Isaiah 51
51
Chapter 51
The Lord will bless his people
1‘Listen to me,
you people who want to do what is right.
You people who want to serve the Lord,
listen to me!
Think about the rock that you are a part of. #51:1 The ‘rock’ is like a picture of Israel's ancestor, Abraham.
Think about the ground that they dug you out from.
2You all started from your ancestor Abraham,
and his wife Sarah.
When I first spoke to Abraham,
he had no children.
But I blessed him,
so that he had many descendants.’
3Surely, the Lord will comfort Zion's people.
He will take care of the buildings
that enemies have destroyed.
Zion's land that is now a wilderness
will become like the beautiful Garden of Eden.
It will be the Lord's own garden!
People will be happy again in Zion.
They will sing with joy to thank God.
4‘Listen to me, my people.
Listen carefully, my nation.
I will tell all people about my laws.
I will cause my justice to be like a light to all nations.
5I am ready to do what is right for them.
I am ready to save them.
I will judge all the nations fairly.
Lands that are far away will wait for me to help them.
They wait for me to come and rule them all with power.
6Look up at the sky!
Look down at the earth below!
One day, the sky will disappear
like smoke that blows away.
The earth will become useless,
like old clothes.
The people who live on it will die.
They will fall like flies.
But I will keep my people safe for ever.
I will always rule with righteousness.
7Listen to me,
you people who know what is right.
You people who think carefully about my law,
listen to me.
When people speak against you,
do not be afraid.
Do not be upset,
when they insult you.
8Those people will soon disappear,
like clothes that moths have eaten,
like wool that worms have eaten.
But I will always rule with righteousness.
I will keep my people safe for ever.’
9Wake up, Lord!
Get ready to show your strength!
Do great things, as you did in past days,
when our ancestors were alive.
Remember how you cut the monster, Rahab, into pieces. #51:9 ‘Rahab’ was a monster that lived in the sea. It is a picture of the enemies of God's people. See Psalms 89:10. Here it may mean Egypt.
10You made the sea become dry,
so that there was a path through the deep water.
The slaves that you rescued
could then cross over. #51:10 This describes how God's people escaped from Egypt, where they had been slaves.
11The people that the Lord has rescued
will return from exile.
They will sing with joy
while they go into Zion city.
Their joy will be like a crown
that they wear on their heads for ever.
They will continue to be very happy.
They will never be sad or weep again.
12‘I am the Lord who comforts you.
You do not need to be afraid of people who are only human.
Remember that they will all die one day,
like grass that only lives for a short time.
13Do not forget about the Lord who made you!
I hung up the sky like a curtain.
I made the foundation of the earth.
So why are you always shaking with fear?
Do not be afraid when your enemy is angry,
and he is ready to attack you.
Your enemy's anger is useless!
14The people who have trouble and pain
will soon become free.
They will not stay in the prison of death.
They will have all the food that they need.
15Remember that I am the Lord your God.
I shake the sea so that its waves roar!
My name is the Lord Almighty.
16I have given you my message
to speak on my behalf.
I have kept you safe in my hand.
I hung up the sky like a curtain,
and I made the foundation of the earth.
I say to Zion, “You are my people.” ’
17Wake up, people in Jerusalem! Get ready!
The Lord has been angry with you,
and he has punished you.
You had to receive all of his anger,
like you were drinking strong wine from a cup.
Now that you have drunk it all,
you cannot stand up straight!
18Among all of Jerusalem's people,
there was nobody left to be your leader.
There was nobody who could take care of you.
19War and famine have destroyed you.
Both those terrible things have happened to you.
Who feels sorry for you?
Who is there to comfort you?
20Your children have become weak,
and they lie on the ground at the side of every street.
They are like deer that a trap has caught.
The anger of the Lord your God has made them helpless.
He has warned them loudly.
21So listen to this, you people who are in trouble.
You walk like drunk people,
but wine has not done that to you.
