Isaiah 53-66

New American Standard Bible

The Suffering Servant

53 ^(A)Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
²For He grew up before Him like a ^(B)tender ^[a]shoot,
And like a root out of dry ground;
He has ^(C)no stately form or majesty
That we would look at Him,
Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.
³He was ^(D)despised and abandoned by men,
A man of ^[b]great pain and ^(E)familiar with sickness;
And like one from whom people hide their faces,
He was ^(F)despised, and we had no ^(G)regard for Him.

⁴However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself ^(H)bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by ^(I)God, and humiliated.
⁵But He was ^[c]pierced for ^(J)our offenses,
He was crushed for ^(K)our wrongdoings;
The ^(L)punishment for our ^[d]well-being was laid upon Him,
And by ^(M)His wounds we are healed.
⁶All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To ^[e]fall on Him.

⁷He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not ^(N)open His mouth;
^(O)Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
⁸By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off from the land of the ^[f]living
^(P)For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due?
⁹And His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a ^(Q)rich man in His death,
^(R)Because He had ^(S)done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰But the Lord desired
To ^(T)crush Him, ^[g]^(U)causing Him grief;
If He renders ^[h]Himself as a guilt ^(V)offering,
He will see ^(W)His ^[i]offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the ^[j]good ^(X)pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
¹¹As a result of the ^[k]anguish of His soul,
He will ^[l]^(Y)see it and be satisfied;
By His ^(Z)knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
For He will ^(AA)bear their wrongdoings.
¹²Therefore, I will allot Him a ^(AB)portion with the great,
And He will divide the plunder with the strong,
Because He poured out His ^[m]^(AC)life unto death,
And was ^(AD)counted with wrongdoers;
Yet He Himself ^(AE)bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the wrongdoers.

The Fertility of Zion

54 “^(AF)Shout for joy, infertile one, you who have not given birth to any child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor;
For the sons of the ^(AG)desolate one will be ^(AH)more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
²“^(AI)Enlarge the place of your tent;
^[n]Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them;
Lengthen your ^(AJ)ropes
And strengthen your ^(AK)pegs.
³For you will ^(AL)spread out to the right and to the left.
And your ^[o]descendants will ^(AM)possess nations
And will ^(AN)resettle the desolate cities.

⁴“Fear not, for you will ^(AO)not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the ^(AP)shame of your youth,
And no longer remember the ^(AQ)disgrace of your widowhood.
⁵For your ^(AR)husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of armies;
And your ^(AS)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the ^(AT)God of all the earth.
⁶For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife ^(AU)forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
⁷“^[p]For a ^(AV)brief moment I abandoned you,
But with great compassion I will ^(AW)gather you.
⁸In an ^[q]^(AX)outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting ^(AY)favor I will ^(AZ)have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your ^(BA)Redeemer.

⁹“For ^[r]this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would ^(BB)not ^[s]flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will ^(BC)not be angry with you
Nor rebuke you.
¹⁰For the ^(BD)mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My ^[t]favor will not be removed from you,
Nor will My ^(BE)covenant of peace be shaken,”
Says ^(BF)the Lord who has compassion on you.

¹¹“^(BG)Afflicted one, storm-tossed, and ^(BH)not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And I will ^(BI)lay your foundations with ^[u]^(BJ)sapphires.
¹²Moreover, I will make your battlements of ^[v]rubies,
And your gates of ^[w]crystal,
And your entire ^[x]wall of precious stones.
¹³^(BK)All your sons will be ^[y]taught by the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be ^(BL)great.
¹⁴In ^(BM)righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from ^(BN)oppression, for you will ^(BO)not fear;
And from ^(BP)terror, for it will not come near you.
¹⁵If anyone fiercely attacks you, it will not be from Me.
^(BQ)Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
¹⁶Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals
And produces a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to inflict ruin.
¹⁷^(BR)No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;
And you will condemn ^(BS)every tongue that ^[z]accuses you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their ^(BT)vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.

