Isaiah 52
1 Awake, awake, Put on thy strength, O Zion, —Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem—thou holy city, For there shall not again come into thee any more the uncircumcised and unclean.
[You people who live in the] holy city of Jerusalem [APO], wake up! Be strong again! Show that [MTY] your city is beautiful and glorious; foreigners who do not believe in God will not enter your city again [to attack you].
2 Shake thyself from the dust arise—sit down O Jerusalem, —Loose thyself from the bonds of thy neck, O captive! daughter of Zion!
People of Jerusalem, get up from [humbly] sitting in the dust and sit in places where people are honored! You people who have returned from being exiled, take off from your neck the chains which were fastened around you [as slaves in Babylonia],
3 For, thus, saith Yahweh, For nought, ye sold yourselves, —And not with silver, shall ye be redeemed,
because this is what Yahweh says: “[When you were taken to Babylonia], no one paid me for doing that. So now I will bring you back without [being required to] pay for you!”
4 For, thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, To Egypt, went down my people at first to sojourn there, —But, Assyria, without cause, hath oppressed him.
Yahweh [our] Lord [also] says this: “Long ago, my people went to Egypt to live there. [Later] they were being (oppressed/treated cruelly) by [the soldiers of] Assyria.
5 Now, therefore, what do I here? Demandeth Yahweh. That my people have been taken away for nought? They who rule them, do howl, Declareth Yahweh, And, continually—all the day, is my Name brought into contempt.
But now think about what is happening: My people are being forced to be slaves again, this time by the [people of Babylonia]. And [those who have conquered them this time have also] paid me nothing, and they despise me [MTY] continually [DOU].
6 Therefore, shall my people acknowledge my Name: Therefore, in that day, shall they acknowledge that, I, am the same, even I who am speaking, —Here, I am,
But my people will then have a close relationship with [MTY] me, and when that happens, they will know that I am the one who predicted/promised [that it would happen]. It is I, [Yahweh, who will do it].”
7 How beautiful, upon the mountains are the feet—Of him That bringeth good tidings, That publisheth peace, That bringeth good tidings of blessing, That publisheth salvation, —That saith unto Zion, Thy God, hath become king.
It is a wonderful thing when messengers [MTY] arrive on the mountains/hills, bringing good news, the news about [God giving us] peace and saving us, the news that the God to whom we [Israeli people] belong is now ruling/king!
8 The voice of thy watchmen! They have uplifted a voice Together, do they renew the shout of triumph, —For eye to eye, shall they see, When Yahweh returneth to Zion.
The watchmen [who are guarding the city] will shout and sing joyfully, because while they are watching they will see Yahweh returning to Jerusalem.
9 Break forth, shout in triumph together, ye waste places of Jerusalem, —For Yahweh Hath comforted his people, Hath redeemed Jerusalem:
Jerusalem has been ruined, but the people who are there now should start to sing joyfully, because Yahweh will encourage his people; he will set his people free and bring them back to Jerusalem.
10 Yahweh hath bared his holy arm, in the eyes of all the nations, So shall all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God.
Yahweh will show all the nations that he is holy and powerful. People in the most remote/distant places on earth will know that he has rescued his people.
11 Away! away! come, forth from thence!—Nought unclean, may ye touch, —Come forth out of her midst, Purify yourselves, ye who are to carry the vessels of Yahweh;
So, leave [the places where you were taken to when you were captured], where [everything is] unacceptable to God. You men who carry the items used for the worship of Yahweh, leave there [and return to Jerusalem], and purify yourselves [in order to be acceptable to worship God].
12 For, not in haste, shall ye come forth, Nor, by flight, shall ye journey, —For, your van-guard, is Yahweh, And, your rear-guard, the God of Israel.
But it will not [be necessary] for you to leave suddenly, to flee in panic, because Yahweh will (go in front of/lead) you; and he will [also] protect you [from being attacked] at the rear [while you travel].
13 Lo! my Servant, prospereth, —He riseth, and is lifted up, and becometh very high:
[Yahweh says], “Listen carefully! My servant will act wisely (OR, do the right things to accomplish what he wants to), and I will highly exalt him.”
14 The more that Many, were amazed at thee, So marred, beyond any man’s, was his appearance, —And his form, beyond the sons of men,
But many people will be appalled when they see what has happened to him. [Because of his being beaten very badly], his appearance will be changed; people will hardly recognize that he is a human.
15 The more doth he startle Many nations, Before him, have kings closed their mouth, —For, that which had not been related to them, have they seen, And that which they had not heard, haw they diligently considered.
But he will cause [people of] many nations to be surprised; [even] kings will be silent when they stand in front of him, because they will see someone that no one had told them about [previously], and they will understand things that they had not heard about [before].
