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
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.