Isaiah 46-52

New International Version

³ “Listen^(E) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant^(F) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,^(G)
    and have carried^(H) since you were born.^(I)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs^(J)
    I am he,^(K) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain^(L) you and I will rescue you.

⁵ “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
    To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?^(M)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
    and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith^(N) to make it into a god,
    and they bow down and worship it.^(O)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry^(P) it;
    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
    From that spot it cannot move.^(Q)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;^(R)
    it cannot save^(S) them from their troubles.

⁸ “Remember^(T) this, keep it in mind,
    take it to heart, you rebels.^(U)
9 Remember the former things,^(V) those of long ago;^(W)
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.^(X)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,^(Y)
    from ancient times,^(Z) what is still to come.^(AA)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,^(AB)
    and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹ From the east I summon^(AC) a bird of prey;^(AD)
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned,^(AE) that I will do.^(AF)
12 Listen^(AG) to me, you stubborn-hearted,^(AH)
    you who are now far from my righteousness.^(AI)
13 I am bringing my righteousness^(AJ) near,
    it is not far away;
    and my salvation^(AK) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,^(AL)
    my splendor^(AM) to Israel.

⁴ Our Redeemer^(AZ)—the Lord Almighty^(BA) is his name^(BB)—
    is the Holy One^(BC) of Israel.

⁵ “Sit in silence,^(BD) go into darkness,^(BE)
    queen city of the Babylonians;^(BF)
no more will you be called
    queen^(BG) of kingdoms.^(BH)
6 I was angry^(BI) with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;^(BJ)
I gave them into your hand,^(BK)
    and you showed them no mercy.^(BL)
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
⁷ You said, ‘I am forever^(BM)—
    the eternal queen!’^(BN)
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect^(BO) on what might happen.^(BP)

⁸ “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security^(BQ)
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.^(BR)
I will never be a widow^(BS)
    or suffer the loss of children.’
⁹ Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,^(BT) on a single day:
    loss of children^(BU) and widowhood.^(BV)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries^(BW)
    and all your potent spells.^(BX)
10 You have trusted^(BY) in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’^(BZ)
Your wisdom^(CA) and knowledge mislead^(CB) you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
¹¹ Disaster^(CC) will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly^(CD) come upon you.

¹² “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,^(CE)
    which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
¹³ All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!^(CF)
    Let your astrologers^(CG) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save^(CH) you from what is coming upon you.
¹⁴ Surely they are like stubble;^(CI)
    the fire^(CJ) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.^(CK)
These are not coals for warmth;
    this is not a fire to sit by.
¹⁵ That is all they are to you—
    these you have dealt with
    and labored^(CL) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save^(CM) you.

“From now on I will tell you of new things,^(DE)
    of hidden things unknown to you.
⁷ They are created^(DF) now, and not long ago;^(DG)
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew^(DH) of them.’
⁸ You have neither heard nor understood;^(DI)
    from of old your ears^(DJ) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous^(DK) you are;
    you were called a rebel^(DL) from birth.
⁹ For my own name’s sake^(DM) I delay my wrath;^(DN)
    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
    so as not to destroy you completely.^(DO)
10 See, I have refined^(DP) you, though not as silver;
    I have tested^(DQ) you in the furnace^(DR) of affliction.
¹¹ For my own sake,^(DS) for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?^(DT)
    I will not yield my glory to another.^(DU)

¹⁴ “Come together,^(EC) all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold^(ED) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally^(EE)
    will carry out his purpose^(EF) against Babylon;^(EG)
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.^[c]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called^(EH) him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed^(EI) in his mission.

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;^(EL)
    at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lord^(EM) has sent^(EN) me,
    endowed with his Spirit.^(EO)

¹⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,^(EP) the Holy One^(EQ) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches^(ER) you what is best for you,
    who directs^(ES) you in the way^(ET) you should go.
¹⁸ If only you had paid attention^(EU) to my commands,
    your peace^(EV) would have been like a river,^(EW)
    your well-being^(EX) like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹ Your descendants^(EY) would have been like the sand,^(EZ)
    your children like its numberless grains;^(FA)
their name would never be blotted out^(FB)
    nor destroyed from before me.”

