Isaiah 51
51
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
1The Lord says, “Listen to me,
those of you who try to live right and follow the Lord.
Look at the rock from which you were cut;
look at the stone quarry from which you were dug.
2Look at Abraham, your ancestor,
and Sarah, who gave birth to your ancestors.
Abraham had no children when I called him,
but I blessed him and gave him many descendants.
3So the Lord will comfort Jerusalem;
he will show mercy to those who live in her ruins.
He will change her deserts into a garden like Eden;
he will make her empty lands like the garden of the Lord.
People there will be very happy;
they will give thanks and sing songs.
4“My people, listen to me;
my nation, pay attention to me.
I will give the people my teachings,
and my decisions will be like a light to all people.
5I will soon show that I do what is right.
I will soon save you.
I will use my power and judge all nations.
All the faraway places are waiting for me;
they wait for my power to help them.
6Look up to the heavens.
Look around you at the earth below.
The skies will disappear like clouds of smoke.
The earth will become useless like old clothes,
and its people will die like flies.
But my salvation will continue forever,
and my goodness will never end.
7“You people who know what is right should listen to me;
you people who follow my teachings should hear what I say.
Don’t be afraid of the evil things people say,
and don’t be upset by their insults.
8Moths will eat those people as if they were clothes,
and worms will eat them as if they were wool.
But my goodness will continue forever,
and my salvation will continue from now on.”
9Wake up, wake up, and use your strength,
powerful Lord.
Wake up as you did in the old times,
as you did a long time ago.
With your own power, you cut Rahab into pieces
and killed that sea monster.
10You dried up the sea
and the waters of the deep ocean.
You made the deepest parts of the sea into a road
for your people to cross over and be saved.
11The people the Lord has freed will return
and enter Jerusalem with joy.
Their happiness will last forever.
They will have joy and gladness,
and all sadness and sorrow will be gone far away.
12The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you.
So why should you be afraid of people, who die?
Why should you fear people who die like the grass?
13Have you forgotten the Lord who made you,
who stretched out the skies
and made the earth?
Why are you always afraid
of those angry people who trouble you
and who want to destroy?
But where are those angry people now?
14People in prison will soon be set free;
they will not die in prison,
and they will have enough food.
15I am the Lord your God,
who stirs the sea and makes the waves roar.
My name is the Lord All-Powerful.
16I will give you the words I want you to say.
I will cover you with my hands and protect you.
I made the heavens and the earth,
and I say to Jerusalem, ‘You are my people.’ ”
God Punished Israel
17Awake! Awake!
Get up, Jerusalem.
The Lord was very angry with you;
your punishment was like wine in a cup.
The Lord made you drink that wine;
you drank the whole cup until you stumbled.
18Jerusalem had many people,
but there was not one to lead her.
Of all the people who grew up there,
no one was there to guide her.
19Troubles came to you two by two,
but no one will feel sorry for you.
There was ruin and disaster, great hunger and fighting.
No one can comfort you.
20Your people have become weak.
They fall down and lie on every street corner,
like animals caught in a net.
They have felt the full anger of the Lord
and have heard God’s angry shout.
21So listen to me, poor Jerusalem,
you who are drunk but not from wine.
22Your God will defend his people.
This is what the Lord your God says:
“The punishment I gave you is like a cup of wine.
You drank it and could not walk straight.
But I am taking that cup of my anger away from you,
and you will never be punished by my anger again.
23I will now give that cup of punishment to those who gave you pain,
who told you,
‘Bow down so we can walk over you.’
They made your back like dirt for them to walk on;
you were like a street for them to travel on.”
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Isaiah 51: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 51
51
Salvation for Zion
1“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
and to the quarry from which you were hewn.
2Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave you birth.
When I called him, he was but one;
then I blessed him and multiplied him.
3For the Lord will comfort Zion
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
He will make her wilderness like Eden
and her desert like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and melodious song.
4Pay attention to Me, My people,
and listen to Me, My nation;
for a law will go out from Me,
and My justice will become a light to the nations;
I will bring it about quickly.
5My righteousness draws near,
My salvation is on the way,
and My arms will bring justice to the nations.
The islands #51:5 Or coastlands will look for Me
and wait in hope for My arm.
6Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth below;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and its people will die like gnats.
But My salvation will last forever,
and My righteousness will never fail.
7Listen to Me, you who know what is right,
you people with My law in your hearts:
Do not fear the scorn of men;
do not be broken by their insults.
8For the moth will devour them like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool.
But My righteousness will last forever,
My salvation through all generations.”
9Awake, awake,
put on strength, O arm of the Lord.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations of old.
Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced through the dragon?
10Was it not You who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
for the redeemed to cross over?
11So the redeemed of the Lord will return
and enter Zion with singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
12“I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Why should you be afraid of mortal man,
of a son of man who withers like grass?
13But you have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.
You live in terror all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor
who is bent on destruction.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?
14The captive will soon be freed;
he will not die in the dungeon,
and his bread will not be lacking.
15For I am the Lord your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of Hosts is His name.
16I have put My words in your mouth,
and covered you with the shadow of My hand,
to establish #51:16 Or to plant the heavens, to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
God’s Fury Removed
17Awake, awake!
Rise up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup of His fury;
you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—
the cup that makes men stagger.
18Among all the sons she bore,
there is no one to guide her;
among all the sons she brought up,
there is no one to take her hand.
19These pairs have befallen you:
devastation and destruction,
famine and sword.
Who will grieve for you?
Who can comfort you?#51:19 DSS, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate; MT How can I comfort you?
20Your sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street,
like an antelope in a net.
They are full of the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.
21Therefore now hear this, you afflicted one,
drunken, but not with wine.
22Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
even your God, who defends His people:
“See, I have removed from your hand
the cup of staggering.
From that goblet, the cup of My fury,
you will never drink again.
23I will place it in the hands of your tormentors,
who told you: ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you,’
so that you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be traversed.”
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.