My people will know my name
1Zion, you must wake up.
You must get up and be strong again.
Jerusalem, Holy City,
you must put on beautiful clothes
because the people who are uncircumcised
and who are impure will no longer come to you.
2Jerusalem, you were like a prisoner.
You were sitting in the dust
and there was a rope around your neck.
Shake off the dust and loosen the rope.
3Yes, the Lord says: ‘I have sold you,
but I did not get any money.
I will free you, but I will not pay anything.’
4Yes, the Lord says:
‘At first my people went to Egypt
and they were strangers there.
They did nothing wrong to the Assyrian people,
but the Assyrians oppressed them.
5So, what will I do now?’
This is what the Lord says:
‘Enemies have taken my people,
but my people have done nothing wrong to them.
The leaders of my people are crying.’
This is what the Lord says:
‘The enemies keep on saying
bad things about Me all day long.
6This has happened so that
my people will know who I am.
When that day comes, they will know
it is I who say: “Here I am.” ’
Go out of Babylon
7There is a messenger
coming over the mountains.
It is beautiful to see him running.
He comes to tell us there will be peace.
He brings good news. He says
the Lord will save his people.
He says to Zion: ‘Your God is King.’
8Listen, Zion, your guards are shouting.
All of them are rejoicing because
they see that the Lord
has come back to you.
9Stones of Jerusalem, you must be happy.
All of you must rejoice
because the Lord is with his people again,
and He will save Jerusalem.
10The Lord will show
all the nations how strong He is.
All the people will see his holy power,
and they will all see how God saves us.
11Go away from Babylon.
Come out of that land,
and don't touch that impure place.
You who carry the tools
of the temple of the Lord,
you must come out. You must stay pure.
12When you go out of there,
you will not run, and you will not flee,
because the Lord will lead you.
The God of Israel will be with you.
The servant of the Lord will become important
13The Lord says:
‘My servant will do what he has to do,
and he will become very important.
14A lot of people were surprised
when they saw what had happened to him.
He looked wounded. He almost didn't look like a human.
15But people will stand up, and they will be amazed.
Kings will stop accusing him
because they will see things
that no one has told them about,
and they will understand things
that no one has told them about.’