The Free Offer of Mercy

55 “^[aa]You there! Everyone who ^(BU)thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have ^(BV)no ^[ab]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy ^(BW)wine and milk
^(BX)Without money and without cost.
²Why do you ^[ac]spend money for what is ^(BY)not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and ^(BZ)eat what is good,
And ^(CA)delight yourself in abundance.
³^(CB)Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that ^[ad]you may ^(CC)live;
And I will make ^(CD)an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the ^(CE)faithful mercies ^[ae]shown to David.
⁴Behold, I have made ^(CF)him a witness to the peoples,
A ^(CG)leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵Behold, you will call a ^(CH)nation you do not know,
And a nation which does not know you will ^(CI)run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel;
For He has ^(CJ)glorified you.”

⁶^(CK)Seek the Lord while He may be found;
^(CL)Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷^(CM)Let the wicked abandon his way,
And the unrighteous person his ^(CN)thoughts;
And let him ^(CO)return to the Lord,
And He will have ^(CP)compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will ^(CQ)abundantly pardon.
⁸“For My thoughts are not ^(CR)your thoughts,
Nor are ^(CS)your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
⁹“For ^(CT)as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰For as the ^(CU)rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it produce and sprout,
And providing ^(CV)seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
¹¹So will My ^(CW)word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will ^(CX)not return to Me empty,
Without ^(CY)accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.
¹²For you will go out with ^(CZ)joy
And be led in ^(DA)peace;
The ^(DB)mountains and the hills will break into shouts of joy before you,
And all the ^(DC)trees of the field will clap their hands.
¹³Instead of the ^(DD)thorn bush, the ^(DE)juniper will come up,
And instead of the ^(DF)stinging nettle, the myrtle will come up;
And ^[af]it will be a ^[ag]^(DG)memorial to the Lord,
An everlasting ^(DH)sign which ^(DI)will not be eliminated.”

Rewards for Obedience to God

56 This is what the Lord says:
“^(DJ)Guard justice and do righteousness,
For My ^(DK)salvation is about to come
And My righteousness to be revealed.
²^(DL)Blessed is a man who does this,
And a son of man who ^(DM)takes hold of it;
Who ^(DN)keeps from profaning the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
³Let not the ^(DO)foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will certainly separate me from His people.”
Nor let the ^(DP)eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
⁴For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs who ^(DQ)keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And ^(DR)hold firmly to My covenant,
⁵To them I will give in My ^(DS)house and within My ^(DT)walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give ^[ah]them an everlasting ^(DU)name which ^(DV)will not be eliminated.

⁶“Also the ^(DW)foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
To attend to His service and to love the name of the Lord,
To be His servants, every one who ^(DX)keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it,
And holds firmly to My covenant;
⁷Even ^(DY)those I will bring to My ^(DZ)holy mountain,
And ^(EA)make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on ^(EB)My altar;
For ^(EC)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
⁸The Lord ^[ai]God, who ^(ED)gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“I will yet gather ^(EE)others to ^[aj]them, to those already gathered.”

⁹All you ^[ak]^(EF)wild animals,
All you animals in the forest,
Come to eat.
¹⁰His ^(EG)watchmen are ^(EH)blind,
All of them know nothing.
All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;
¹¹And the dogs are ^[al]^(EI)greedy, they ^[am]are never satisfied.
And they are shepherds who have ^(EJ)no understanding;
They have all ^(EK)turned to their own way,
Each one to his unjust gain, ^[an]without exception.
¹²“Come,” they say, “^[ao]let’s get ^(EL)wine, and let’s drink heavily of intoxicating drink;
And ^(EM)tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”

Evil Leaders Rebuked

57 The righteous person perishes, and no one ^(EN)takes it to heart;
And devout people are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous person is taken away from ^(EO)evil,
²He enters into peace;
They rest in their ^[ap]beds,
Each one who ^(EP)walked in his upright way.
³“But come here, you sons of a ^(EQ)sorceress,
^(ER)Offspring of an adulterer and ^[aq]a ^(ES)prostitute!
⁴Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of ^(ET)rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
⁵Who inflame yourselves among the ^(EU)oaks,
^(EV)Under every luxuriant tree,
Who ^(EW)slaughter the children in the ^[ar]ravines,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
⁶Among the ^[as]^(EX)smooth stones of the ^[at]ravine
Is your portion, ^[au]they are your lot;
Even to them you have ^(EY)poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Should I ^[av]^(EZ)relent of these things?
⁷On a ^(FA)high and lofty mountain
You have ^(FB)made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
⁸Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^(FC)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked at their ^[aw]manhood.
⁹You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have ^(FD)sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to ^[ax]Sheol.
¹⁰You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘^(FE)It is hopeless!’
You found ^[ay]renewed strength,
Therefore you did not ^[az]faint.