22The Lord God who is your Lord stands beside his people. He says,
‘Look! Now I have taken the cup of my punishment out of your hand.
You will no longer have to drink the strong wine of my anger
that makes you drunk.
23Instead, I will give it to your cruel enemies
to punish them.
They said to you, “Lie down on the ground,
so that we can walk over you.”
You made your backs become like the ground.
You became like a street for your enemies to walk on.’
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Isaiah 51
51
Yahweh Comforts Zion
1“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
who seek Yahweh.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the excavation of the pit from which you were quarried.
2Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah; she brought you forth.
For I called him alone,#Literally “one”
but#Or “and” I blessed him and made him numerous.”
3For Yahweh will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all its sites of ruins.
And he will make#Literally “put” its wilderness like Eden,
and its desert like the garden of Yahweh.
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
thanksgiving and the sound#Literally “voice” of song.
4“Listen attentively to me, my people,
and my nation, listen to me!
For a teaching will go out from me,
and I will cause my justice to rest for a light to the peoples.
5My righteousness is near; my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples.
The coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6Lift up your eyes to the heavens
and look to the earth beneath,
for the heavens will be torn to pieces like smoke,
and the earth will be worn out like a garment,
and those who inhabit her will die like gnats.
But#Or “And” my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will not be broken to pieces.
7Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
people who have my teaching in their heart;
you must not fear the reproach of men,
or be terrified because of their abuse.
8For a moth will eat them like garments;
a moth will devour#Or “eat” them like wool,
but#Or “and” my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation for generation after generation.#Literally “generation of generations””
9Awake! Awake; put on strength, O arm of Yahweh!
Awake as in days of long ago,
the generations of a long time back!
Are you not the one who cut Rahab in pieces,
the one who pierced the sea-dragon?
10Are you not the one who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
the one who made#Literally “placed” the depths of the sea a way
for those who are redeemed to cross over?
11So#Or “And” the redeemed ones of Yahweh shall return,
and they shall come to Zion with singing,
and everlasting joy shall be on their heads.#Hebrew “head”
Joy and gladness shall appear;#Literally “reach”
sorrow and sighing shall flee away!
12“I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that#Or “and” you are afraid of man? He dies!
And of the son of humankind? He is sacrificed#Literally “given” as grass!
13And you have forgotten Yahweh, your maker,
who stretched out the heavens,
and founded the earth.
And you tremble continually, all day,
because of the wrath of the oppressor
when he takes aim#Literally “sets up” to destroy.
But#Or “And” where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14The fettered one shall make haste to be freed.
And he shall not die in#Or “to” the pit,
and he shall not lack his bread.
15For#Or “And” I am Yahweh, your God,
who stirs up#Or “stirring up” the sea,
so that#Or “and” its waves roar;
Yahweh of hosts is his name.
16And I have put my words in your mouth,
and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand,
to plant the heavens
and to found the earth,
saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”
17Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself!
Stand up, Jerusalem, who have drunk from the hand of Yahweh the cup of his wrath;
you have drunk the goblet, the cup of staggering;
you have drained it out.
18There is no one who guides her among#Or “from” all the children she has borne,
and there is no one who grasps her by the hand among#Or “from” all the children she raised.
19Two things here have happened to you—who will show sympathy#Literally “wander” for you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword—who will comfort you?
20Your children have fainted;
they lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in#Or “of” a snare,
those who are full of the wrath of Yahweh,
the rebuke of your God.
21Therefore hear now this afflicted one
and drunken one but#Or “and” not from wine.
22Thus says your Lord, Yahweh,
and your God pleads the cause of his people:
“Look! I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering.
You shall not continue#Literally “do again” to drink the goblet, the cup of my wrath, any longer.
23And I will put it in the hand of your tormenters,
who have said to you,#Literally “your inner self” ‘Bow down that#Or “and” we may pass#Or “stride” over you!’
And you have made#Literally “placed” your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who pass#Or “stride” over you.”
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