Isaiah 51
51
Look to Abraham and Sarah
1Listen to me,
you who look for righteousness,
you who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry where you were dug.
2Look to Abraham your ancestor,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
They were alone when I called them,
but I blessed them and made them many.
3The LORD will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her ruins.
He will make her desert like Eden
and her wilderness like the LORD’s garden.
Happiness and joy will be found in her—
thanks and the sound of singing.
Salvation endures forever
4Pay attention to me, my people;
listen to me, my nation,
for teaching will go out from me,
my justice, as a light to the nations.
5I will quickly bring my victory.
My salvation is on its way,
and my arm will judge the peoples.
The coastlands hope for me;
they wait for my judgment.#51.5 Or for my arm
6Look up to the heavens,
and gaze at the earth beneath.
The heavens will disappear like smoke,
the earth will wear out like clothing,
and its inhabitants will die like gnats.
But my salvation will endure forever,
and my righteousness will be unbroken.
7Listen to me, you who know what is right,
people who carry my teaching in your heart:
Don’t fear human scorn,
and don’t be upset when they abuse you.
8The moth will eat them as if they were clothing,
and the worm will eat them like wool,
but my righteousness is forever,
and my salvation for all generations.
Awake, arm of the LORD
9Awake, awake, put on strength,
arm of the LORD.
Awake as in times past,
generations long ago.
Aren’t you the one who crushed Rahab,
who pierced the dragon?
10Didn’t you dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
And didn’t you make the redeemed a road to cross
through the depths of the sea,
a road for the redeemed to pass?
11Then let those ransomed by the LORD return
and come to Zion with singing
and with everlasting joy upon their heads.
Let happiness and joy overwhelm them;
let grief and groaning flee.
12I, I am the one who comforts you.
Why should you fear humans who will die,
mortals who are treated like grass?
13You forgot the LORD your maker,
the one who stretched out the heavens
and founded the earth.
You were continually afraid, all day long,
on account of the oppressor’s wrath—
a fear by which they intend to destroy you.
Where now is the oppressor’s wrath?
14The imprisoned ones will soon be released;
they won’t die in the pit
or even lack bread.
15I am the LORD your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of heavenly forces is his name.
16I put my words in your mouth
and hid you in the shadow of my hand,
stretching out#51.16 Or planting the heavens, founding the earth,
and saying to Zion, “You are my people.”
Wake yourself, Jerusalem
17Wake yourself, wake yourself!
Rise up, Jerusalem,
who drank the cup of wrath from the LORD’s hand.
You drank; you drained the goblet of reeling.
18There’s no one to guide her among all the children she bore;
there’s no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.
19These two things have happened to you—
Who will be sorry for you?#51.19 DSS (1QIsaa), LXX, Vulg; MT How will I—
destruction and devastation,
famine and sword—
who will comfort you?#51.19 Or how will I comfort you?
20Your children passed out;
they lay at the head of every street like antelope in a net,
filled with the LORD’s wrath,
with the rebuke of your God.
21Therefore, hear this, suffering one,
who is drunk, but not from wine.
22The LORD, your Lord and your God,
who contends for his people, says:
Look, I have taken the cup of reeling,
the goblet of my wrath, from your hand.
You will no longer drink from it.
23I will put it in the hand of your tormentors,
who said to you,
“Lie down so that we can walk on you.
Make your back like the ground,
like a street for those walking on it.”
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Isaiah 51: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 51
51
Words of Comfort to Jerusalem
1The LORD says,
“Listen to me, you that want to be saved,
you that come to me for help.
Think of the rock from which you came,
the quarry from which you were dug.
2Think of your ancestor, Abraham,
and of Sarah, from whom you are descended.
When I called Abraham, he was childless,
but I blessed him and gave him children;
I made his descendants numerous.
3“I will show compassion to Jerusalem,
to all who live in her ruins.
Though her land is a desert, I will make it a garden,
like the garden I planted in Eden.
Joy and gladness will be there,
and songs of praise and thanks to me.
4“Listen to me, my people,
listen to what I say:
I give my teaching to the nations;
my laws will bring them light.
5I will come quickly and save them;
the time of my victory is near.
I myself will rule over the nations.
Distant lands wait for me to come;
they wait with hope for me to save them.
6Look up at the heavens; look at the earth!
The heavens will disappear like smoke;
the earth will wear out like old clothing,
and all its people will die like flies.
But the deliverance I bring will last for ever;
my victory will be final.
7“Listen to me, you that know what is right,
who have my teaching fixed in your hearts.
Do not be afraid when people taunt and insult you;
8they will vanish like moth-eaten clothing!
But the deliverance I bring will last for ever;
my victory will endure for all time.”
9Wake up, LORD, and help us!
Use your power and save us;
use it as you did in ancient times.
It was you that cut the sea monster Rahab#51.9 Rahab: A legendary sea monster, which represented the forces of chaos and evil, and was sometimes a symbol of Egypt. to pieces.
10It was you also who dried up the sea
and made a path through the water,
so that those you were saving could cross.
11Those whom you have rescued
will reach Jerusalem with gladness,
singing and shouting for joy.
They will be happy for ever,
for ever free from sorrow and grief.
12The LORD says,
“I am the one who strengthens you.
Why should you fear mortals,
who are no more enduring than grass?
13Have you forgotten the LORD who made you,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the earth's foundations?
Why should you live in constant fear
of the fury of those who oppress you,
of those who are ready to destroy you?
Their fury can no longer touch you.
14Those who are prisoners will soon be set free;
they will live a long life
and have all the food they need.
15“I am the LORD your God;
I stir up the sea
and make its waves roar.
My name is the LORD Almighty!
16I stretched out#51.16 One ancient translation stretched out; Hebrew planted. the heavens
and laid the earth's foundations;
I say to Jerusalem, ‘You are my people!
I have given you my teaching,
and I protect you with my hand.’ ”
The End of Jerusalem's Suffering
17 #
Rev 14.10; 16.19 Jerusalem, wake up!
Rouse yourself and get up!
You have drunk the cup of punishment
that the LORD in his anger gave you to drink;
you drank it down, and it made you stagger.
18There is no one to lead you,
no one among your people
to take you by the hand.
19A double disaster has fallen on you:
your land has been devastated by war,
and your people have starved.
There is no one to show you sympathy.
20At the corner of every street
your people collapse from weakness;
they are like deer caught in a hunter's net.
They have felt the force of God's anger.
21You suffering people of Jerusalem,
you that stagger as though you were drunk,
22the LORD your God defends you and says,
“I am taking away the cup
that I gave you in my anger.
You will no longer have to drink
the wine that makes you stagger.
23I will give it to those who oppressed you,
to those who made you lie down in the streets
and trampled on you as if you were dirt.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.