¹¹“Of ^(FF)whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did ^(FG)not remember Me
^[ba]Nor ^(FH)give Me a thought?
Was I not silent, even for a long time,
So you do not fear Me?
¹²I will ^(FI)declare your righteousness and your ^(FJ)deeds,
And they will not benefit you.
¹³When you cry out, ^(FK)let your collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all up,
And a breath will take them away.
But the one who ^(FL)takes refuge in Me will ^(FM)inherit the land
And ^(FN)possess My holy mountain.”

¹⁴And it will be said,
“^(FO)Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”
¹⁵For this is what the ^(FP)high and exalted One
Who ^[bb]^(FQ)lives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
“I ^(FR)dwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the ^(FS)contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to ^(FT)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶For I will ^(FU)not contend forever,
^(FV)Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the ^(FW)breath of those whom I have made.
¹⁷Because of the wrongful act of his ^(FX)unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on ^(FY)turning away, in the way of his heart.
¹⁸I have seen his ways, but I will ^(FZ)heal him;
I will ^(GA)lead him and ^(GB)restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
¹⁹Creating the ^[bc]^(GC)praise of the lips.
^(GD)Peace, peace to him who is ^(GE)far away and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
²⁰But the ^(GF)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
²¹“^(GG)There is no peace,” says ^(GH)my God, “for the wicked.”

Observances of Fasts

58 “^(GI)Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their ^(GJ)wrongdoing,
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
²Yet they ^(GK)seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done ^(GL)righteousness
And ^(GM)has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight ^(GN)in the nearness of God.
³‘Why have we ^(GO)fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not ^[bd]notice?’
Behold, on the ^(GP)day of your fast you find your desire,
And oppress all your workers.
⁴Behold, you fast for contention and ^(GQ)strife, and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you have done today to ^(GR)make your voice heard on high!
⁵Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it for bowing ^[be]one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out ^(GS)sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an ^(GT)acceptable day to the Lord?
⁶Is this not the fast that I choose:
To ^(GU)release the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the ropes of the yoke,
And to ^(GV)let the oppressed go free,
And ^(GW)break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to ^(GX)break your bread ^[bf]with the hungry
And ^(GY)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the ^(GZ)naked, to cover him;
And not to ^(HA)hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸Then your ^(HB)light will break out like the dawn,
And your ^(HC)recovery will spring up quickly;
And your ^(HD)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the ^(HE)Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹Then you will ^(HF)call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you ^(HG)remove the yoke from your midst,
The ^[bg]^(HH)pointing of the finger and ^(HI)speaking wickedness,
¹⁰And if you ^(HJ)offer yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the ^[bh]need of the afflicted,
Then your ^(HK)light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
¹¹And the ^(HL)Lord will continually guide you,
And ^(HM)satisfy your ^[bi]desire in scorched places,
And ^(HN)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a ^(HO)watered garden,
And like a ^(HP)spring of water whose waters do not ^[bj]fail.
¹²Those from among you will ^(HQ)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will ^(HR)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the ^(HS)breach,
The restorer of the ^[bk]streets in which to dwell.

