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Isaiah 53-55
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 53-55
Holman Christian Standard Bible
53 Who has believed what we have heard?[a]
And who has the arm of the Lord(A) been revealed to?(B)
2 He grew up before Him like a young plant(C)
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.(D)
3 He was despised and rejected by men,(E)
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.(F)
He was like someone people turned away from;[b]
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.
4 Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;(G)
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God,(H) and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions,(I)
crushed because of our iniquities;(J)
punishment(K) for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.(L)
6 We all went astray like sheep;(M)
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for[c] the iniquity(N) of us all.(O)
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.(P)
8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?[d]
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of my people’s rebellion.
9 They[e] made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death,(Q)
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.(R)
10 Yet the Lord was pleased(S) to crush Him severely.[f](T)
When[g] You make Him a restitution offering,(U)
He will see His seed, He will prolong His days,
and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.(V)
11 He will see it[h] out of His anguish,
and He will be satisfied with His knowledge.
My righteous(W) Servant(X) will justify many,(Y)
and He will carry their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give Him[i] the many as a portion,
and He will receive[j] the mighty as spoil,
because He submitted Himself to death,(Z)
and was counted among the rebels;(AA)
yet He bore the sin of many(AB)
and interceded for the rebels.(AC)
Future Glory for Israel
54 “Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth;
burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labor!(AD)
For the children of the forsaken one will be more
than the children of the married woman,”(AE)
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let your tent curtains be stretched out;(AF)
do not hold back;
lengthen your ropes,
and drive your pegs deep.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,(AG)
and your descendants will dispossess nations
and inhabit the desolate cities.
4 “Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;(AH)
don’t be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
and you will no longer remember
the disgrace of your widowhood.(AI)
5 Indeed, your husband is your Maker(AJ)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts—
and the Holy One of Israel(AK) is your Redeemer;(AL)
He is called the God of all the earth.
6 For the Lord has called you,
like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,(AM)
a wife of one’s youth(AN) when she is rejected,”
says your God.
7 “I deserted you for a brief moment,(AO)
but I will take you back with great compassion.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid My face(AP) from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,”(AQ)
says the Lord your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the days[k] of Noah to Me:
when I swore that the waters of Noah
would never flood the earth again,(AR)
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
or rebuke you.(AS)
10 Though the mountains move
and the hills shake,
My love will not be removed from you
and My covenant of peace(AT) will not be shaken,”
says your compassionate Lord.
11 “Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
I will set your stones in black mortar,[l]
and lay your foundations in sapphires.[m](AU)
12 I will make your fortifications[n] out of rubies,
your gates out of sparkling stones,
and all your walls out of precious stones.
13 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord,(AV)
their prosperity will be great,
14 and you will be established
on a foundation of righteousness.
You will be far from oppression,
you will certainly not be afraid;
you will be far from terror,
it will certainly not come near you.
15 If anyone attacks you,
it is not from Me;
whoever attacks you
will fall before you.
16 Look, I have created the craftsman
who blows on the charcoal fire
and produces a weapon suitable for its task;
and I have created the destroyer to cause havoc.
17 No weapon formed against you will succeed,
and you will refute any accusation[o]
raised against you in court.
This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants,(AW)
and their righteousness is from Me.”(AX)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Come to the Lord
55 “Come, everyone who is thirsty,(AY)
come to the waters;
and you without money,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost!
2 Why do you spend money on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.[p]
3 Pay attention and come to Me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,(AZ)
the promises assured to David.(BA)
4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,(BB)
a leader and commander for the peoples,(BC)
5 so you will summon a nation you do not know,(BD)
and nations who do not know you will run to you.(BE)
For the Lord your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,(BF)
has glorified you.”(BG)
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call to Him while He is near.(BH)
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;(BI)
let him return to the Lord,
so He may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for He will freely forgive.(BJ)
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not My ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,(BK)
so My ways are higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,(BL)
11 so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do.”(BM)
12 You will indeed go out with joy
and be peacefully guided;
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.(BN)
13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,
and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;(BO)
it will make a name for Yahweh(BP)
as an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:1 Or believed our report
- Isaiah 53:3 Lit And like a hiding of faces from Him
- Isaiah 53:6 Or has placed on Him; lit with
- Isaiah 53:8 Or and as for His generation, who considered [Him]?
- Isaiah 53:9 DSS; MT reads He
- Isaiah 53:10 Or Him; He made Him sick.
