Isaiah, 52

1. Awake, awake! Clothe yourself in strength, Zion. Put on your finest clothes, Jerusalem, Holy City; for the uncircumcised and the unclean will enter you no more.

1. Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

2. Shake off your dust; get up, captive Jerusalem! The chains have fallen from your neck, captive daughter of Jerusalem!

2. Shake yourself from the dust, arise, O captive Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

3. For Yahweh says this, 'You were sold for nothing; you will be redeemed without money.'

3. For thus says the LORD: "You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.

4. For the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Long ago my people went to Egypt and settled there as aliens; finally Assyria oppressed them for no reason.

4. For thus says the Lord GOD: My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.

5. So now what is to be done,' declares Yahweh, 'since my people have been carried off for nothing, their masters howl in triumph,' declares Yahweh, 'and my name is held in contempt all day, every day?

5. Now therefore what have I here, says the LORD, seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail, says the LORD, and continually all the day my name is despised.

6. Because of this my people will know my name, because of this they will know when the day comes, that it is I saying, Here I am!'

6. Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I."

7. How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of the messenger announcing peace, of the messenger of good news, who proclaims salvation and says to Zion, 'Your God is king!'

7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

8. The voices of your watchmen! Now they raise their voices, shouting for joy together, for with their own eyes they have seen Yahweh returning to Zion.

8. Hark, your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.

9. Break into shouts together, shouts of joy, you ruins of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has consoled his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

9. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

10. Yahweh has bared his holy arm for all the nations to see, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

10. The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

11. Go away, go away, leave that place, do not touch anything unclean. Get out of her, purify yourselves, you who carry Yahweh's vessels!

11. Depart, depart, go out thence, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the LORD.

12. For you are not to hurry away, you are not to leave like fugitives. No, Yahweh marches at your head and the God of Israel is your rearguard.

12. For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

13. Look, my servant will prosper, will grow great, will rise to great heights.

13. Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.

14. As many people were aghast at him -- he was so inhumanly disfigured that he no longer looked like a man-

14. As many were astonished at him -- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men --

15. so many nations will be astonished and kings will stay tight-lipped before him, seeing what had never been told them, learning what they had not heard before.

15. so shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they shall see, and that which they have not heard they shall understand.