Keeping the Sabbath

¹³“If, because of the Sabbath, you ^(HT)restrain your foot
From doing as you wish on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a ^(HU)pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your ^(HV)own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And ^(HW)speaking your own word,
¹⁴Then you will take ^(HX)delight in the Lord,
And I will make you ride ^(HY)on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the ^(HZ)mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Separation from God

59 Behold, ^(IA)the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
^(IB)Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
²But your ^(IC)wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His ^[bl]face from you so that He does ^(ID)not hear.
³For your ^(IE)hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with wrongdoing;
Your lips have spoken ^(IF)deceit,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.
⁴^(IG)No one sues righteously and ^(IH)no one pleads ^[bm]honestly.
They ^(II)trust in confusion and speak lies;
They ^(IJ)conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.
⁵They hatch vipers’ eggs and ^(IK)weave the spider’s web;
The one who eats of their eggs dies,
And from what is crushed, a snake breaks out.
⁶Their webs will not become clothing,
Nor will they ^(IL)cover themselves with their works;
Their ^(IM)works are works of wrongdoing,
And an ^(IN)act of violence is in their ^[bn]hands.
⁷^(IO)Their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed innocent blood;
^(IP)Their thoughts are thoughts of wrongdoing,
Devastation and destruction are in their paths.
⁸They do not know the ^(IQ)way of peace,
And there is ^(IR)no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
^(IS)Whoever walks on ^[bo]them does not know peace.

A Confession of Wickedness

⁹Therefore ^(IT)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not reach us;
We ^(IU)hope for light, but there is darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
¹⁰We ^(IV)grope for the wall like people who are blind,
We grope like those who have no eyes.
We ^(IW)stumble at midday as in the twilight;
Among those who are healthy we are ^(IX)like the dead.
¹¹All of us growl like bears,
And ^(IY)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for ^(IZ)justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
¹²For our ^(JA)wrongful acts have multiplied before You,
And our ^(JB)sins have testified against us;
For our wrongful acts are with us,
And ^[bp]we know our wrongdoings:
¹³^[bq]Offending and ^(JC)denying the Lord,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking ^(JD)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and ^(JE)uttering lying words from the heart.
¹⁴^(JF)Justice is turned back,
And ^(JG)righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.
¹⁵Truth is lacking,
And one who turns aside from evil ^(JH)makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was ^[br]displeasing in His sight ^(JI)that there was no justice.
¹⁶And He saw that there was ^(JJ)no one,
And was amazed that there was not one to intercede;
Then His ^(JK)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
¹⁷He put on ^(JL)righteousness like a breastplate,
And a ^(JM)helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on ^(JN)garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with ^(JO)zeal as a cloak.
¹⁸^(JP)According to their deeds, ^[bs]so will He repay:
Wrath to His adversaries, ^[bt]retribution to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will ^[bu]deal ^[bv]retribution.
¹⁹So they will fear the name of the Lord from the ^(JQ)west
And His glory from the ^(JR)rising of the sun,
For He will ^(JS)come like a ^[bw]rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
²⁰“A ^(JT)Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob who ^(JU)turn from wrongdoing,” declares the Lord.

²¹“As for Me, this is My ^(JV)covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My ^(JW)Spirit who is upon you, and My ^(JX)words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your ^[bx]offspring, nor from the mouth of your ^[by]offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”

A Glorified Zion

60 “^(JY)Arise, shine; for your ^(JZ)light has come,
And the ^(KA)glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
²For behold, ^(KB)darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His ^(KC)glory will appear upon you.
³^(KD)Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴“^(KE)Raise your eyes all around and see;
They all gather together, they ^(KF)come to you.
Your sons will come from afar,
And your ^(KG)daughters will be ^[bz]carried on the hip.
⁵Then you will see and be ^(KH)radiant,
And your heart will ^[ca]thrill and rejoice;
Because the ^[cb]^(KI)abundance of the sea will be turned to you,
The ^(KJ)wealth of the nations will come to you.
⁶A multitude of camels will cover you,
The young camels of Midian and ^(KK)Ephah;
All those from ^(KL)Sheba will come;
They will bring ^(KM)gold and frankincense,
And ^(KN)proclaim good news of the praises of the Lord.
⁷All the flocks of ^(KO)Kedar will be gathered to you,
The rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
They will go up on My ^(KP)altar with acceptance,
And I will ^(KQ)glorify My glorious house.
⁸^(KR)Who are these who fly like a cloud
And like the doves to their windows?
⁹Certainly the ^(KS)coastlands will wait for Me;
And the ^(KT)ships of Tarshish will come first,
To ^(KU)bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them,
For the name of the Lord your God,
And for the Holy One of Israel because He has ^(KV)glorified you.

