Isaiah 52–53

Jerusalem Will Be Saved

52Wake up, wake up, Jerusalem! Become strong!

Be beautiful again,

holy city of Jerusalem.

The people who do not worship God and who are not pure

will not enter you again.

²Jerusalem, you once were a prisoner.

Now shake off the dust and stand up.

Jerusalem, you once were a prisoner.

Now free yourself from the chains around your neck.

³This is what the Lord says:

“You were not sold for a price,

so you will be saved without cost.”

⁴This is what the Lord God says:

“First my people went down to Egypt to live.

Later Assyria made them slaves.

⁵“Now see what has happened,” says the Lord.

“Another nation has taken away my people for nothing.

This nation who rules them makes fun of me,” says the Lord.

“All day long they speak against me.

⁶This has happened so my people will know who I am,

and so, on that future day, they will know

that I am the one speaking to them.

It will really be me.”

⁷How beautiful is the person

who comes over the mountains to bring good news,

who announces peace

and brings good news,

who announces salvation

and says to Jerusalem,

“Your God is King.”

⁸Listen! Your guards are shouting.

They are all shouting for joy!

They all will see with their own eyes

when the Lord returns to Jerusalem.

⁹Jerusalem, your buildings are destroyed now,

but shout and rejoice together,

because the Lord has comforted his people.

He has saved Jerusalem.

¹⁰The Lord will show his holy power

to all the nations.

Then everyone on earth

will see the salvation of our God.

¹¹You people, leave, leave; get out of Babylon!

Touch nothing that is unclean.

You men who carry the Lord’s things used in worship,

leave there and make yourselves pure.

¹²You will not be forced to leave Babylon quickly;

you will not be forced to run away,

because the Lord will go before you,

and the God of Israel will guard you from behind.

The Lord’s Suffering Servant

¹³The Lord says, “See, my servant will act wisely.

People will greatly honor and respect him.

¹⁴Many people were shocked when they saw him.

His appearance was so damaged he did not look like a man;

his form was so changed they could barely tell he was human.

¹⁵But now he will surprise many nations.

Kings will be amazed and shut their mouths.

They will see things they had not been told about him,

and they will understand things they had not heard.”

53Who would have believed what we heard?

Who saw the Lord’s power in this?

²He grew up like a small plant before the Lord,

like a root growing in a dry land.

He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him;

there was nothing in his appearance to make us desire him.

³He was hated and rejected by people.

He had much pain and suffering.

People would not even look at him.

He was hated, and we didn’t even notice him.

⁴But he took our suffering on him

and felt our pain for us.

We saw his suffering

and thought God was punishing him.

⁵But he was wounded for the wrong we did;

he was crushed for the evil we did.

The punishment, which made us well, was given to him,

and we are healed because of his wounds.

⁶We all have wandered away like sheep;

each of us has gone his own way.

But the Lord has put on him the punishment

for all the evil we have done.

⁷He was beaten down and punished,

but he didn’t say a word.

He was like a lamb being led to be killed.

He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut;

he never opened his mouth.

⁸Men took him away roughly and unfairly.

He died without children to continue his family.

He was put to death;

he was punished for the sins of my people.

⁹He was buried with wicked men,

and he died with the rich.

He had done nothing wrong,

and he had never lied.

¹⁰But it was the Lord who decided

to crush him and make him suffer.

The Lord made his life a penalty offering,

but he will still see his descendants and live a long life.

He will complete the things the Lord wants him to do.

¹¹“After his soul suffers many things,

he will see life and be satisfied.

My good servant will make many people right with God;

he will carry away their sins.

¹²For this reason I will make him a great man among people,

and he will share in all things with those who are strong.

He willingly gave his life

and was treated like a criminal.

But he carried away the sins of many people

and asked forgiveness for those who sinned.”