Isaiah
Chapter 52
Awake, Zion
Awake, awake!Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, Holy City. For never will the uncircumcised or the unclean enter you again.
Shake the dust off yourself and rise up, O Jerusalem. Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.
For thus says the Lord: You were sold for no amount, you will be redeemed without money.
Thus says the Lord God: In the beginning my people lived as aliens in Egypt; then Assyria oppressed them without reason.
But now, what am I doing here? says the Lord. My people have been carried off for no money, and their masters boast of it; all day long, my name is scorned.
Therefore, my people will know my name; Therefore, they will know on that day that it is I who say: “Here I am!”
The Messenger of Peace
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who herald peace and happiness, who proclaim salvation and announce to Zion: “Your God is King!”
Together, your watchmen raise their voices in praise and song; they see the Lord face to face, returning to Zion.
Break into shouts of joy, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord consoles his people and redeems Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm in the eyes of the nations; all the ends of the earth, in alarm, will witness God’s salvation.
Depart, depart from that nation, come out! Touch nothing unclean. Purify yourselves, you who bear all the Lord’s holy vessels.
Yet not in escape, or fright, will you come out, you will not leave in headlong flight; for ahead is the Lord, your vanguard, and behind, the God of Israel, your rearguard.
The Fourth Song of the Servant: His Passion and Glory
See, my servant shall prosper; he will be exalted and highly praised.
Just as many have been horrified at his disfigured appearance: “Is this a man? He does not look like one,”
so will nations be astounded, kings will stand speechless, for they will see something never told, they will witness something never heard of.
Commentaries
Awake, Zion.
Jerusalem, which once believed it was abandoned by the Lord (Isaiah 49:14), is now called to adorn herself and rejoice because the Lord is freeing her from slavery. Just as he previously delivered her from Egypt and Assyria, God is now freeing his people from Babylon’s oppression.
The Messenger of Peace.
This messenger of the Lord brings the good news that the Lord is returning to dwell in Jerusalem (7-10). Therefore, the exiles are called to return to Zion from Babylon in a procession, carrying the sacred vessels of the Temple, without the haste with which they were urged to leave Egypt (11-12; cf. Ex 12:11).
Fourth Servant Song: His Passion and Glory.
The last song of the servant was regarded by the early Christian community—the Church—as the most significant prophecy of Jesus’ death and exaltation (cf. Acts 8:32-35). At the start of the poem, God introduces his servant, whom he has called for a mission intended for Israel and the nations (42:4; 49:5-6). The Lord also ends the oracle by describing him as the innocent/righteous one who offers himself for the people (11). The “we” in the poem symbolizes Israel, which is redeemed through the suffering of this innocent servant who takes upon himself the punishment that would have fallen on the people (4-5). This is what most surprises the prophet: the pattern of Deuteronomistic history suggests that suffering results from sin (Jn 9:2). Moreover, and this is unprecedented in the Old Testament, the servant’s suffering is redemptive, meaning it justifies the rebellious people (5). This idea is emphasized by comparing the servant to the lamb that is to be sacrificed (cf. Lv 9:3; 14:13, 21, 24; Jn 1:29, 36; 19:33). Between the exaltation of the servant declared by the Lord at the beginning and end of the poem, different stages of his life are shown, from his birth and hidden life (2), suffering (3-7), condemnation and death (8), burial (9), and exaltation (10-11; cf. Phil 2:6-11). The servant’s surrender, wounded/pierced by the sins of the people, leads to their conversion and attitude change (cf. Zec 12:10).