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 with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. 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.
Isaiah 51
51
Salvation for Zion
1Listen 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 dug.
2Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave birth to you.
When I called him, he was only one;
I blessed him and made him many.#Gn 12:1; 15:5; Dt 1:10; Is 29:22; 41:8; 63:16; Ezk 33:24
3For the Lord will comfort Zion;#Is 40:1
he will comfort all her waste places,
and he will make her wilderness like Eden,#Gn 2:8; Jl 2:3
and her desert like the garden of the Lord.#Gn 13:10
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 instruction will come from me,
and my justice for a light to the nations.#Is 42:6; 49:6
I will bring it about quickly.
5My righteousness is near,#Is 46:13; 54:17
my salvation appears,
and my arms will bring justice to the nations.#Is 40:10
The coasts and islands will put their hope in me,
and they will look to my strength.#51:5 Lit arm
6Look up 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 its inhabitants will die like gnats.#51:6 Or die in like manner#Ps 102:25–26; Is 34:4; Mt 24:35; Heb 1:10–12; 2Pt 3:10
But my salvation will last forever,#Is 45:17; 2Tm 2:10; Heb 5:9
and my righteousness will never be shattered.
7Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my instruction:#Ps 37:31
do not fear disgrace by men,
and do not be shattered by their taunts.
8For moths will devour them like a garment,#Is 50:9
and worms will eat them like wool.#Is 14:11
But my righteousness will last forever,
and my salvation for all generations.
9Wake up, wake up!
Arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations long ago.
Wasn’t it you who hacked Rahab to pieces,#Jb 26:12; Ps 89:10; Is 30:7
who pierced the sea monster?#Ps 74:13; Is 27:1
10Wasn’t it you who dried up the sea,#Is 11:15–16; 50:2; 63:11–12
the waters of the great deep,
who made the sea-bed into a road
for the redeemed to pass over?#Ex 15:13
11And the ransomed of the Lord will return#Is 35:10
and come to Zion with singing,
crowned with unending joy.
Joy and gladness will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
12I — I am the one who comforts you.
Who are you that you should fear humans who die,#Ps 118:6; Is 2:22
or a son of man who is given up like grass?#Is 40:6–7; Jms 1:10–11; 1Pt 1:24
13But you have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.#Is 44:24; 45:12; Am 9:6; Zch 12:1
You are in constant dread all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor,
who has set himself to destroy.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?#Is 49:26
14The prisoner#51:14 Hb obscure is soon to be set free;
he will not die and go to the Pit,
and his food will not be lacking.
15For I am the Lord your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar#Ps 107:25; Jr 31:35 —
his name is the Lord of Armies.
16I have put my words in your mouth,#Is 59:21
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,#Ex 33:22; Is 49:2
in order to plant#51:16 Syr reads to stretch out the heavens,
to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, “You are my people.”
17Wake yourself, wake yourself up!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk the cup of his fury#Jb 21:20; Is 63:6; Jr 25:15; Mt 20:22; 26:39; Jn 18:1; Rv 14:10
from the Lord’s hand;
you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs —
the cup that causes people to stagger.
18There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has raised;
there is no one to take hold of her hand
among all the offspring she has brought up.
19These two things have happened to you:#Is 47:9
devastation and destruction,
famine and sword.
Who will grieve for you?
How can I#51:19 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg read you? Who can comfort you?
20Your children have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net.
They are full of the Lord’s fury,
the rebuke of your God.
21So listen to this, suffering
and drunken one — but not with wine.#Is 29:9
22This is what your Lord says —
the Lord, even your God,
who defends his people#Is 3:12–13; 49:25; Jr 50:34 —
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup that causes staggering;
that goblet, the cup of my fury.
You will never drink it again.
23I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you,#Is 49:26; Jr 25:15–17,26,28; Zch 12:2
‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like a street for those who walk on it.
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