Isaiah 51-55

New International Version

⁴ “Listen to me, my people;^(N)
    hear me,^(O) my nation:
Instruction^(P) will go out from me;
    my justice^(Q) will become a light to the nations.^(R)
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation^(S) is on the way,^(T)
    and my arm^(U) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands^(V) will look to me
    and wait in hope^(W) for my arm.
⁶ Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,^(X)
    the earth will wear out like a garment^(Y)
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation^(Z) will last forever,^(AA)
    my righteousness will never fail.^(AB)

⁷ “Hear me, you who know what is right,^(AC)
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:^(AD)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.^(AE)
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;^(AF)
    the worm^(AG) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,^(AH)
    my salvation through all generations.”

⁹ Awake, awake,^(AI) arm^(AJ) of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(AK)
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.^(AL)
Was it not you who cut Rahab^(AM) to pieces,
    who pierced that monster^(AN) through?
¹⁰ Was it not you who dried up the sea,^(AO)
    the waters of the great deep,^(AP)
who made a road in the depths of the sea^(AQ)
    so that the redeemed^(AR) might cross over?
¹¹ Those the Lord has rescued^(AS) will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;^(AT)
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy^(AU) will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(AV)

¹² “I, even I, am he who comforts^(AW) you.
    Who are you that you fear^(AX) mere mortals,^(AY)
    human beings who are but grass,^(AZ)
13 that you forget^(BA) the Lord your Maker,^(BB)
    who stretches out the heavens^(BC)
    and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror^(BD) every day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
    who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?^(BE)
14     The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;^(BF)
they will not die in their dungeon,
    nor will they lack bread.^(BG)
15 For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea^(BH) so that its waves roar^(BI)—
    the Lord Almighty^(BJ) is his name.
¹⁶ I have put my words in your mouth^(BK)
    and covered you with the shadow of my hand^(BL)—
I who set the heavens in place,
    who laid the foundations of the earth,^(BM)
    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.^(BN)’”

²¹ Therefore hear this, you afflicted^(CF) one,
    made drunk,^(CG) but not with wine.
²² This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
    your God, who defends^(CH) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
    the cup^(CI) 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,^(CJ)
    who said to you,
    ‘Fall prostrate^(CK) that we may walk^(CL) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
    like a street to be walked on.”^(CM)

52 Awake, awake,^(CN) Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(CO)
Put on your garments of splendor,^(CP)
    Jerusalem, the holy city.^(CQ)
The uncircumcised^(CR) and defiled^(CS)
    will not enter you again.^(CT)
2 Shake off your dust;^(CU)
    rise up,^(CV) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,^(CW)
    Daughter Zion,^(CX) now a captive.

“You were sold for nothing,^(CY)
    and without money^(CZ) you will be redeemed.^(DA)”

“At first my people went down to Egypt^(DB) to live;
    lately, Assyria^(DC) has oppressed them.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,^[b]”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.^(DD)
6 Therefore my people will know^(DE) my name;^(DF)
    therefore in that day^(DG) they will know
that it is I who foretold^(DH) it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains^(DI)
    are the feet of those who bring good news,^(DJ)
who proclaim peace,^(DK)
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”^(DL)
8 Listen! Your watchmen^(DM) lift up their voices;^(DN)
    together they shout for joy.^(DO)
When the Lord returns^(DP) to Zion,^(DQ)
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy^(DR) together,
    you ruins^(DS) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted^(DT) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.^(DU)
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm^(DV)
    in the sight of all the nations,^(DW)
and all the ends of the earth^(DX) will see
    the salvation^(DY) of our God.

