lord 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 the Lord;

^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 wait for 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 earth will wear out like a garment

And its inhabitants will die ¹in like manner;

But My ^csalvation will be forever,

And My righteousness will not ²wane.

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 the Lord;

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

^cWas it not You who cut 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 the Lord will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And ^beverlasting joy will be on their heads.

They will obtain gladness and joy,

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 the Lord your Maker,

Who ^bstretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you ^cfear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,

As he makes ready to destroy?

But where is the fury of the ^doppressor?

¹⁴“The ^1aexile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, ^bnor will his bread be lacking.

¹⁵“For I am the Lord your God, who ^astirs up the sea and its waves roar (the Lord 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.’ ”

^17aRouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,

You who have ^bdrunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger;

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 her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

¹⁹These two things have befallen you;

Who will mourn for 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 the Lord,

The ^crebuke of your God.

²¹Therefore, please hear this, you ^aafflicted,

Who are ^bdrunk, but not with wine:

²²Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God

Who ^acontends for His people,

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

The ¹chalice of My anger;

You will never drink it again.

²³“I will ^aput it into the hand of your tormentors,

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

You have even made your back like the ground

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

Chapter 52

Cheer for Prostrate Zion

^1aAwake, awake,

Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion;

Clothe yourself in your ^bbeautiful 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 the Lord, “You were ^asold for nothing and you will be ^bredeemed ^cwithout money.”

⁴For thus says the Lord ¹God, “My people ^awent down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

⁵“Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord 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 brings ^agood news,

Who announces ¹peace

And brings good news of ²happiness,

Who announces salvation,

And says to Zion, “Your ^bGod ³reigns!”

⁸Listen! Your watchmen lift up their ^avoices,

They shout joyfully together;

For they will see ¹with their own eyes

When the Lord restores Zion.

^9aBreak forth, shout joyfully together,

You ^bwaste places of Jerusalem;

For the Lord has comforted His people,

He has ^credeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰The Lord 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 the Lord.

¹²But you will not go out in ^ahaste,

Nor will you go ¹as fugitives;

For the ^bLord 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 astonished 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.