Isaiah 51
51
Israel Should Be Like Abraham
1“Some of you people try hard to live good lives. You go to the Lord for help. Listen to me. You should look at Abraham your father. He is the rock you were cut from. 2Abraham is your father, so look at him. Look at Sarah, who gave birth to you. Abraham was alone when I called him. Then I blessed him, and he began a great family with many descendants.”
3In the same way, the Lord will bless Zion. He will feel sorry for her and her people, and he will do something great for her. He will turn the desert into a garden. It will be like the Garden of Eden. The land was empty, but it will become like the Lord’s garden. People there will be very happy. They will sing victory songs to thank God for what he did.
4“My people, listen to me!
My decisions will be like lights showing people how to live.
5I will soon save you and show that I am fair.
I will use my power and judge all nations.
All the faraway places are waiting for me.
They wait for my power to help them.
6Look up to the heavens!
Look around you at the earth below!
The skies will disappear like clouds of smoke.
The earth will become like worthless old clothes.
The people on earth will die,
but my salvation will continue forever.
My goodness will never end.
7You people who understand goodness should listen to me.
You people who follow my teachings should hear the things I say.
Don’t be afraid of evil people.
Don’t let their insults upset you.
8They will be like old clothes eaten by moths.
They will be like wool eaten by worms.
But my goodness will last forever.
My salvation will continue forever and ever.”
God’s Own Power Will Save His People
9Wake up! Wake up!
Arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength.
Show your power the way you did long ago,
as you have from ancient times.
You are the one who destroyed Rahab.
You defeated the Dragon.#51:9 Rahab … Dragon This is Rahab the great sea monster. Some ancient stories tell about Rahab fighting with God.
10You dried up the water that was in the deep sea.
You made a road through the deepest parts of the sea.
Your people crossed over and were saved.
11The Lord will save his people.
They will return to Zion with joy.
They will be very happy.
Their happiness will be like a crown on their heads forever.
They will be singing with joy.
All sadness will be gone far away.
12The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you.
So why should you be afraid of people?
They are only humans who live and die like the grass.
13“I, the Lord, am the one who made you.
With my power I made the earth
and spread the sky over the earth.
But you have forgotten me,
so you are always afraid that angry men will hurt you.
Those men planned to destroy you,
but where are they now?
14“People in prison will soon be made free.
They will not die and rot in prison.
They will have plenty of food.
15“I am the Lord your God,
the one who stirs up the sea and makes the waves roar.”
The Lord All-Powerful is his name.
16“My servant, I gave you the words I want you to say, and I covered you with my hands to protect you. I did this to make a new heaven and earth and so that you would say to Israel, ‘You are my people.’”
God Punished Israel
17Wake up! Wake up!
Jerusalem, get up!
The Lord was very angry with you.
So you were punished.
It was like a cup of poison you had to drink,
and you drank it all.
18Jerusalem had many people, but none of them became leaders for her. None of the children she raised became guides to lead her. 19Troubles came to you, Jerusalem, in pairs: Your land was destroyed and lies in ruins, and your people suffered from famine and war.
But no one felt sorry for you or showed you mercy. 20Your people became weak. They fell on the ground and lay there. They were lying on every street corner, like animals caught in a net. They were punished by the Lord’s anger until they could not accept any more punishment. When God said he would give them more punishment, they became very weak.
21Listen to me, poor Jerusalem. You are weak like a drunk, but you are not drunk from wine. You are weak from that “cup of poison.”
22Your God is the one who fights for his people. He is your Lord GOD, and he says to you, “Look, I am taking this ‘cup of poison’ away from you. It is full of my anger, and I am taking it out of your hand. You will not be punished by my anger again. 23I will now use my anger to punish the people who hurt you. They tried to kill you. They told you, ‘Bow down before us, and we will walk on you.’ They forced you to bow down before them, and then they walked on your back like dirt. You were like a road for them to walk on.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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.