²⁰ Leave Babylon,
    flee^(FC) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy^(FD)
    and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;^(FE)
    say, “The Lord has redeemed^(FF) his servant Jacob.”
²¹ They did not thirst^(FG) when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow^(FH) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.^(FI)

²² “There is no peace,”^(FJ) says the Lord, “for the wicked.”^(FK)

⁵ And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb^(GA) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel^(GB) to himself,
for I am^[d] honored^(GC) in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength^(GD)—
⁶ he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant^(GE)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.^(GF)
I will also make you a light^(GG) for the Gentiles,^(GH)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”^(GI)

⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel^(GJ)—
to him who was despised^(GK) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings^(GL) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,^(GM)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,^(GN)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen^(GO) you.”

“In the time of my favor^(GP) I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;^(GQ)
I will keep^(GR) you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,^(GS)
to restore the land^(GT)
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,^(GU)
9 to say to the captives,^(GV) ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness,^(GW) ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.^(GX)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,^(GY)
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.^(GZ)
He who has compassion^(HA) on them will guide^(HB) them
    and lead them beside springs^(HC) of water.
¹¹ I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways^(HD) will be raised up.^(HE)
12 See, they will come from afar^(HF)—
    some from the north, some from the west,^(HG)
    some from the region of Aswan.^[e]”

¹³ Shout for joy,^(HH) you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;^(HI)
    burst into song, you mountains!^(HJ)
For the Lord comforts^(HK) his people
    and will have compassion^(HL) on his afflicted ones.^(HM)

¹⁴ But Zion^(HN) said, “The Lord has forsaken^(HO) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵ “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child^(HP) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!^(HQ)
16 See, I have engraved^(HR) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls^(HS) are ever before me.
¹⁷ Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste^(HT) depart from you.
¹⁸ Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather^(HU) and come to you.
As surely as I live,^(HV)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear^(HW) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

¹⁹ “Though you were ruined and made desolate^(HX)
    and your land laid waste,^(HY)
now you will be too small for your people,^(HZ)
    and those who devoured^(IA) you will be far away.
²⁰ The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’^(IB)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?^(IC)
I was bereaved^(ID) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.^(IE)
    Who brought these^(IF) up?
I was left^(IG) all alone,^(IH)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner^(IJ) to the peoples;
they will bring^(IK) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.^(IL)
23 Kings^(IM) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.^(IN)
They will bow down^(IO) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust^(IP) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;^(IQ)
    those who hope^(IR) in me will not be disappointed.^(IS)”

²⁴ Can plunder be taken from warriors,^(IT)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce^[f]?

“Yes, captives^(IU) will be taken from warriors,^(IV)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;^(IW)
I will contend with those who contend with you,^(IX)
    and your children I will save.^(IY)
26 I will make your oppressors^(IZ) eat^(JA) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,^(JB) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know^(JC)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,^(JD)
    your Redeemer,^(JE) the Mighty One of Jacob.^(JF)”

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce^(JG)
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell^(JH) you?
Because of your sins^(JI) you were sold;^(JJ)
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
² When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?^(JK)
Was my arm too short^(JL) to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength^(JM) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke^(JN) I dry up the sea,^(JO)
    I turn rivers into a desert;^(JP)
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
³ I clothe the heavens with darkness^(JQ)
    and make sackcloth^(JR) its covering.”

⁴ The Sovereign Lord^(JS) has given me a well-instructed tongue,^(JT)
    to know the word that sustains the weary.^(JU)
He wakens me morning by morning,^(JV)
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.^(JW)
5 The Sovereign Lord^(JX) has opened my ears;^(JY)
    I have not been rebellious,^(JZ)
    I have not turned away.
⁶ I offered my back to those who beat^(KA) me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;^(KB)
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.^(KC)
7 Because the Sovereign Lord^(KD) helps^(KE) me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,^(KF)
    and I know I will not be put to shame.^(KG)
8 He who vindicates^(KH) me is near.^(KI)
    Who then will bring charges against me?^(KJ)
    Let us face each other!^(KK)
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
⁹ It is the Sovereign Lord^(KL) who helps^(KM) me.
    Who will condemn^(KN) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths^(KO) will eat them up.

