Isaiah 51
51
1Listen to me, those of you who follow what is right, and who worship the Lord. Think about the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were chiseled. 2Look back at Abraham your father, and Sarah who gave birth to you. When I called him, he was only one man, but then I blessed him and he had many descendants.
3The Lord will care for Zion and feel sorry about all her ruined places. He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert areas like the garden of the Lord. People there will have joy and happiness, giving thanks and singing sweet songs. 4Pay attention to me, my people; listen to me, my nation: I will send out my law, and my justice will be a light to the nations. 5My rule of right will arrive soon. My salvation is coming. My power will bring judgment to the nations. The distant lands are waiting for me and my power. 6Look up at the heavens, and look down at the earth beneath. The heavens will disappear like smoke, the earth will wear out like old clothes. The people living there will die like flies, but my salvation will last forever, and my way of goodness and right will never be destroyed.
7Listen to me, you who know what's right, and who have really accepted my teachings. Don't be afraid of people's insults—they're just human—or be terrified by their abusive language. 8Moths will eat them up like clothing; bugs will chew through them like wool. But my goodness will last forever, my salvation will endure for all generations.
9Please wake up, wake up! Use your strength, powerful Lord! Act as you used to in olden days, in former generations. Weren't you the one who cut Rahab#51:9. “Rahab”: a monster used as a poetic description for Egypt. to pieces, who killed that sea monster? 10Weren't you the one who dried up the sea, making a way through the deep waters for the redeemed to cross over? 11Those the Lord has set free will return, singing as they enter Jerusalem, wearing crowns of everlasting joy. They are overcome with thankfulness and happiness; sorrow and sadness simply disappear.
12It's me, yes, I am the one who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortals who die just like grass? 13You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and who laid the foundations of the earth! That's why you shake with fear all day long, because you're threatened by the anger of those who oppress you, wanting to destroy you. But where are your oppressors and their anger now? 14The prisoners that are bowed down will soon be set free. They're not going to die; they won't go on being hungry. 15For I am the Lord your God who whips up the sea so its waves roar. The Lord Almighty is his name. 16I have told you what to say, and I have protected you with my hand. I created the heavens and founded the earth, and told Zion, “You are my people.”
17Wake up, wake up! Get up, Jerusalem! You have drunk from the cup of the Lord's anger he handed to you. You have drained it down to the bottom of the cup, the drink that makes people stagger around. 18Of all your children you had, there's not one left to guide you. Of all the children you raised, there's not one to take you by the hand. 19Two tragedies have struck you: devastation caused by famine, and destruction caused by war.#51:19. “War”: literally, “the sword.” Who is going to sympathize with you? Who is going to comfort you? 20Your children have collapsed, lying in every street like antelopes caught in a trap. They experienced the full anger of the Lord, the condemnation of your God.
21So please listen to this, you poor people, sitting there in a drunken state, but not from drinking wine. 22This is what your Lord God says, your God, who defends his people's cause: Look! I have taken away from you the cup that made you stagger around. You will never again have to drink from that cup, the cup of my anger. 23Instead I will give that cup to the people who tormented you, to those who said to you, “Lie facedown so we can walk all over you.” You had to make your backs like the ground, like a street to be walked on.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 51
51
1“Hearken to me, you who pursue deliverance,
you who seek the Lord;
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were digged.
2Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for when he was but one I called him,
and I blessed him and made him many.
3For the Lord will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places,
and will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4“Listen to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go forth from me,
and my justice for a light to the peoples.
5My deliverance draws near speedily,
my salvation has gone forth,
and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they hope.
6 #
Heb 1.11. Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die like gnats;#51.6 Or in like manner
but my salvation will be for ever,
and my deliverance will never be ended.
7“Hearken to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of men,
and be not dismayed at their revilings.
8For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my deliverance will be for ever,
and my salvation to all generations.”
9Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord;
awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces,
that didst pierce the dragon?
10Was it not thou that didst dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep;
that didst make the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?
11And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12“I, I am he that comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
13and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and fear continually all the day
because of the fury of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the Pit,
neither shall his bread fail.
15For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name.
16And I have put my words in your mouth,
and hid you in the shadow of my hand,
stretching out#51.16 Syr: Heb plant the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”
17Rouse yourself, rouse yourself,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl of staggering.
18There is none to guide her
among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
among all the sons she has brought up.
19These two things have befallen you—
who will condole with you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
who will comfort you?#51.19 One ancient Ms Gk Syr Vg: Heb how may 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 hear this, you who are afflicted,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
22Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand
the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath
you shall drink no more;
23and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
who have said to you,
‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to pass over.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America