¹⁰“^(KW)Foreigners will build up your walls,
And their ^(KX)kings will serve you;
For in My ^(KY)wrath I struck you,
And in My favor I have had compassion on you.
¹¹Your ^(KZ)gates will be open continually;
They will not be closed day or night,
So that people may ^(LA)bring you the wealth of the nations,
With ^(LB)their kings led in procession.
¹²For the ^(LC)nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish,
And the nations will be utterly ruined.
¹³The ^(LD)glory of Lebanon will come to you,
The ^(LE)juniper, the elm tree and the ^[cc]cedar together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will make the ^(LF)place of My feet glorious.
¹⁴The ^(LG)sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you,
And all those who despised you will bow down at the soles of your feet;
And they will call you the ^(LH)city of the Lord,
The ^(LI)Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵“Whereas you have been ^(LJ)forsaken and ^(LK)hated
With no one passing through,
I will make you an ^(LL)object of pride forever,
A joy from generation to generation.
¹⁶You will also ^(LM)suck the milk of nations,
And suck the breast of kings;
Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your ^(LN)Savior
And your ^(LO)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
¹⁷Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
And instead of iron I will bring silver,
And instead of wood, bronze,
And instead of stones, iron.
And I will make peace your administrators,
And righteousness your overseers.
¹⁸^(LP)Violence will not be heard again in your land,
Nor ^(LQ)devastation or destruction within your borders;
But you will call your ^(LR)walls salvation, and your ^(LS)gates praise.
¹⁹No longer will you have the ^(LT)sun for light by day,
Nor will the moon give you light for brightness;
But you will have the ^(LU)Lord as an everlasting light,
And your ^(LV)God as your ^[cd]glory.
²⁰Your ^(LW)sun will no longer set,
Nor will your moon wane;
For you will have the Lord as an everlasting light,
And the days of your ^(LX)mourning will be over.
²¹Then all your ^(LY)people will be righteous;
They will ^(LZ)possess the land forever,
The branch of ^[ce]My planting,
The ^(MA)work of My hands,
That I may be ^(MB)glorified.
²²The ^(MC)smallest one will become a thousand,
And the least one a mighty nation.
I, the Lord, will bring it about quickly in its time.”

Exaltation of the Afflicted

61 The ^(MD)Spirit of the Lord ^[cf]God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To ^(ME)bring good news to the ^(MF)humble;
He has sent me to ^(MG)bind up the brokenhearted,
To ^(MH)proclaim ^[cg]release to captives
And ^[ch]freedom to prisoners;
²To ^(MI)proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the ^(MJ)day of vengeance of our God;
To ^(MK)comfort all who mourn,
³To ^(ML)grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The ^(MM)oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called ^[ci]^(MN)oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

⁴Then they will ^(MO)rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
⁵^(MP)Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And ^[cj]foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
⁶But you will be called the ^(MQ)priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ^(MR)ministers of our God.
You will eat the ^(MS)wealth of nations,
And you will boast in their ^[ck]riches.
⁷Instead of your ^(MT)shame you will have a ^(MU)double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
^(MV)Everlasting joy will be theirs.
⁸For I, the Lord, ^(MW)love justice,
I hate robbery ^[cl]in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their reward,
And make an ^(MX)everlasting covenant with them.
⁹Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the ^(MY)offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

¹⁰I will ^(MZ)rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will be joyful in ^(NA)my God;
For He has ^(NB)clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a groom puts on a turban,
And ^(NC)as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹For as the ^(ND)earth produces its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord ^[cm]God will ^(NE)cause ^(NF)righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.

Zion’s Glory and New Name

62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her ^(NG)righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her ^(NH)salvation like a torch that is burning.
²The ^(NI)nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new ^(NJ)name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
³You will also be a ^(NK)crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal headband in the hand of your God.
⁴It will no longer be said to you, “^[cn]^(NL)Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “^[co]Desolate”;
But you will be called, “^[cp]My delight is in her,”
And your land, “^[cq]^(NM)Married”;
For the ^(NN)Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
⁵For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the ^[cr]groom rejoices over the bride,
So your ^(NO)God will rejoice over you.

