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?A

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.B,d

WhenC 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 lightD and be satisfied.

By his knowledge,

my righteousg servanth will justify many,i

and he will carry their iniquities.

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

and he will receiveF 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 daysA 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,B

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 accusationD

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.A

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.B,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.

A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL

56 This is what the Lord says:

Preserve justice and do what is right,a

for my salvation is coming soon,

and my righteousness will be revealed.b

2 Happy is the person who does this,

the son of man who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,

and keeps his hand from doing any evil.c

3 No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord

should say,

“The Lord will exclude me from his people,”d

and the eunuch should not say,

“Look, I am a dried-up tree.”e

4 For the Lord says this:

“For the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

and choose what pleases me,

and hold firmly to my covenant,

5 I will give them, in my house and within my walls,

a memorial and a name

better than sons and daughters.

I will give each of them an everlasting name

that will never be cut off.f

6 As for the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord

to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,

and to become his servants—

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold firmly to my covenant—

7 I will bring them to my holy mountaing

and let them rejoice in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

will be acceptable on my altar,h

for my house will be called a house of prayer

for all nations.”i

8 This is the declaration of the Lord God,

who gathers the dispersed of Israel:

“I will gather to them still others

besides those already gathered.”j

UNRIGHTEOUS LEADERS CONDEMNED

9 All you animals of the field and forest,

come and eat!

10 Israel’sA watchmen* are blind, all of them,

they know nothing;

all of them are mute dogs,

they cannot bark;

they dream, lie down,

and love to sleep.

11 These dogs have fierce appetites;

they never have enough.

And they are shepherds

who have no discernment;

all of them turn to their own way,

every last one for his own profit.k

12 “Come, let me get some wine,

let’s guzzle some beer;

and tomorrow will be like today,

only far better!”l

57 The righteous person perishes,

and no one takes it to heart;

the faithful are taken away,

with no one realizing

that the righteous person is taken away

because ofA evil.

2 He will enter into peace—

they will rest on their bedsB—

everyone who lives uprightly.

PAGAN RELIGION DENOUNCED

3 But come here,

you witch’s sons,

offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!C

4 Who are you mocking?

Who are you opening your mouth

and sticking out your tongue at?

Isn’t it you, you rebellious children,m

you offspring of liars,

5 who burn with lust among the oaks,

under every green tree,n

who slaughter children in the wadis

below the clefts of the rocks?o

6 Your portion is among the smooth stones of the wadi;

indeed, they are your lot.

You have even poured out a drink offering to them;

you have offered a grain offering;

should I be satisfied with these?

7 You have placed your bed

on a high and lofty mountain;a

you also went up there to offer sacrifice.

8 You have set up your memorial

behind the door and doorpost.

For away from me, you stripped,

went up, and made your bed wide,b

and you have made a bargainD for yourself with them.

You have loved their bed;

you have gazed on their genitals.E,F

9 You went to the king with oil

and multiplied your perfumes;

you sent your envoys far awayc

and sent them down even to Sheol.

10 You became weary on your many journeys,

but you did not say, “It’s hopeless!”d

You found a renewal of your strength;G

therefore you did not grow weak.

11 Who was it you dreaded and feared,

so that you lied and didn’t remember me

or take it to heart?

I have kept silent for a long time, haven’t I?A,e

So you do not fear me.

12 I will announce your righteousness,

and your works—they will not profit you.

13 When you cry out,

let your collection of idols rescue you!

The wind will carry all of them off,

a breath will take them away.

But whoever takes refuge in me

will inherit the landf

and possess my holy mountain.g

HEALING AND PEACE

14 He said,

“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,

remove every obstacle from my people’s way.”h

15 For the High and Exalted One,

who lives forever, whose name is holy,i says this:

“I live in a high and holy place,

and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit,j

to revive the spirit of the lowly

and revive the heart of the oppressed.k

16 For I will not accuse you forever,

and I will not always be angry;l

for then the spirit would grow weak before me,

even the breath, which I have made.

17 Because of his sinful greed I was angry,m

so I struck him; I was angry and hid;

but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart.

18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will lead him and restore comfort

to him and his mourners,n

19 creating words of praise.”B,o

The Lord says,

“Peace, peace to the one who is far or near,p

and I will heal him.

20 But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,q

for it cannot be still,

and its water churns up mire and muck.

21 There is no peace for the wicked,”

says my God.r