¹¹ Depart,^(DZ) depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!^(EA)
Come out from it and be pure,^(EB)
    you who carry the articles^(EC) of the Lord’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste^(ED)
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,^(EE)
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.^(EF)

53 Who has believed our message^(EP)
    and to whom has the arm^(EQ) of the Lord been revealed?^(ER)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,^(ES)
    and like a root^(ET) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance^(EU) that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering,^(EV) and familiar with pain.^(EW)
Like one from whom people hide^(EX) their faces
    he was despised,^(EY) and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,^(EZ)
yet we considered him punished by God,^(FA)
    stricken by him, and afflicted.^(FB)
5 But he was pierced^(FC) for our transgressions,^(FD)
    he was crushed^(FE) for our iniquities;
the punishment^(FF) that brought us peace^(FG) was on him,
    and by his wounds^(FH) we are healed.^(FI)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,^(FJ)
    each of us has turned to our own way;^(FK)
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity^(FL) of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed^(FM) and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;^(FN)
he was led like a lamb^(FO) to the slaughter,^(FP)
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression^[f] and judgment^(FQ) he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;^(FR)
    for the transgression^(FS) of my people he was punished.^[g]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,^(FT)
    and with the rich^(FU) in his death,
though he had done no violence,^(FV)
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.^(FW)

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will^(FX) to crush^(FY) him and cause him to suffer,^(FZ)
    and though the Lord makes^[h] his life an offering for sin,^(GA)
he will see his offspring^(GB) and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper^(GC) in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,^(GD)
    he will see the light^(GE) of life^[i] and be satisfied^[j];
by his knowledge^[k] my righteous servant^(GF) will justify^(GG) many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.^(GH)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,^[l](GI)
    and he will divide the spoils^(GJ) with the strong,^[m]
because he poured out his life unto death,^(GK)
    and was numbered with the transgressors.^(GL)
For he bore^(GM) the sin of many,^(GN)
    and made intercession^(GO) for the transgressors.

⁴ “Do not be afraid;^(HA) you will not be put to shame.^(HB)
    Do not fear disgrace;^(HC) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth^(HD)
    and remember no more the reproach^(HE) of your widowhood.^(HF)
5 For your Maker^(HG) is your husband^(HH)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One^(HI) of Israel is your Redeemer;^(HJ)
    he is called the God of all the earth.^(HK)
6 The Lord will call you back^(HL)
    as if you were a wife deserted^(HM) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,^(HN)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
⁷ “For a brief moment^(HO) I abandoned^(HP) you,
    but with deep compassion^(HQ) I will bring you back.^(HR)
8 In a surge of anger^(HS)
    I hid^(HT) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness^(HU)
    I will have compassion^(HV) on you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.^(HW)

⁹ “To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.^(HX)
So now I have sworn^(HY) not to be angry^(HZ) with you,
    never to rebuke^(IA) you again.
¹⁰ Though the mountains be shaken^(IB)
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love^(IC) for you will not be shaken^(ID)
    nor my covenant^(IE) of peace^(IF) be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion^(IG) on you.

¹¹ “Afflicted^(IH) city, lashed by storms^(II) and not comforted,^(IJ)
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,^[n](IK)
    your foundations^(IL) with lapis lazuli.^(IM)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates^(IN) of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
¹³ All your children will be taught by the Lord,^(IO)
    and great will be their peace.^(IP)
14 In righteousness^(IQ) you will be established:^(IR)
Tyranny^(IS) will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.^(IT)
Terror^(IU) will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
¹⁵ If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender^(IV) to you.

¹⁶ “See, it is I who created the blacksmith^(IW)
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon^(IX) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer^(IY) to wreak havoc;
¹⁷     no weapon forged against you will prevail,^(IZ)
    and you will refute^(JA) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants^(JB) of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication^(JC) from me,”
declares the Lord.

⁶ Seek^(JW) the Lord while he may be found;^(JX)
    call^(JY) on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake^(JZ) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.^(KA)
Let them turn^(KB) to the Lord, and he will have mercy^(KC) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.^(KD)

⁸ “For my thoughts^(KE) are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”^(KF)
declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,^(KG)
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.^(KH)
10 As the rain^(KI) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,^(KJ)
    so that it yields seed^(KK) for the sower and bread for the eater,^(KL)
11 so is my word^(KM) that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,^(KN)
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose^(KO) for which I sent it.
¹² You will go out in joy^(KP)
    and be led forth in peace;^(KQ)
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song^(KR) before you,
and all the trees^(KS) of the field
    will clap their hands.^(KT)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
    and instead of briers^(KU) the myrtle^(KV) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,^(KW)
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.”