Isaiah 51
51
The Eternal Salvation of Zion
1#Isa 51:7; Ps 94:15; Ge 17:15–17 Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2#Eze 33:24 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for I called him alone,
and blessed him, and multiplied him.
3#Isa 52:9; Ge 13:10 For the Lord shall comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness shall be found in it,
thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4#Isa 2:3; 42:6 Listen to Me, O My people;
and give ear to Me, O My nation:
for a law shall proceed from Me,
and I will set My justice as a light of the peoples.
5#Isa 46:13; 42:4 My righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
and My arms shall judge the peoples;
the coastlands shall wait for Me,
and for My arm they shall expectantly wait.
6#Mt 24:35; Isa 34:4 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look on the earth beneath.
For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke,
and the earth shall grow old like a garment,
and those who dwell in it shall die in like manner;
but My salvation shall be forever,
and My righteousness shall not be abolished.
7#Ps 37:31; Mt 5:11 Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is My law;
do not fear the reproach of men
nor be afraid of their revilings.
8#Isa 50:9; 51:6 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment,
and the worm shall eat them like wool;
but My righteousness shall be forever
and My salvation from generation to generation.
9#Isa 27:1; Ps 74:13–14; Isa 52:1 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord.
Awake as in the ancient days,
in the generations of old.
Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces
and wounded the dragon?
10#Ex 14:21–22; 15:13 Was it not You who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a pathway
for the ransomed to pass over?
11#Isa 35:10; Rev 7:17 Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return
and come with singing to Zion,
and everlasting joy shall be upon their head.
They shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
12#Ps 118:6; Isa 2:22 I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who shall die,
and of the son of man who shall be made as grass,
13#Ps 104:2; Isa 17:10 and forget the Lord your maker
who has stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth?
And have feared continually every day
because of the fury of the oppressor
as he makes ready to destroy?
Yet where is the fury of the oppressor?
14#Isa 48:20; 52:2 The exile shall soon be freed,
and shall not die in the dungeon,
nor will his bread be lacking.
15#Jer 31:35 But I am the Lord your God
who divided the sea whose waves roared;
the Lord of Hosts is His name.
16#Isa 59:21; Dt 18:18 I have put My words in your mouth,
and I have covered you in the shadow of My hand
that I may plant the heavens,
and lay the foundations of the earth,
and say to Zion, “You are My people.”
The Wrath of God Ceases
17#Job 21:20; Isa 52:1 Awake, awake,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord
the cup of His fury;
the cup of reeling
you have drained to the dregs.
18#Ps 88:18; Isa 49:21 There is no one to guide her
among all the sons she has brought forth;
nor is there anyone to take hold of her hand
of all the sons that she has brought up.
19#Isa 47:9; Am 7:2 These two things have befallen you;
who shall be mournful for you?
Desolation, and destruction, and famine, and sword—
how shall I comfort you?
20#La 2:11–12 Your sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of all the streets
as 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 who are drunk but not with wine.
22#Isa 51:17; Jer 50:34 Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
and your God who pleads the cause of His people:
See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup of reeling,
even the dregs of the cup of My fury;
you will never drink it again.
23#Jos 10:24; Zec 12:2 But 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 back as the ground
and as the street for those who walk on it.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 51: MEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Military Bible Association
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.’”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: