| Chapter 52 |
1 | 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 | 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 the Lord says, You were given for nothing, and you will be made free without price. |
4 | 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 | 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 | 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 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! their voices are loud in song together; for they will see him, eye to eye, when the Lord comes back to Zion. |
9 | 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 | 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 | 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 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 | See, my servant will do well in his undertakings, he will be honoured, and lifted up, and be very high. |
14 | 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 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. |