Isaiah 51
51
The Lord Comforts Zion
1“Listen to Me, #(Rom. 9:30–32)you who follow after righteousness,
You who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
2#Rom. 4:1–3; Heb. 11:11Look to Abraham your father,
And to Sarah who bore you;
#Gen. 12:1For I called him alone,
And #Gen. 24:35; Deut. 1:10; Ezek. 33:24blessed him and increased him.”
3For the Lord will #Is. 40:1; 52:9; Ps. 102:13comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert #Gen. 13:10; Joel 2:3like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
4“Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
#Is. 2:3For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
#Is. 42:6As a light of the peoples.
5#Is. 46:13My righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
#Ps. 67:4And My arms will judge the peoples;
#Is. 60:9The coastlands will wait upon Me,
And #(Rom. 1:16)on My arm they will trust.
6#Is. 40:26Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For #Ps. 102:25, 26; Is. 13:13; 34:4; Matt. 24:35; Heb. 1:10–12; 2 Pet. 3:10the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
#Is. 24:19, 20; 50:9; Heb. 1:10–12The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be #Is. 45:17forever,
And My righteousness will not be abolished.
7“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
You people #Ps. 37:31; Jer. 31:33; (Heb. 10:16)in whose heart is My law:
#Is. 25:8; 54:4; (Matt. 5:11, 12; 10:28; Acts 5:41)Do not fear the reproach of men,
Nor be afraid of their insults.
8For #Is. 50:9the moth will eat them up like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool;
But My righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation from generation to generation.”
9#Ps. 44:23Awake, awake, #Ps. 93:1put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake #Ps. 44:1as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
#Job 26:12; Ps. 89:10; Is. 30:7Are You not the arm that cut #Ps. 87:4Rahab apart,
And wounded the #Ps. 74:13; Is. 27:1serpent?
10Are You not the One who #Ex. 14:21; Is. 63:11–13dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That made the depths of the sea a road
For the redeemed to cross over?
11So #Is. 35:10; Jer. 31:11, 12the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12“I, even I, am He #2 Cor. 1:3who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
#Ps. 118:6; Is. 2:22Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made #Is. 40:6, 7; James 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:24like grass?
13And #Deut. 6:12; 8:11; Is. 17:10; Jer. 2:32you forget the Lord your Maker,
#Ps. 104:2Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
#Job 20:7And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed,
#Zech. 9:11That he should not die in the pit,
And that his bread should not fail.
15But I am the Lord your God,
Who #Job 26:12divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16And #Deut. 18:18; Is. 59:21; John 3:34I have put My words in your mouth;
#Ex. 33:22; Is. 49:2I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
#Is. 65:17That I may plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth,
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”
God’s Fury Removed
17#Is. 52:1Awake, awake!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who #Job 21:20; Is. 29:9; Jer. 25:15; Rev. 14:10; 16:19have drunk at the hand of the Lord
The cup of His fury;
You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling,
And drained it out.
18There is no one to guide her
Among all the sons she has brought forth;
Nor is there any who takes her by the hand
Among all the sons she has brought up.
19#Is. 47:9These two things have come to you;
Who will be sorry for you?—
Desolation and destruction, famine and sword—
#Amos 7:2By whom will I comfort you?
20#Lam. 2:11Your sons have fainted,
They lie at the head of all the streets,
Like an antelope in a net;
They are full of the fury of the Lord,
The rebuke of your God.
21Therefore please hear this, you afflicted,
And drunk #Lam. 3:15but not with wine.
22Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who #Is. 3:12, 13; 49:25; Jer. 50:34pleads the cause of His people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23#Is. 14:2; Jer. 25:17, 26–28; Zech. 12:2But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to you,
‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’
And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.”
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Isaiah 51: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 51
51
A Call to Trust the Lord
1“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—
all who seek the Lord!
Consider the rock from which you were cut,
the quarry from which you were mined.
2Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor,
and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation.
Abraham was only one man when I called him.
But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”
3The Lord will comfort Israel#51:3 Hebrew Zion; also in 51:16. again
and have pity on her ruins.
Her desert will blossom like Eden,
her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found there.
Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.
4“Listen to me, my people.
Hear me, Israel,
for my law will be proclaimed,
and my justice will become a light to the nations.
5My mercy and justice are coming soon.
My salvation is on the way.
My strong arm will bring justice to the nations.
All distant lands will look to me
and wait in hope for my powerful arm.
6Look up to the skies above,
and gaze down on the earth below.
For the skies will disappear like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing.
The people of the earth will die like flies,
but my salvation lasts forever.
My righteous rule will never end!
7“Listen to me, you who know right from wrong,
you who cherish my law in your hearts.
Do not be afraid of people’s scorn,
nor fear their insults.
8For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing.
The worm will eat at them as it eats wool.
But my righteousness will last forever.
My salvation will continue from generation to generation.”
9Wake up, wake up, O Lord! Clothe yourself with strength!
Flex your mighty right arm!
Rouse yourself as in the days of old
when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.#51:9 Hebrew You slew Rahab; you pierced the dragon. Rahab is the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature. The name is used here as a poetic name for Egypt.
10Are you not the same today,
the one who dried up the sea,
making a path of escape through the depths
so that your people could cross over?
11Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem#51:11 Hebrew Zion. singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
12“I, yes I, am the one who comforts you.
So why are you afraid of mere humans,
who wither like the grass and disappear?
13Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator,
the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy
and laid the foundations of the earth.
Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors?
Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?
Where is their fury and anger now?
It is gone!
14Soon all you captives will be released!
Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate!
15For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar.
My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
16And I have put my words in your mouth
and hidden you safely in my hand.
I stretched out#51:16 As in Syriac version (see also 51:13); Hebrew reads planted. the sky like a canopy
and laid the foundations of the earth.
I am the one who says to Israel,
‘You are my people!’”
17Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem!
You have drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury.
You have drunk the cup of terror,
tipping out its last drops.
18Not one of your children is left alive
to take your hand and guide you.
19These two calamities have fallen on you:
desolation and destruction, famine and war.
And who is left to sympathize with you?
Who is left to comfort you?#51:19 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions; Masoretic Text reads How can I comfort you?
20For your children have fainted and lie in the streets,
helpless as antelopes caught in a net.
The Lord has poured out his fury;
God has rebuked them.
21But now listen to this, you afflicted ones
who sit in a drunken stupor,
though not from drinking wine.
22This is what the Sovereign Lord,
your God and Defender, says:
“See, I have taken the terrible cup from your hands.
You will drink no more of my fury.
23Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors,
those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust
and walk on your backs.’”
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