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What God's Servant Did for Us

53 (A) Has anyone believed us
or seen the mighty power
    of the Lord in action?
Like a young plant or a root
    that sprouts in dry ground,
the servant grew up
    obeying the Lord.
He wasn't some handsome king.
Nothing about the way he looked
    made him attractive to us.
He was hated and rejected;
his life was filled with sorrow
    and terrible suffering.
No one wanted to look at him.
We despised him and said,
    “He is a nobody!”

He suffered and endured
    great pain for us,
but we thought his suffering
    was punishment from God.
(B)(C) He was wounded and crushed
    because of our sins;
by taking our punishment,
    he made us completely well.
(D) All of us were like sheep
    that had wandered off.
We had each gone our own way,
but the Lord gave him
    the punishment we deserved.

(E)(F) (G) He was painfully abused,
    but he did not complain.
He was silent like a lamb
    being led to the butcher,
as quiet as a sheep
    having its wool cut off.

He was condemned to death
    without a fair trial.
Who could have imagined
    what would happen to him?
His life was taken away
because of the sinful things
    my people[a] had done.
(H) He wasn't dishonest or violent,
but he was buried in a tomb
    among cruel, rich people.[b]

10 The Lord decided his servant
    would suffer as a sacrifice
to take away the sin
    and guilt of others.
Now the servant will live
    to see his own descendants.[c]
He did everything
    the Lord had planned.

11 By suffering, the servant
will learn the true meaning
    of obeying the Lord.
Although he is innocent,
he will take the punishment
    for the sins of others,
so that many of them
    will no longer be guilty.
12 (I) The Lord will reward him
with honor and power
    for sacrificing his life.
Others thought he was a sinner,
but he suffered for our sins
    and asked God to forgive us.

A Promise of the Lord's Protection

54 (J) Sing and shout,
even though you have never
    had children!
The Lord has promised that you
    will have more children
than someone married
    for a long time.
Make your tents larger!
Spread out the tent pegs;
    fasten them firmly.
You and your descendants
will take over the land
    of other nations.
You will settle in towns
    that are now in ruins.

Don't be afraid or ashamed
and don't be discouraged.
    You won't be disappointed.
Forget how sinful you were
    when you were young;
stop feeling ashamed
    for being left a widow.
The Lord All-Powerful,
the Holy God of Israel,
    rules all the earth.
He is your Creator and husband,
    and he will rescue you.

You were like a young wife,
    brokenhearted and crying
because her husband
    had divorced her.
But the Lord your God says,
    “I am taking you back!
I rejected you for a while,
but with love and tenderness
    I will embrace you again.
For a while, I turned away
    in furious anger.
Now I will have mercy
    and love you forever!
I, your protector and Lord,
    make this promise.”

The Lord Promises Lasting Peace

(K) I once promised Noah that I
would never again destroy
    the earth by a flood.
Now I have promised that I
will never again get angry
    and punish you.
10 (L) Every mountain and hill
    may disappear.
But I will always be kind
    and merciful to you;
I won't break my agreement
    to give your nation peace.

The New Jerusalem

11 (M)(N) Jerusalem, you are sad
and discouraged,
    tossed around in a storm.
But I, the Lord,
will rebuild your city
    with precious stones;[d]
for your foundation
    I will use blue sapphires.
12 Your fortresses[e]
    will be built of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
    and your walls of gems.
13 (O) I will teach your children
    and make them successful.

14 You will be built on fairness
    with no fears of injustice;
every one of your worries
    will be taken far from you.
15 I will never send anyone
    to attack your city,
and you will make prisoners
    of those who do attack.
16 Don't forget that I created
metalworkers who make weapons
    over burning coals.
I also created armies
    that can bring destruction.
17 Weapons made to attack you
    won't be successful;
words spoken against you
    won't hurt at all.

My servants, Jerusalem is yours!
I, the Lord, promise
    to bless you with victory.

The Lord's Invitation

55 (P) If you are thirsty,
    come and drink water!
If you don't have any money,
    come, eat what you want!
Drink wine and milk
    without paying a cent.
(Q) Why waste your money
    on what really isn't food?
Why work hard for something
    that doesn't satisfy?
Listen carefully to me,
and you will enjoy
    the very best foods.

(R) Pay close attention!
    Come to me and live.
I will promise you
the eternal love and loyalty
    that I promised David.
I made him the leader and ruler
of the nations;
    he was my witness to them.
You will call out to nations
    you have never known.
And they have never known you,
but they will come running
    because I am the Lord,
the holy God of Israel,
    and I have honored you.

God's Words Are Powerful

Turn to the Lord!
He can still be found.
    Call out to God! He is near.
Give up your evil ways
    and your evil thoughts.
Return to the Lord our God.
He will be merciful
    and forgive your sins.

The Lord says:
“My thoughts and my ways
    are not like yours.
Just as the heavens
    are higher than the earth,
my thoughts and my ways
    are higher than yours.

10 (S) “Rain and snow fall from the sky.
But they don't return
    without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant
    and grain to eat.
11 That's how it is with my words.
    They don't return to me
without doing everything
    I send them to do.”

God's People Will Celebrate

12 When you are set free,
you will celebrate
    and travel home in peace.
Mountains and hills will sing
as you pass by,
    and trees will clap.
13 Cypress and myrtle trees
will grow in fields
    once covered by thorns.
And then those trees will stand
as a lasting witness
    to the glory of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 53.8 my people: Or “his people.”
  2. 53.9 but he … people: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 53.10 The Lord … descendants: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 54.11 with precious stones: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 54.12 fortresses: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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