SALVATION FOR ZION

51 Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,

you who seek the Lord:

Look to the rock from which you were cut,

and to the quarry from which you were dug.

2 Look to Abraham your father,

and to Sarah who gave birth to you.

When I called him, he was only one;

I blessed him and made him many.g

3 For the Lord will comfort Zion;h

he will comfort all her waste places,

and he will make her wilderness like Eden,i

and her desert like the garden of the Lord.j

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and melodious song.

4 Pay attention to me, my people,

and listen to me, my nation;

for instruction will come from me,

and my justice for a light to the nations.k

I will bring it about quickly.

5 My righteousness is near,l

my salvation appears,

and my arms will bring justice to the nations.m

The coasts and islands will put their hope in me,

and they will look to my strength.D

6 Look up to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and its inhabitants will die like gnats.E,n

But my salvation will last forever,o

and my righteousness will never be shattered.

7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness,

the people in whose heart is my instruction:p

do not fear disgrace by men,

and do not be shattered by their taunts.

8 For moths will devour them like a garment,q

and worms will eat them like wool.r

But my righteousness will last forever,

and my salvation for all generations.

9 Wake up, wake up!

Arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength.

Wake up as in days past,

as in generations long ago.

Wasn’t it you who hacked Rahab to pieces,s

who pierced the sea monster?t

10 Wasn’t it you who dried up the sea,u

the waters of the great deep,

who made the sea-bed into a road

for the redeemed to pass over?v

11 And the ransomed of the Lord will returnw

and come to Zion with singing,

crowned with unending joy.

Joy and gladness will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee.

12 I—I am the one who comforts you.

Who are you that you should fear humans who die,a

or a son of man who is given up like grass?b

13 But you have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,

who stretched out the heavens

and laid the foundations of the earth.c

You are in constant dread all day long

because of the fury of the oppressor,

who has set himself to destroy.

But where is the fury of the oppressor?d

14 The prisonerA is soon to be set free;

he will not die and go to the Pit,

and his food will not be lacking.

15 For I am the Lord your God

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roare—

his name is the Lord of Armies.

16 I have put my words in your mouth,f

and covered you in the shadow of my hand,g

in order to plantB the heavens,

to found the earth,

and to say to Zion, “You are my people.”

17 Wake yourself, wake yourself up!

Stand up, Jerusalem,

you who have drunk the cup of his furyh

from the Lord’s hand;

you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs—

the cup that causes people to stagger.

18 There is no one to guide her

among all the children she has raised;

there is no one to take hold of her hand

among all the offspring she has brought up.

19 These two things have happened to you:i

devastation and destruction,

famine and sword.

Who will grieve for you?

How can IC comfort you?

20 Your children have fainted;

they lie at the head of every street

like an antelope in a net.

They are full of the Lord’s fury,

the rebuke of your God.

21 So listen to this, suffering

and drunken one—but not with wine.j

22 This is what your Lord says—

the Lord, even your God,

who defends his peoplek—

“Look, I have removed from your hand

the cup that causes staggering;

that goblet, the cup of my fury.

You will never drink it again.

23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,

who said to you,l

‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’

You made your back like the ground,

and like a street for those who walk on it.

52 “Wake up, wake up;

put on your strength, Zion!

Put on your beautiful garments,m

Jerusalem, the holy city!n

For the uncircumcised and the unclean

will no longer enter you.o

2 Stand up, shake the dust off yourself!

Take your seat, Jerusalem.

Remove the bondsD from your neck,

captive Daughter Zion.”

3 For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,

and you will be redeemed without silver.”p

4 For this is what the Lord God says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to reside there,q

then Assyria oppressed them without cause.E

5 So now what have I here”—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

“that my people are taken away for nothing?

Its rulers wail”—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

“and my name is continually blasphemed all day long.a

6 Therefore my people will know my name;b

therefore they will know on that day

that I am he who says,

‘Here I am.’ ”

7 How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of the herald,

who proclaims peace,

who brings news of good things,c

who proclaims salvation,

who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”d

8 The voices of your watchmene—

they lift up their voices,

shouting for joy together;

for every eye will see

when the Lord returns to Zion.

9 Be joyful, rejoice together,

you ruins of Jerusalem!f

For the Lord has comforted his people;g

he has redeemed Jerusalem.

10 The Lord has displayed his holy arm

in the sight of all the nations;h

all the ends of the earth will see

the salvation of our God.i

11 Leave, leave, go out from there!j

Do not touch anything unclean;

go out from her, purify yourselves,k

you who carry the vessels of the Lord.