¹⁰ Who among you fears^(KP) the Lord
    and obeys^(KQ) the word of his servant?^(KR)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,^(KS)
trust^(KT) in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
¹¹ But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,^(KU)
go, walk in the light of your fires^(KV)
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:^(KW)
    You will lie down in torment.^(KX)

⁴ “Listen to me, my people;^(LL)
    hear me,^(LM) my nation:
Instruction^(LN) will go out from me;
    my justice^(LO) will become a light to the nations.^(LP)
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation^(LQ) is on the way,^(LR)
    and my arm^(LS) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands^(LT) will look to me
    and wait in hope^(LU) for my arm.
⁶ Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,^(LV)
    the earth will wear out like a garment^(LW)
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation^(LX) will last forever,^(LY)
    my righteousness will never fail.^(LZ)

⁷ “Hear me, you who know what is right,^(MA)
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:^(MB)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.^(MC)
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;^(MD)
    the worm^(ME) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,^(MF)
    my salvation through all generations.”

⁹ Awake, awake,^(MG) arm^(MH) of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(MI)
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.^(MJ)
Was it not you who cut Rahab^(MK) to pieces,
    who pierced that monster^(ML) through?
¹⁰ Was it not you who dried up the sea,^(MM)
    the waters of the great deep,^(MN)
who made a road in the depths of the sea^(MO)
    so that the redeemed^(MP) might cross over?
¹¹ Those the Lord has rescued^(MQ) will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;^(MR)
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy^(MS) will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(MT)

¹² “I, even I, am he who comforts^(MU) you.
    Who are you that you fear^(MV) mere mortals,^(MW)
    human beings who are but grass,^(MX)
13 that you forget^(MY) the Lord your Maker,^(MZ)
    who stretches out the heavens^(NA)
    and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror^(NB) every day
    because of the wrath of the oppressor,
    who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?^(NC)
14     The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;^(ND)
they will not die in their dungeon,
    nor will they lack bread.^(NE)
15 For I am the Lord your God,
    who stirs up the sea^(NF) so that its waves roar^(NG)—
    the Lord Almighty^(NH) is his name.
¹⁶ I have put my words in your mouth^(NI)
    and covered you with the shadow of my hand^(NJ)—
I who set the heavens in place,
    who laid the foundations of the earth,^(NK)
    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.^(NL)’”

²¹ Therefore hear this, you afflicted^(OD) one,
    made drunk,^(OE) but not with wine.
²² This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
    your God, who defends^(OF) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
    the cup^(OG) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
    you will never drink again.
²³ I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,^(OH)
    who said to you,
    ‘Fall prostrate^(OI) that we may walk^(OJ) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
    like a street to be walked on.”^(OK)

52 Awake, awake,^(OL) Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!^(OM)
Put on your garments of splendor,^(ON)
    Jerusalem, the holy city.^(OO)
The uncircumcised^(OP) and defiled^(OQ)
    will not enter you again.^(OR)
2 Shake off your dust;^(OS)
    rise up,^(OT) sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,^(OU)
    Daughter Zion,^(OV) now a captive.

“You were sold for nothing,^(OW)
    and without money^(OX) you will be redeemed.^(OY)”

“At first my people went down to Egypt^(OZ) to live;
    lately, Assyria^(PA) has oppressed them.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,^[h]”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.^(PB)
6 Therefore my people will know^(PC) my name;^(PD)
    therefore in that day^(PE) they will know
that it is I who foretold^(PF) it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains^(PG)
    are the feet of those who bring good news,^(PH)
who proclaim peace,^(PI)
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”^(PJ)
8 Listen! Your watchmen^(PK) lift up their voices;^(PL)
    together they shout for joy.^(PM)
When the Lord returns^(PN) to Zion,^(PO)
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy^(PP) together,
    you ruins^(PQ) of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted^(PR) his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.^(PS)
10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm^(PT)
    in the sight of all the nations,^(PU)
and all the ends of the earth^(PV) will see
    the salvation^(PW) of our God.

¹¹ Depart,^(PX) depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!^(PY)
Come out from it and be pure,^(PZ)
    you who carry the articles^(QA) of the Lord’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste^(QB)
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,^(QC)
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.^(QD)