⁶On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed ^(NP)watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who ^(NQ)profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;
⁷And ^(NR)give Him no rest until He establishes
And makes ^(NS)Jerusalem an object of praise on the earth.
⁸^(NT)The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm:
“I will ^(NU)never again give your grain as food for your enemies,
Nor will ^[cs]foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”
⁹But those who ^(NV)harvest it will eat it and praise the Lord;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courtyards of My sanctuary.

¹⁰Go through, ^(NW)go through the gates,
Clear a way ^[ct]for the people!
^(NX)Build up, build up the ^(NY)highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a ^(NZ)flag over the peoples.
¹¹Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the ^(OA)end of the earth:
^(OB)Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your ^(OC)salvation is coming;
^(OD)Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”
¹²And they will call them, “^(OE)The holy people,
The ^(OF)redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City ^(OG)Not Abandoned.”

God’s Vengeance on the Nations

63 Who is this who comes from ^(OH)Edom,
With ^(OI)garments of ^[cu]glowing colors from ^(OJ)Bozrah,
This One who is majestic in His apparel,
^[cv]Marching in the greatness of His strength?
“It is I, the One who speaks in righteousness, ^(OK)mighty to save.”
²Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who ^(OL)treads in the wine press?
³“^(OM)I have trodden the wine trough alone,
And from the peoples there was no one with Me.
I also ^(ON)trod them in My anger
And ^(OO)trampled them in My wrath;
And ^(OP)their ^[cw]lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,
And I ^[cx]stained all My clothes.
⁴For the ^(OQ)day of vengeance was in My heart,
And My year of redemption has come.
⁵I looked, but there was ^(OR)no one to help,
And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;
So My ^(OS)own arm brought salvation to Me,
And My wrath upheld Me.
⁶I ^(OT)trampled down the peoples in My anger
And made them ^(OU)drunk with My wrath,
And I ^[cy]poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled

⁷I will make mention of the ^(OV)mercies of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has granted us,
And the great ^(OW)goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has granted them according to His ^(OX)compassion
And according to the abundance of His mercies.
⁸For He said, “Certainly they are ^(OY)My people,
Sons who will not deal falsely.”
So He became their ^(OZ)Savior.
⁹In all their distress ^[cz]^(PA)He was distressed,
And the ^(PB)angel of His presence saved them;
In His ^(PC)love and in His mercy He ^(PD)redeemed them,
And He ^(PE)lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
¹⁰But they ^(PF)rebelled
And grieved His ^(PG)Holy Spirit;
Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy,
He fought against them.
¹¹Then ^(PH)His people remembered the days of old, of Moses.
Where is ^(PI)He who brought them up out of the sea with the ^[da]shepherds of His flock?
Where is He who ^(PJ)put His Holy Spirit in the midst of ^[db]them,
¹²Who caused His ^(PK)glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,
Who ^(PL)divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,
¹³Who led them through the depths?
Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not ^(PM)stumble;
¹⁴Like the cattle which go down into the valley,
The Spirit of the ^(PN)Lord gave ^[dc]them rest.
So You ^(PO)led Your people,
To make for Yourself a glorious name.

You Are Our Father

¹⁵^(PP)Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious ^(PQ)lofty habitation;
Where are Your ^(PR)zeal and Your mighty deeds?
The ^(PS)stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me.
¹⁶For You are our ^(PT)Father, though ^(PU)Abraham does not know us
And Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our Father,
Our ^(PV)Redeemer from ancient times is Your name.
¹⁷Why, Lord, do You ^(PW)cause us to stray from Your ways
And ^(PX)harden our heart from fearing You?
^(PY)Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
¹⁸Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while,
Our adversaries have ^(PZ)trampled it down.
¹⁹We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,
Like those who were not called by Your name.

