52:1 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful clothes,
O Jerusalem, holy city!
For uncircumcised and unclean pagans
will no longer invade you.
52:2 Shake off the dirt!1
Get up, captive2
Jerusalem!
Take off the iron chains around your neck,
O captive daughter Zion!
52:3 For this is what the LORD says,
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will not be redeemed for money.”
52:4 For this is what the sovereign LORD says,
“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;
Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.
52:5 And now, what do we have here?”3
says the LORD.
“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,
those who rule over them taunt,”4
says the LORD,
“and my name is constantly slandered5
all day long.
52:6 For this reason my people will know my name,
for this reason at that time6
they will know7
that I am the one who says,
‘Here I am.’“
52:7 How delightful it is to see coming over the
mountains8
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”9
52:8 Listen,10
your watchmen shout,
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes11
the LORD’s return to Zion.
52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD consoles his people,
he protects12
Jerusalem.
52:10 The LORD reveals13
his royal power,14
in the sight of all the nations,
the entire15
earth sees
our God deliver.16
52:11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out of it!
Stay pure, you who carry the LORD’s holy items!17
52:12 Yet do not depart quickly,
or leave in a panic.18
For the LORD goes before you,
the God of Israel is your rearguard.
The Lord Will Vindicate His Servant
52:13 “Look, my servant will succeed!19
He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted.20
52:14 Just as many were horrified by the sight
of you21—
he was so disfigured22
he no longer looked like a man,23
52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked
human24—
so now25
he will startle26
many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation,27
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.