Isaiah 52

1Wake up! Zion, wake up! Dress yourself with strength as if it were your clothes. Holy city of Jerusalem, put on your clothes of glory. Those who haven’t been circumcised will never enter you again. Neither will those who are “unclean.”

2Get up, Jerusalem! Shake off your dust. Take your place on your throne. Captured people of Zion, remove the chains from your neck.

3The LORD says, “When you were sold as slaves, no one paid anything for you. Now no one will pay any money to set you free.”

4The LORD and King continues, “Long ago my people went down to Egypt. They lived there for a while. Later, Assyria crushed them without any reason.

5“Now look at what has happened to them,” announces the LORD . “Once again my people have been taken away. And no one paid anything for them. Those who rule over them brag about it,” announces the LORD . “All day long without stopping, people speak evil things against my name.

6So the day will come when my people will really know the meaning of my name. They will know what kind of God I am. They will know that I told them ahead of time they would return to their land. They will know that it was I.”

7What a beautiful sight it is to see messengers coming with good news! How beautiful to see them coming down from the mountains with a message about peace! How wonderful it is when they bring the good news that we are saved! How wonderful when they say to Zion, “Your God rules!”

8Listen! Those on guard duty are shouting out the message. With their own eyes they see the LORD returning to Zion. So they shout for joy.

9Burst into songs of joy together, you broken-down buildings in Jerusalem. The LORD has comforted his people. He has set Jerusalem free.

10The LORD will use the power of his holy arm to save his people. All the nations will see him do it. Everyone from one end of the earth to the other will see it.

11You who carry the objects that belong to the LORD ’s temple, leave Babylon! Leave it! Get out of there! Don’t touch anything that isn’t pure and “clean.” Come out of Babylon and be pure.

12But this time you won’t have to leave in a hurry. You won’t have to rush away. The LORD will go ahead of you and lead you. The God of Israel will follow behind you and guard you.

The Suffering and Glory of the Lord’s Servant 13The LORD says, “My servant will act wisely and accomplish his task. He will be highly honored. He will be greatly respected.

14Many people were shocked when they saw him. He was so scarred that he no longer looked like a person. His body was so twisted that he did not look like a human being anymore. 15But many nations will be surprised when they see what he has done. Kings will be so amazed that they will not be able to say anything. They will understand things they were never told. They will know the meaning of things they never heard.”