- Isaiah 53:10 Or If
- Isaiah 53:11 DSS, LXX read see light
- Isaiah 53:12 Or Him with
- Isaiah 53:12 Or receive with
- Isaiah 54:9 DSS, Cairo Geniza; MT, LXX read waters
- Isaiah 54:11 Lit in antimony
- Isaiah 54:11 Or lapis lazuli
- Isaiah 54:12 Lit suns; perhaps shields; Ps 84:11
- Isaiah 54:17 Lit refute every tongue
- Isaiah 55:2 Lit enjoy fatness
Isaiah 53-55
New International Version
Isaiah 53-55
New International Version
53 Who has believed our message(A)
and to whom has the arm(B) of the Lord been revealed?(C)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,(D)
and like a root(E) out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance(F) that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering,(G) and familiar with pain.(H)
Like one from whom people hide(I) their faces
he was despised,(J) and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,(K)
yet we considered him punished by God,(L)
stricken by him, and afflicted.(M)
5 But he was pierced(N) for our transgressions,(O)
he was crushed(P) for our iniquities;
the punishment(Q) that brought us peace(R) was on him,
and by his wounds(S) we are healed.(T)
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(U)
each of us has turned to our own way;(V)
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity(W) of us all.
7 He was oppressed(X) and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;(Y)
he was led like a lamb(Z) to the slaughter,(AA)
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment(AB) he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;(AC)
for the transgression(AD) of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,(AE)
and with the rich(AF) in his death,
though he had done no violence,(AG)
nor was any deceit in his mouth.(AH)
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will(AI) to crush(AJ) him and cause him to suffer,(AK)
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,(AL)
he will see his offspring(AM) and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper(AN) in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,(AO)
he will see the light(AP) of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant(AQ) will justify(AR) many,
and he will bear their iniquities.(AS)
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g](AT)
and he will divide the spoils(AU) with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,(AV)
and was numbered with the transgressors.(AW)
For he bore(AX) the sin of many,(AY)
and made intercession(AZ) for the transgressors.
The Future Glory of Zion
54 “Sing, barren woman,(BA)
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,(BB)
you who were never in labor;(BC)
because more are the children(BD) of the desolate(BE) woman
than of her who has a husband,(BF)”
says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,(BG)
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.(BH)
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants(BI) will dispossess nations(BJ)
and settle in their desolate(BK) cities.
4 “Do not be afraid;(BL) you will not be put to shame.(BM)
Do not fear disgrace;(BN) you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth(BO)
and remember no more the reproach(BP) of your widowhood.(BQ)
5 For your Maker(BR) is your husband(BS)—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(BT) of Israel is your Redeemer;(BU)
he is called the God of all the earth.(BV)
6 The Lord will call you back(BW)
as if you were a wife deserted(BX) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(BY)
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment(BZ) I abandoned(CA) you,
but with deep compassion(CB) I will bring you back.(CC)
8 In a surge of anger(CD)
I hid(CE) my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness(CF)
I will have compassion(CG) on you,”
says the Lord your Redeemer.(CH)
9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.(CI)
So now I have sworn(CJ) not to be angry(CK) with you,
never to rebuke(CL) you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken(CM)
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love(CN) for you will not be shaken(CO)
nor my covenant(CP) of peace(CQ) be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion(CR) on you.
11 “Afflicted(CS) city, lashed by storms(CT) and not comforted,(CU)
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,[i](CV)
your foundations(CW) with lapis lazuli.(CX)
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates(CY) of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,(CZ)
and great will be their peace.(DA)
14 In righteousness(DB) you will be established:(DC)
Tyranny(DD) will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.(DE)
Terror(DF) will be far removed;
it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender(DG) to you.
16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith(DH)
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon(DI) fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer(DJ) to wreak havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,(DK)
and you will refute(DL) every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants(DM) of the Lord,
and this is their vindication(DN) from me,”
declares the Lord.
Invitation to the Thirsty
55 “Come, all you who are thirsty,(DO)
come to the waters;(DP)
and you who have no money,
come, buy(DQ) and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk(DR)
without money and without cost.(DS)
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?(DT)
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,(DU)
and you will delight in the richest(DV) of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen,(DW) that you may live.(DX)
I will make an everlasting covenant(DY) with you,
my faithful love(DZ) promised to David.(EA)
4 See, I have made him a witness(EB) to the peoples,
a ruler and commander(EC) of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations(ED) you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,(EE)
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One(EF) of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”(EG)
6 Seek(EH) the Lord while he may be found;(EI)
call(EJ) on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake(EK) their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.(EL)
Let them turn(EM) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(EN) on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(EO)
8 “For my thoughts(EP) are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”(EQ)
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,(ER)
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.(ES)
10 As the rain(ET) and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(EU)
so that it yields seed(EV) for the sower and bread for the eater,(EW)
11 so is my word(EX) that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,(EY)
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose(EZ) for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy(FA)
and be led forth in peace;(FB)
the mountains and hills
will burst into song(FC) before you,
and all the trees(FD) of the field
will clap their hands.(FE)
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers(FF) the myrtle(FG) will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,(FH)
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
- Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
- Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
- Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
- Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
- Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
- Isaiah 53:12 Or many
- Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
- Isaiah 54:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 53-55
King James Version
Isaiah 53-55
King James Version
53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
55 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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