Isaiah 50
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
50 Thus says the Lord:
Where is your mother’s bill of divorce
with which I put her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
No, because of your sins you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was put away.
2 Why was no one there when I came?
Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
By my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water,
and die of thirst.[a]
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,
and make sackcloth their covering.
The Servant’s Humiliation and Vindication
4 The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,[b]
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
7 The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8 he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
9 It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
and has no light,
yet trusts in the name of the Lord
and relies upon his God?
11 But all of you are kindlers of fire,
lighters of firebrands.[c]
Walk in the flame of your fire,
and among the brands that you have kindled!
This is what you shall have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 50:2 Or die on the thirsty ground
- Isaiah 50:4 Cn: Heb of those who are taught
- Isaiah 50:11 Syr: Heb you gird yourselves with firebrands
Isaiah 50
Contemporary English Version
The Lord's Power To Punish
50 (A) The Lord says, “Children,
I didn't divorce your mother
or sell you to pay debts;
I divorced her and sold you
because of your sins.
2 I came and called out,
but you didn't answer.
Have I lost my power
to rescue and save?
At my command oceans and rivers
turn into deserts;
fish rot and stink
for lack of water.
3 I make the sky turn dark
like the sackcloth
you wear at funerals.”
God's Servant Must Suffer
4 The Lord God gives me
the right words
to encourage the weary.
Each morning he awakens me
eager to learn his teaching;
5 he made me willing to listen
and not rebel or run away.
6 (B) I let them beat my back
and pull out my beard.
I didn't turn aside
when they insulted me
and spit in my face.
7 But the Lord God keeps me
from being disgraced.
So I refuse to give up,
because I know
God will never let me down.
8 (C) My protector is nearby;
no one can stand here
to accuse me of wrong.
9 The Lord God will help me
and prove I am innocent.
My accusers will wear out
like moth-eaten clothes.
Isaiah 50
Authorized (King James) Version
50 Thus saith the Lord,
Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away?
or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves,
and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man?
when I called, was there none to answer?
Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?
or have I no power to deliver?
behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a wilderness:
their fish stinketh, because there is no water,
and dieth for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,
and I make sackcloth their covering.
4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned,
that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary:
he wakeneth morning by morning,
he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear,
and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
6 I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:
I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord God will help me;
therefore shall I not be confounded:
therefore have I set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me?
let us stand together:
who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord God will help me;
who is he that shall condemn me?
lo, they all shall wax old as a garment;
the moth shall eat them up.
10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord,
that obeyeth the voice of his servant,
that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?
let him trust in the name of the Lord,
and stay upon his God.
11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire,
that compass yourselves about with sparks:
walk in the light of your fire,
and in the sparks that ye have kindled.
This shall ye have of mine hand;
ye shall lie down in sorrow.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.