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Major Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Isaiah 52

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation.

Isaiah overview
Old Testament

Isaiah 52

1Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city, for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you.

2Shake yourself from the dust! Arise, sit up, Jerusalem! Release yourself from the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion!

3For the LORD says, “You were sold for nothing; and you will be redeemed without money.”

4For the Lord GOD says: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and the Assyrian has oppressed them without cause.

5“Now therefore, what do I do here,” says the LORD, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,” says the LORD, “and my name is blasphemed continually all day long.

6Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore they shall know in that day that I am he who speaks. Behold, it is I.”

7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

8Your watchmen lift up their voice. Together they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the LORD returns to Zion.

9Break out into joy! Sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.

10The LORD has made his holy arm bare in the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

11Depart! Depart! Go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Go out from among her! Cleanse yourselves, you who carry the LORD’s vessels.

12For you shall not go out in haste, neither shall you go by flight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

13Behold, my servant will deal wisely. He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.

14Just as many were astonished at you— his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—

15so he will cleanse many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him; for they will see that which had not been told them, and they will understand that which they had not heard.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation. Read Isaiah 52 within the complete Isaiah overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Isaiah 52

Isaiah 52 contains 15 verses and about 384 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city, for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come…” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 15 closes: “so he will cleanse many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him; for they will see that which had not been told them, and they will understand that which they had…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, says, zion, jerusalem, people, therefore. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Isaiah 52

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Isaiah 52:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

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