Isaiah 50:1–52:15
Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorcen
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
did I sello you?
Because of your sinsp you were sold;q
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?r
Was my arm too shorts to deliver you?
Do I lack the strengtht to rescue you?
By a mere rebukeu I dry up the sea,v
I turn rivers into a desert;w
their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darknessx
and make sackclothy its covering.”
4 The Sovereign Lordz has given me a well-instructed tongue,a
to know the word that sustains the weary.b
He wakens me morning by morning,c
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.d
5 The Sovereign Lorde has opened my ears;f
I have not been rebellious,g
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beath me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;i
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.j
7 Because the Sovereign Lordk helpsl me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,m
and I know I will not be put to shame.n
8 He who vindicateso me is near.p
Who then will bring charges against me?q
Let us face each other!r
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lords who helpst me.
Who will condemnu me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the mothsv will eat them up.
10 Who among you fearsw the Lord
and obeysx the word of his servant?y
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,z
trusta in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,b
go, walk in the light of your firesc
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:d
You will lie down in torment.e
Everlasting Salvation for Zion
51 “Listenf to me, you who pursue righteousnessg
and who seekh the Lord:
Look to the rocki from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham,j your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.k
3 The Lord will surely comfortl Zionm
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;n
he will make her deserts like Eden,o
her wastelandsp like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladnessq will be found in her,
thanksgivingr and the sound of singing.
4 “Listen to me, my people;s
hear me,t my nation:
Instructionu will go out from me;
my justicev will become a light to the nations.w
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
and my armz will bring justice to the nations.
The islandsa will look to me
and wait in hopeb for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,c
the earth will wear out like a garmentd
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvatione will last forever,f
my righteousness will never fail.g
7 “Hear me, you who know what is right,h
you people who have taken my instruction to heart:i
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
or be terrified by their insults.j
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;k
the worml will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,m
my salvation through all generations.”
9 Awake, awake,n armo of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!p
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.q
Was it not you who cut Rahabr to pieces,
who pierced that monsters through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,t
the waters of the great deep,u
who made a road in the depths of the seav
so that the redeemedw might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescuedx will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;y
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joyz will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.a
12 “I, even I, am he who comfortsb you.
Who are you that you fearc mere mortals,d
human beings who are but grass,e
13 that you forgetf the Lord your Maker,g
who stretches out the heavensh
and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terrori every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?j
14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;k
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.l
15 For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the seam so that its waves roarn—
the Lord Almightyo is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouthp
and covered you with the shadow of my handq—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,r
and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.s’ ”
17 Awake, awake!t
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
you who have drained to its dregsw
the goblet that makes people stagger.x
18 Among all the childreny she bore
there was none to guide her;z
among all the children she reared
there was none to take her by the hand.a
19 These double calamitiesb have come upon you—
who can comfort you?c—
ruin and destruction,d faminee and swordf—
who cana console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at every street corner,g
like antelope caught in a net.h
They are filled with the wrathi of the Lord,
with the rebukej of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you afflictedk one,
made drunk,l but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
your God, who defendsm his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cupn that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,o
who said to you,
‘Fall prostratep that we may walkq on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on.”r
52 Awake, awake,s Zion,
clothe yourself with strength!t
Put on your garments of splendor,u
Jerusalem, the holy city.v
The uncircumcisedw and defiledx
will not enter you again.y
2 Shake off your dust;z
rise up,a sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,b
Daughter Zion,c now a captive.
3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,d
and without moneye you will be redeemed.f”
4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“At first my people went down to Egyptg to live;
lately, Assyriah has oppressed them.
5 “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.
“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
and those who rule them mock,a”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
my name is constantly blasphemed.i
6 Therefore my people will knowj my name;k
therefore in that dayl they will know
that it is I who foretoldm it.
Yes, it is I.”
7 How beautiful on the mountainsn
are the feet of those who bring good news,o
who proclaim peace,p
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”q
8 Listen! Your watchmenr lift up their voices;s
together they shout for joy.t
When the Lord returnsu to Zion,v
they will see it with their own eyes.
9 Burst into songs of joyw together,
you ruinsx of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comfortedy his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.z
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arma
in the sight of all the nations,b
and all the ends of the earthc will see
the salvationd of our God.
11 Depart,e depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!f
Come out from it and be pure,g
you who carry the articlesh of the Lord’s house.
12 But you will not leave in hastei
or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,j
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.k
The Suffering and Glory of the Servant
13 See, my servantl will act wiselyb;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.m
14 Just as there were many who were appalledn at himc—
his appearance was so disfiguredo beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likenessp—
15 so he will sprinkleq many nations,d
and kingsr will shut their mouthss because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.t