Isaiah 50
Evangelical Heritage Version
50 This is what the Lord says.
So where are the divorce papers of your mother,
whom I sent away?
To which of my creditors did I sell you?
It was because of your guilt that you were sold.
Because of your rebellions, your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was no one there?
Why, when I called, was there no one who answered?
Is my arm really too short to redeem?
Do I not have enough power to rescue?
Yes! By my rebuke I can dry up the sea.
I can turn rivers into a wilderness,
so that their fish will stink from having no water,
and they will die of thirst.
3 I can clothe the heavens with blackness,
and I can cover them with sackcloth.
The Third Servant Song
The Lord’s Servant Is Vindicated
4 The Lord God gave me a tongue like the learned, an instructed tongue,
so I know how to sustain the weary with a word.
He wakes me up morning by morning.
He wakes up my ears so that I listen like the learned.
5 The Lord God opened my ear,
and I myself was not rebellious.
I did not turn back.
6 I submitted my back to those who beat me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.
I did not hide my face from disgrace and from spit.
7 The Lord God will help me,
so I will not be disgraced.
Therefore I have made my face hard like flint.
I know that I will not be put to shame.
8 The one who will acquit me is near!
Who can accuse me?
Let us take our stand.
Who can pass judgment on me?
Let him approach me.
9 Look, the Lord God will help me.
Who then can declare me guilty?
Look, all of them will wear out like a garment.
A moth will consume them.
10 Who among you worships the Lord
and listens to the voice of his servant?
Anyone who walks in darkness
and who has no bright light—
let him trust in the name of the Lord,
and let him lean on his God.
11 Watch out, all of you who are lighting fires
to arm yourselves with flaming arrows.[a]
Go ahead, walk by the light of your fires
and by the flaming arrows you lit!
But from my hand you will receive this:
You will lie down in a place of torment.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 50:11 Or torches
Isaiah 50
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 50
God’s Offer of Salvation Remains
1 [a]Thus says the Lord:
Where is your mother’s bill of divorce
by which I repudiated her?
Or which creditor of mine was it
to whom I sold you?
No, you were sold because of your sins,
and your mother was repudiated,
because of your rebellious acts.
2 Why was no one there when I came?
Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand too short to redeem?
Have I no power to deliver?
By my rebuke I can dry up the sea
and turn the rivers into a desert.
Their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 Did I not clothe the heavens in black
and cover them with sackcloth?
4 [b]The Lord God has given me
the tongue of one who has been well taught
so that I am able to console the weary
with a message of encouragement.
Morning after morning he opens my ears
so that I may listen to their concerns.
5 And I have not rebelled,
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard.
I did not shield my face
from insults and spitting.
7 The Lord God is my help;
therefore I have not been disgraced.
Rather, I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I will not be put to shame.
8 He who upholds me is near;
thus, if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us confront each other.
Is there anyone who has a case against me?
Let him come forward.
9 The Lord God is my defender;
who then will dare to condemn me?
All of them will wear out like a garment
the moth will devour them.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys his servant’s voice?
Who among you walks in darkness
without any light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 But all of you kindle a fire
and arm yourselves with firebrands.
Walk by the light of your fire
and the firebrands that you have set ablaze.
This is what you will receive from my hand:
you will lie down in torment.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 50:1 This incomplete song attests to the fidelity of God despite the sins of human beings. He has never publicly separated himself from them, but he has broken the bonds linking him to his people.
- Isaiah 50:4 We cannot imagine a more profound docility and self-surrender than that of this mysterious Servant. He is filled with the sense of God to the point that nothing can make him waver. Sent as he is to strengthen his discouraged brothers and sisters, he does not weaken but endures persecution, for he is sure of God’s power within him. His lot makes us think of the treatment inflicted on Jesus. Instructed by his example, pious Jews and pagans (v. 10) can acknowledge God as Savior.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
