Isaiah 51:12–52:12

12 “I, yes I, am the one who comforts you.

So why are you afraid of mere humans,

who wither like the grass and disappear?

13 Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator,

the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy

and laid the foundations of the earth.

Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors?

Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?

Where is their fury and anger now?

It is gone!

14 Soon all you captives will be released!

Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate!

15 For I am the Lord your God,

who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar.

My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

16 And I have put my words in your mouth

and hidden you safely in my hand.

I stretched out* the sky like a canopy

and laid the foundations of the earth.

I am the one who says to Israel,

‘You are my people!’ ”

17 Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem!

You have drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury.

You have drunk the cup of terror,

tipping out its last drops.

18 Not one of your children is left alive

to take your hand and guide you.

19 These two calamities have fallen on you:

desolation and destruction, famine and war.

And who is left to sympathize with you?

Who is left to comfort you?*

20 For your children have fainted and lie in the streets,

helpless as antelopes caught in a net.

The Lord has poured out his fury;

God has rebuked them.

21 But now listen to this, you afflicted ones

who sit in a drunken stupor,

though not from drinking wine.

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord,

your God and Defender, says:

“See, I have taken the terrible cup from your hands.

You will drink no more of my fury.

23 Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors,

those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust

and walk on your backs.’ ”

Chapter 52

Deliverance for Jerusalem

1 Wake up, wake up, O Zion!

Clothe yourself with strength.

Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem,

for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer.

2 Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem.

Sit in a place of honor.

Remove the chains of slavery from your neck,

O captive daughter of Zion.

3 For this is what the Lord says:

“When I sold you into exile,

I received no payment.

Now I can redeem you

without having to pay for you.”

4 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Long ago my people chose to live in Egypt. Now they are oppressed by Assyria. 5 What is this?” asks the Lord. “Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation.* My name is blasphemed all day long.* 6 But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that I am the one who speaks to them.”

7 How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,

the good news of peace and salvation,

the news that the God of Israel* reigns!

8 The watchmen shout and sing with joy,

for before their very eyes

they see the Lord returning to Jerusalem.*

9 Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song,

for the Lord has comforted his people.

He has redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The Lord has demonstrated his holy power

before the eyes of all the nations.

All the ends of the earth will see

the victory of our God.

11 Get out! Get out and leave your captivity,

where everything you touch is unclean.

Get out of there and purify yourselves,

you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord.

12 You will not leave in a hurry,

running for your lives.

For the Lord will go ahead of you;

yes, the God of Israel will protect you from behind.