Isaiah 52

1 Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion, Put on the garments of your beauty, Jerusalem—the Holy City; For the uncircumcised and unclean no longer enter into you again.

Awake! awake! put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful robes, O Jerusalem, the holy town: for from now there will never again come into you the unclean and those without circumcision.

2 Shake yourself from dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem, Bands of your neck have loosed themselves, O captive daughter of Zion.

Make yourself clean from the dust; up! and take the seat of your power, O Jerusalem: the bands of your neck are loose, O prisoned daughter of Zion.

3 For thus said YHWH: “You have been sold for nothing, And you are redeemed without money.”

For the Lord says, You were given for nothing, and you will be made free without price.

4 For thus said Lord YHWH: “My people went down at first To Egypt to sojourn there, And Asshur—he has oppressed it for nothing.

For the Lord God says, My people went down at first into Egypt, to get a place for themselves there: and the Assyrian put a cruel yoke on them without cause.

5 And now, what [have] I here,” A declaration of YHWH, “That My people are taken for nothing? Its rulers cause howling,” A declaration of YHWH, “And My Name is continually despised all the day.

Now then, what have I here? says the Lord, for my people are taken away without cause; they are made waste and give cries of sorrow, says the Lord, and all the day the nations put shame on my name.

6 Therefore My people know My Name, Therefore, in that day, Surely I [am] He who is speaking, behold Me.”

For this cause I will make my name clear to my people; in that day they will be certain that it is my word which comes to them; see, here am I.

7 How lovely on the mountains, Have been the feet of one proclaiming tidings, Sounding peace, proclaiming good tidings, Sounding salvation, Saying to Zion, “Your God has reigned.”

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who comes with good news, who gives word of peace, saying that salvation is near; who says to Zion, Your God is ruling!

8 The voice of your watchmen! They have lifted up the voice, together they cry aloud, Because they see eye to eye, In YHWH’s turning back [to] Zion.

The voice of your watchmen! their voices are loud in song together; for they will see him, eye to eye, when the Lord comes back to Zion.

9 Break forth, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, For YHWH has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.

Give sounds of joy, make melody together, waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord has given comfort to his people, he has taken up the cause of Jerusalem.

10 YHWH has made His holy arm bare Before the eyes of all the nations, And all the ends of the earth have seen The salvation of our God.

The Lord has let his holy arm be seen by the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

11 Turn aside, turn aside, go out from there, Do not touch the unclean, Go out from her midst, Be pure, who are carrying the weapons of YHWH.

Away! away! go out from there, touching no unclean thing; go out from among her; be clean, you who take up the vessels of the Lord.

12 For you do not go out in haste, Indeed, you do not go on with flight, For YHWH [is] going before you, And the God of Israel [is] gathering you!

For you will not go out suddenly, and you will not go in flight: for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will come after you to keep you.

13 “Behold, My Servant acts wisely, He is high, and has been lifted up, And has been very high.”

See, my servant will do well in his undertakings, he will be honoured, and lifted up, and be very high.

14 As many have been astonished at You (His appearance so marred by man, And His form by sons of men),

As peoples were surprised at him, And his face was not beautiful, so as to be desired: his face was so changed by disease as to be unlike that of a man, and his form was no longer that of the sons of men.

15 So He sprinkles many nations. Kings shut their mouth concerning Him, For that which was not recounted to them they have seen, And that which they had not heard they have understood!

So will nations give him honour; kings will keep quiet because of him: for what had not been made clear to them they will see; and they will give their minds to what had not come to their ears.