12 For you will not leave in a hurry,l

and you will not have to take flight;

because the Lord is going before you,m

and the God of Israel is your rear guard.n

THE SERVANT’S SUFFERING AND EXALTATION

13 See, my servantA,o will be successful;B

he will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.p

14 Just as many were appalled at youC—

his appearance was so disfigured

that he did not look like a man,

and his form did not resemble a human being—

15 so he will sprinkle many nations.D,q

Kings will shut their mouths because of him,

for they will see what had not been told them,

and they will understand what they had not heard.r

53 Who has believed what we have heard?E

And to whom has the arm of the Lords been revealed?t

2 He grew up before him like a young plantu

and like a root out of dry ground.

He didn’t have an impressive form

or majesty that we should look at him,

no appearance that we should desire him.v

3 He was despised and rejected by men,w

a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.x

He was like someone people turned away from;F

he was despised, and we didn’t value him.

4 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,

and he carried our pains;y

but we in turn regarded him stricken,

struck down by God,z and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion,aa

crushed because of our iniquities;ab

punishmentac for our peace was on him,

and we are healed by his wounds.ad

6 We all went astray like sheep;ae

we all have turned to our own way;

and the Lord has punished him

forG the iniquityaf of us all.ag

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughter

and like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not open his mouth.ah

8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment,

and who considered his fate?H

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

he was struck because of my people’s rebellion.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

but he was with a rich man at his death,a

because he had done no violence

and had not spoken deceitfully.b

10 Yet the Lord was pleasedc to crush him severely.A,d

WhenB you make him a guilt offering,e

he will see his seed, he will prolong his days,

and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.f

11 After his anguish, he will see lightC and be satisfied.

By his knowledge,

my righteousg servanth will justify many,i

and he will carry their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give himD the many as a portion,

and he will receiveE the mighty as spoil,

because he willingly submitted to death,j

and was counted among the rebels;k

yet he bore the sin of manyl

and interceded for the rebels.m

FUTURE GLORY FOR ISRAEL

54 “Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth;

burst into song and shout,

you who have not been in labor!n

For the children of the desolate one will be more

than the children of the married woman,”o

says the Lord.

2 “Enlarge the site of your tent,

and let your tent curtains be stretched out;p

do not hold back;

lengthen your ropes,

and drive your pegs deep.

3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,q

and your descendants will dispossess nations

and inhabit the desolate cities.

4 “Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;r

don’t be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.

For you will forget the shame of your youth,

and you will no longer remember

the disgrace of your widowhood.s

5 Indeed, your husband is your Makert—

his name is the Lord of Armies—

and the Holy One of Israelu is your Redeemer;v

he is called the God of the whole earth.

6 For the Lord has called you,

like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,w

a wife of one’s youthx when she is rejected,”

says your God.

7 “I deserted you for a brief moment,y

but I will take you back with abundant compassion.

8 In a surge of anger

I hid my facez from you for a moment,

but I will have compassion on you

with everlasting love,”aa

says the Lord your Redeemer.

9 “For this is like the daysF of Noah to me:

when I swore that the water of Noah

would never flood the earth again,ab

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you

or rebuke you.ac

10 Though the mountains move

and the hills shake,

my love will not be removed from you

and my covenant of peacead will not be shaken,”

says your compassionate Lord.

11 “Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted,

I will set your stones in black mortar,G

and lay your foundations in lapis lazuli.ae

12 I will make your fortifications* out of rubies,

your gates out of sparkling stones,

and all your walls out of precious stones.

13 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord,a

their prosperity will be great,

14 and you will be established

on a foundation of righteousness.

You will be far from oppression,

you will certainly not be afraid;

you will be far from terror,

it will certainly not come near you.

15 If anyone attacks you,

it is not from me;

whoever attacks you

will fall before you.

16 Look, I have created the craftsman

who blows on the charcoal fire

and produces a weapon suitable for its task;

and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc.

17 No weapon formed against you will succeed,

and you will refute any accusationA

raised against you in court.

This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,b

and their vindication is from me.”c

This is the Lord’s declaration.

COME TO THE LORD

55 “Come, everyone who is thirsty,d

come to the water;

and you without silver,

come, buy, and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without silver and without cost!

2 Why do you spend silver on what is not food,

and your wages on what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,

and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.B

3 Pay attention and come to me;

listen, so that you will live.

I will make a permanent covenant with youe

on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.C,f

4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,g

a leader and commander for the peoples,h

5 so you will summon a nation you do not know,i

and nations who do not know you will run to you.j

For the Lord your God,

even the Holy One of Israel,k

has glorified you.”l

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call to him while he is near.m

7 Let the wicked one abandon his way

and the sinful one his thoughts;n

let him return to the Lord,

so he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will freely forgive.o

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

and your ways are not my ways.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,p

so my ways are higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven

and do not return there

without saturating the earth

and making it germinate and sprout,

and providing seed to sow

and food to eat,q

11 so my word that comes from my mouth

will not return to me empty,

but it will accomplish what I please

and will prosper in what I send it to do.”r

12 You will indeed go out with joy

and be peacefully guided;

the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.s

13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,

and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;t

this will stand as a monument for the Lord,u

an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.