Isaiah

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

1Wake up, wake up! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful clothes, Jerusalem, the holy city. From now on, people who do not belong to God and are unclean will not enter you again.

2Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

2Shake the dust off yourself. Get up and take your seat, Jerusalem. Take the chains off your neck, captive daughter of Zion.

3For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

3This is what the LORD says: "You were sold for nothing, and you will be bought back without any money being paid."

4For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

4This is what the Lord GOD says: "Long ago my people went down to Egypt to live there. Later Assyria crushed them for no reason at all."

5Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

5"So what do I have here now?" says the LORD. "My people were carried off for nothing. Their rulers make them wail," says the LORD, "and all day long my name is insulted."

6Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.

6"So my people will know my name. On that day they will know that I am the one who speaks. Look, here I am."

7How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the one who brings good news. He announces peace, he brings good news, he announces rescue. He tells Zion, "Your God is King!"

8Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

8Listen! Your watchmen are shouting. Together they sing for joy, because they will see it with their own eyes when the LORD brings Zion back.

9Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

9Burst into joy, sing together, you ruined places of Jerusalem. The LORD has comforted his people. He has set Jerusalem free.

10The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

10The LORD has bared his holy arm for every nation to see. People everywhere, to the ends of the earth, will see our God save his people.

11Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

11Leave, leave, go out from there! Touch nothing unclean. Come out from among them. Make yourselves clean, you who carry the holy things that belong to the LORD.

12For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

12You will not have to leave in a rush or run away in fear. The LORD will go ahead of you, and the God of Israel will guard you from behind.

Note"Rereward" is an old spelling of "rear guard": the soldiers who march at the back of a group to protect it. It has nothing to do with a reward.

13Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

13Look, my servant will act wisely and will succeed. He will be lifted up, honored, and raised very high.

14As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

14Many people were horrified when they looked at him. His face was damaged more than any other person's face, and his body was ruined beyond human likeness.

Note"Astonied" is an old form of "astonished," but stronger. It means shocked and horrified, not pleasantly surprised.

15So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

15In the same way, he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of him. They will see what no one ever told them. They will understand what they never heard.

Note"Sprinkle" is the word used for sprinkling water or blood in a ceremony that makes something clean. The Hebrew word here is hard to pin down, and some translations read "startle" instead.