Prayer for Mercy and Help

64 ^[dd]Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and ^(QA)come down,
That the mountains would ^(QB)quake at Your presence—
²^[de]As fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the ^(QC)nations may tremble at Your presence!
³When You did ^(QD)awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
⁴For from days of old ^(QE)they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of one who ^(QF)waits for Him.
⁵You ^(QG)meet him who rejoices in ^(QH)doing righteousness,
Who ^(QI)remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, ^(QJ)You were angry, for we sinned,
We continued in ^[df]our sins for a long time;
Yet shall we be saved?
⁶For all of us have become like one who is ^(QK)unclean,
And all our ^(QL)righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us ^(QM)wither like a leaf,
And our ^(QN)wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.
⁷There is ^(QO)no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself to take hold of You;
For You have ^(QP)hidden Your face from us
And have ^[dg]surrendered us to the power of our wrongdoings.

⁸But now, Lord, ^(QQ)You are our Father;
We are the ^(QR)clay, and You our potter,
And all of us are the ^(QS)work of Your hand.
⁹Do not be ^(QT)angry beyond measure, Lord,
^(QU)Nor remember wrongdoing forever.
Behold, please look, all of us are ^(QV)Your people.
¹⁰Your ^(QW)holy cities have become a ^(QX)wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
¹¹Our holy and beautiful ^(QY)house,
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And ^(QZ)all our precious things have become a ruin.
¹²Will You ^(RA)restrain Yourself at these things, Lord?
Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

A Rebellious People

65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by ^(RB)those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which ^(RC)did not call on My name.
²^(RD)I have spread out My hands all day long to a ^(RE)rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, ^[dh]following their own ^(RF)thoughts,
³A people who continually ^(RG)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in ^(RH)gardens and ^(RI)burning incense on bricks;
⁴Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who ^(RJ)eat pig’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
⁵Who say, ‘^(RK)Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My ^[di]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
⁶Behold, it is written before Me:
I will ^(RL)not keep silent, but ^(RM)I will repay;
I will even repay ^[dj]into their laps,
⁷Both your own ^(RN)wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have ^(RO)burned incense on the mountains
And ^(RP)scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will ^(RQ)measure their former work ^[dk]into their laps.”

⁸This is what the Lord says:

“Just as the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is ^[dl]benefit in it,’
So I will act in behalf of My servants
In order ^(RR)not to destroy ^[dm]all of them.
⁹I will bring forth ^[dn]^(RS)offspring from Jacob,
And an ^(RT)heir of My mountains from Judah;
^(RU)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And ^(RV)My servants will live there.
¹⁰^(RW)Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the ^(RX)Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who ^(RY)seek Me.
¹¹But as for you who ^(RZ)abandon the Lord,
Who forget My ^(SA)holy mountain,
Who set a table for ^[do]Fortune,
And fill a jug of mixed wine for ^[dp]Destiny,
¹²I will destine you for the ^(SB)sword,
And all of you will bow down to the ^(SC)slaughter.
Because I called, but you ^(SD)did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not listen.
Instead, you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

¹³Therefore, this is what the Lord ^[dq]God says:
“Behold, My servants will ^(SE)eat, but you will be ^(SF)hungry.
Behold, My servants will ^(SG)drink, but you will be ^(SH)thirsty.
Behold, My servants will ^(SI)rejoice, but you will be ^(SJ)put to shame.
¹⁴Behold, My servants will ^(SK)shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will ^(SL)cry out from a painful heart,
And you will wail from a broken spirit.
¹⁵You will leave your name as a ^(SM)curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord ^[dr]God will put you to death.
But ^[ds]My servants will be called by ^(SN)another name.
¹⁶Because the one who ^[dt]is blessed on the earth
Will ^[du]be blessed by the ^(SO)God of truth;
And the one who swears an oath on the earth
Will ^(SP)swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷“For behold, I create ^(SQ)new heavens and a new earth;
And the ^(SR)former things will not be remembered or come to ^[dv]mind.
¹⁸But be ^(SS)glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
¹⁹I will also ^(ST)rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of ^(SU)weeping and the sound of crying.
²⁰No longer will there be ^[dw]in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old person who does ^(SV)not ^[dx]live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of a hundred,
And the ^[dy]^(SW)one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought accursed.
²¹They will ^(SX)build houses and inhabit them;
They will also ^(SY)plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²²They will not build and ^(SZ)another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For ^(TA)as the ^[dz]lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will ^(TB)fully enjoy the work of their hands.
²³They will ^(TC)not labor in vain,
Or give birth to children for disaster;
For they are the ^[ea]^(TD)descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.

