Isaiah 52
EasyEnglish Bible
God will make Jerusalem safe again[a]
52 Wake up, Zion!
Be ready to show your strength!
Jerusalem, God's holy city,
Put on your beautiful clothes!
Foreign people who do not serve God
will not attack your city again.
2 Shake off the dirt, Jerusalem!
Get up and sit on your throne.
People of Zion, you are no longer prisoners,
so take the chains off your neck.
3 This is what the Lord says to you:
‘I received no money when I sold you.
And I will not pay anything to make you free again.’
4 The Almighty Lord says,
‘Long ago, my people went to live for some time in Egypt.
At a later time, Assyria's army was cruel to them.
5 But now, what is happening?
An enemy has taken my people away as slaves,
for no good reason.[b]
Their leaders boast loudly,
and they insult me all the time.
6 So I will cause my people to know my name.
When all this happens, they will know
that I am the God who speaks to them.
I tell them that I am with them.’
7 Somebody is coming across the mountains
to bring good news to us!
It is a beautiful thing to see him run towards us!
He has come to tell us that there will be peace,
because God will save our city.
He says to Zion,
‘Your God rules as king!’
8 Listen! The guards on the city's walls are shouting!
They all shout together with joy!
They can see for themselves
that the Lord is returning to Zion.
9 Jerusalem, your buildings have become heaps of stones,
but now you can all shout together with joy!
Sing aloud, because the Lord has comforted his people.
He has made Jerusalem safe again.
10 The Lord has shown all the nations how strong he is.
They can all see his holy power.
People all over the world will know
that our God has rescued his people.
11 Leave! Leave! Go out from there.[c]
Do not touch anything that is unclean.
Leave that foreign place!
The people who carry the Lord's special things
must keep themselves pure.
12 But you will not have to hurry and run away.
No, the Lord, Israel's God, will keep you safe.
He will lead you at the front,
and he will be your guard at the back.
The Lord's Servant
13 Look! My servant will do well.
He will move up to a high place
where people will honour him as great.
14 At one time, when people saw him,
they were very upset.
His body became completely spoiled,
so that he no longer seemed to be a man.
He did not seem to have a human body.
15 But now, he will cause the people in many nations
to be very surprised!
Kings will have nothing to say
when they see how great he is.
They will see something new
that nobody had told them about.
They will understand new things
that they had not heard about before.
Isaiah 52
New King James Version
God Redeems Jerusalem
52 Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised (A)and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
2 (B)Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
(C)Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!
3 For thus says the Lord:
4 For thus says the Lord God:
“My people went down at first
Into (F)Egypt to [a]dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord,
“That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
[b]Make them wail,” says the Lord,
“And My name is (G)blasphemed continually every day.
6 Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’ ”
7 (H)How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
(I)“Your God reigns!”
8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 (J)The Lord has [c]made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of (K)all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.
11 (L)Depart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
(M)Be clean,
You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For (N)you shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
(O)For the Lord will go before you,
(P)And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The Sin-Bearing Servant
13 Behold, (Q)My Servant shall [d]deal prudently;
(R)He shall be exalted and [e]extolled and be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you,
So His (S)visage[f] was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
15 (T)So shall He [g]sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For (U)what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 52:4 As resident aliens
- Isaiah 52:5 DSS Mock; LXX Marvel and wail; Tg. Boast themselves; Vg. Treat them unjustly
- Isaiah 52:10 Revealed His power
- Isaiah 52:13 prosper
- Isaiah 52:13 Lit. be lifted up
- Isaiah 52:14 appearance
- Isaiah 52:15 Or startle
Isaiah 52
English Standard Version
The Lord's Coming Salvation
52 (A)Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
(B)put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, (C)the holy city;
(D)for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 (E)Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
(F)loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord: (G)“You were sold for nothing, and (H)you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord God: (I)“My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.[a] 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and (J)continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. (K)Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”
7 (L)How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, (M)who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 The voice of (N)your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
(O)for eye to eye they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 (P)Break forth together into singing,
(Q)you waste places of Jerusalem,
for (R)the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 (S)The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
(T)and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
11 (U)Depart, depart, go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
(V)you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you shall not (W)go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
(X)for the Lord will go before you,
(Y)and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions
13 Behold, (Z)my servant shall act wisely;[b]
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
(AA)his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so (AB)shall he sprinkle[c] many nations.
(AC)Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
(AD)for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 52:4 Or the Assyrian has oppressed them of late
- Isaiah 52:13 Or shall prosper
- Isaiah 52:15 Or startle
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.
