Isaiah 52

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.