²⁴It will also come to pass that before they call, I will ^(TE)answer; while they are still speaking, I will listen. ²⁵The ^(TF)wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the ^(TG)lion will eat straw like the ox; and ^(TH)dust will be the serpent’s food. They will ^(TI)do no evil or harm on all My ^(TJ)holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Heaven Is God’s Throne

66 This is what the Lord says:

“^(TK)Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet.
Where then is a ^(TL)house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that ^[eb]I may rest?
²For ^(TM)My hand made all these things,
So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But I will look to this one,
At one who is humble and ^(TN)contrite in spirit, and who ^(TO)trembles at My word.

Hypocrisy Rebuked

³“But the one who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a person;
The one who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
One who offers a grain offering is like one who offers ^(TP)pig’s blood;
One who ^[ec]^(TQ)burns incense is like one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their ^(TR)own ways,
And their souls delight in their ^(TS)abominations,
⁴So I will ^(TT)choose their ^[ed]punishments
And ^(TU)bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but ^(TV)no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
Instead, they did ^(TW)evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
⁵Hear the word of the Lord, you who ^(TX)tremble at His word:
“Your brothers who ^(TY)hate you, who ^(TZ)exclude you on account of My name,
Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy.’
But ^(UA)they will be put to shame.
⁶A sound of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the Lord who is ^(UB)dealing retribution to His enemies.

⁷“Before she was in labor, ^(UC)she delivered;
Before her pain came, ^(UD)she gave birth to a boy.
⁸^(UE)Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be ^[ee]born in one day?
Can a nation be given birth all at once?
As soon as Zion was in labor, she also delivered her sons.
⁹Shall I bring to the point of birth but ^(UF)not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

¹⁰“Be ^(UG)joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^(UH)love her;
Be exceedingly ^(UI)glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
¹¹So that you may nurse and ^(UJ)be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
So that you may drink fully and be delighted with her ^(UK)bountiful breasts.”
¹²For this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I extend ^(UL)peace to her like a river,
And the ^(UM)glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will ^[ef]be nursed, you will be ^(UN)carried on the ^[eg]hip and rocked back and forth on the knees.
¹³As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^(UO)comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
¹⁴Then you will ^(UP)see this, and your ^(UQ)heart will be glad,
And your ^(UR)bones will flourish like the new grass;
And the ^(US)hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,
But He will be ^(UT)indignant toward His enemies.
¹⁵For behold, the Lord will come in ^(UU)fire,
And His ^(UV)chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶For the Lord will execute judgment by ^(UW)fire
And by His ^(UX)sword on ^[eh]humanity,
And those put to death by the Lord will be many.
¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^(UY)gardens,
^[ei]Following one in the center,
Who eat ^(UZ)pig’s flesh, detestable things, and mice,
Will ^(VA)come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸“For I ^[ej]know their works and their ^(VB)thoughts; ^[ek]the time is coming to ^(VC)gather all the nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹And I will put a ^(VD)sign among them and send survivors from them to the nations: ^(VE)Tarshish, ^[el]Put, ^(VF)Lud, ^[em]Meshech, ^(VG)Tubal, and ^[en]Javan, to the distant ^(VH)coastlands that have neither heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will ^(VI)declare My glory among the nations. ²⁰Then they shall ^(VJ)bring all your countrymen from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My ^(VK)holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^(VL)clean vessel to the house of the Lord. ²¹I will also take some of them as ^(VM)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For just as the ^(VN)new heavens and the new earth,
Which I make, will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So will your ^(VO)descendants and your ^(VP)name endure.
²³And it shall be from ^(VQ)new moon to new moon
And from Sabbath to Sabbath,
All ^[eo]mankind will come to ^(VR)bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
²⁴“Then they will go out and look
At the ^(VS)corpses of the people
Who have ^(VT)rebelled against Me.
For their ^(VU)worm will not die
^(VV)And their fire will not be extinguished;
And they will be an ^(VW)abhorrence to all ^[ep]mankind.”