Isaiah 53-55
New King James Version
The Sin-Bearing Messiah
53 Who (A)has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no [a]form or [b]comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no [c]beauty that we should desire Him.
3 (B)He is despised and [d]rejected by men,
A Man of [e]sorrows and (C)acquainted with [f]grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and (D)we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely (E)He has borne our [g]griefs
And carried our [h]sorrows;
Yet we [i]esteemed Him stricken,
[j]Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was (F)wounded[k] for our transgressions,
He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His (G)stripes[m] we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [n]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet (H)He opened not His mouth;
(I)He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was (J)taken from [o]prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For (K)He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 (L)And [p]they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any (M)deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to [q]bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul (N)an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 [r]He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge (O)My righteous (P)Servant shall (Q)justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 (R)Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
(S)And He shall divide the [s]spoil with the strong,
Because He (T)poured out His soul unto death,
And He was (U)numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And (V)made intercession for the transgressors.
A Perpetual Covenant of Peace
54 “Sing, O (W)barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge(X) the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will (Y)inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.
4 “Do(Z) not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
5 (AA)For your Maker is your husband,
The Lord of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called (AB)the God of the whole earth.
6 For the Lord (AC)has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
7 “For(AD) a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies (AE)I will gather you.
8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
(AF)But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of (AG)Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with (AH)you, nor rebuke you.
10 For (AI)the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
(AJ)But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
11 “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with (AK)colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be (AL)taught by the Lord,
And (AM)great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall (AN)fall for your sake.
16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an [t]instrument for his work;
And I have created the [u]spoiler to destroy.
17 No weapon formed against you shall (AO)prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
(AP)And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
An Invitation to Abundant Life
55 “Ho! (AQ)Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
(AR)Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you [v]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and (AS)come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
(AT)And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The (AU)sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as (AV)a witness to the people,
(AW)A leader and commander for the people.
5 (AX)Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
(AY)And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
(AZ)For He has glorified you.”
6 (BA)Seek the Lord while He may be (BB)found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (BC)Let the [w]wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man (BD)his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
(BE)And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For(BF) My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For(BG) as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For (BH)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 (BI)So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [x]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall (BJ)prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For(BK) you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall (BL)break forth into singing before you,
And (BM)all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (BN)Instead of (BO)the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord (BP)for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:2 Stately form
- Isaiah 53:2 splendor
- Isaiah 53:2 Lit. appearance
- Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit. pains
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit. sickness
- Isaiah 53:4 Lit. sicknesses
- Isaiah 53:4 Lit. pains
- Isaiah 53:4 reckoned
- Isaiah 53:4 Struck down
- Isaiah 53:5 Or pierced through
- Isaiah 53:5 crushed
- Isaiah 53:5 Blows that cut in
- Isaiah 53:6 Lit. has caused to land on Him
- Isaiah 53:8 confinement
- Isaiah 53:9 Lit. he or He
- Isaiah 53:10 crush
- Isaiah 53:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX From the labor of His soul He shall see light
- Isaiah 53:12 plunder
- Isaiah 54:16 Or weapon
- Isaiah 54:16 destroyer
- Isaiah 55:2 Lit. weigh out silver
- Isaiah 55:7 Lit. man of iniquity
- Isaiah 55:11 empty, without fruit
Isaiah 53-55
English Standard Version
53 (A)Who has believed what he has heard from us?[a]
And to whom has (B)the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
(C)and like a root out of dry ground;
(D)he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 (E)He was despised and rejected[b] by men,
a man of sorrows[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[f]
he was despised, and (F)we esteemed him not.
4 (G)Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
(H)smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 (I)But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
(J)and with his wounds we are healed.
6 (K)All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
(L)and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
(M)yet he opened not his mouth;
(N)like a (O)lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, (P)who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
(Q)and with a rich man in his death,
although[g] (R)he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet (S)it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;[h]
(T)when his soul makes[i] an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
(U)the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see[j] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall (V)the righteous one, my servant,
(W)make many to be accounted righteous,
(X)and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 (Y)Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[k]
(Z)and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[l]
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
(AA)yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The Eternal Covenant of Peace
54 (AB)“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of (AC)the desolate one (AD)will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 (AE)“Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 (AF)For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, (AG)for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 (AH)For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
(AI)and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
(AJ)the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 (AK)For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 (AL)For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 (AM)In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
(AN)but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “This is like (AO)the days of Noah[m] to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and (AP)my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
11 (AQ)“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, (AR)I will set your stones in antimony,
(AS)and lay your foundations with sapphires.[n]
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,[o]
your gates of carbuncles,[p]
and all your wall of precious stones.
13 (AT)All your children (AU)shall be taught by the Lord,
(AV)and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 (AW)If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
(AX)and their vindication[q] from me, declares the Lord.”
The Compassion of the Lord
55 (AY)“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
(AZ)come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 (BA)Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
(BB)hear, that your soul may live;
(BC)and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
(BD)my steadfast, sure love for (BE)David.
4 (BF)Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
(BG)a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 (BH)Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and (BI)a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
(BJ)for he has glorified you.
6 (BK)“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 (BL)For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 (BM)“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
(BN)giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but (BO)it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 (BP)“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
(BQ)the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (BR)Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:1 Or Who has believed what we have heard?
- Isaiah 53:3 Or forsaken
- Isaiah 53:3 Or pains; also verse 4
- Isaiah 53:3 Or and knowing
- Isaiah 53:3 Or sickness; also verse 4
- Isaiah 53:3 Or as one who hides his face from us
- Isaiah 53:9 Or because
- Isaiah 53:10 Or he has made him sick
- Isaiah 53:10 Or when you make his soul
- Isaiah 53:11 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll he shall see light
- Isaiah 53:12 Or with the great
- Isaiah 53:12 Or with the numerous
- Isaiah 54:9 Some manuscripts For this is as the waters of Noah
- Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
- Isaiah 54:12 Or jasper, or ruby
- Isaiah 54:12 Or crystal
- Isaiah 54:17 Or righteousness
2 Thessalonians 1
New King James Version
Greeting
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 (A)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Final Judgment and Glory
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that (B)we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God (C)for your patience and faith (D)in all your persecutions and [a]tribulations that you endure, 5 which is (E)manifest[b] evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, (F)for which you also suffer; 6 (G)since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with [c]tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled (H)rest with us when (I)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 (J)These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and (K)from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, (L)to be (M)glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who [d]believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would (N)count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and (O)the work of faith with power, 12 (P)that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Footnotes
- 2 Thessalonians 1:4 afflictions
- 2 Thessalonians 1:5 plain
- 2 Thessalonians 1:6 affliction
- 2 Thessalonians 1:10 NU, M have believed
2 Thessalonians 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 (A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
3 (B)We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore (C)we ourselves boast about you (D)in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith (E)in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
The Judgment at Christ's Coming
5 This is (F)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be (G)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it (H)just (I)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant (J)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when (K)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven (L)with his mighty angels 8 (M)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those (N)who do not know God and on those who (O)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of (P)eternal destruction, (Q)away from[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 (R)when he comes on (S)that day (T)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our (U)testimony to you (V)was believed. 11 To this end we (W)always pray for you, that our God may (X)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every (Y)work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus (Z)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Footnotes
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 Or destruction that comes from
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
