Isaiah 51
51
Exhortation to Trust in the Lord
1Listen to me, you who pursue justice,
who seek the Lord;
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
to the quarry#Rock…quarry: your glorious ancestry. from which you were taken;#Rom 9:30–31.
2Look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth;
Though he was but one when I called him,
I blessed him and made him many.#Ez 33:24; Gn 12:2–4; 22:17.
3Yes, the Lord shall comfort Zion,
shall comfort all her ruins;
Her wilderness he shall make like Eden,
her wasteland like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness shall be found in her,
thanksgiving and the sound of song.
4Be attentive to me, my people;#The conversion of the nations.
my nation, give ear to me.
For teaching shall go forth from me,
and my judgment, as light to the peoples.#Is 2:3.
5I will make my victory come swiftly;
my salvation shall go forth
and my arm shall judge the nations;
In me the coastlands shall hope,
and my arm they shall await.
6Raise your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth below;
Though the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies,
My salvation shall remain forever
and my victory shall always be firm.#While the heavens and the earth appear eternal and changeless, they are not so firm and lasting as God’s saving will for Israel.
7Hear me, you who know justice,
you people who have my teaching at heart:
Do not fear the reproach of others;
remain firm at their revilings.
8They shall be like a garment eaten by moths,
like wool consumed by grubs;
But my victory shall remain forever,
my salvation, for all generations.#Is 50:9.
9Awake, awake, put on strength,
arm of the Lord!
Awake as in the days of old,
in ages long ago!
Was it not you who crushed Rahab,#Rahab: see note on 30:7. The dragon: see notes on 27:1; Ps 74:12–17.
you who pierced the dragon?#Ex 15:16; Jb 9:13; 26:12; Ps 74:13; 89:11.
10Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,#Great deep: a reference to the primeval chaos (cf. Gn 1:2; 7:11; 49:25; Jb 28:14; Ps 36:7; Jon 2:4).
You who made the depths of the sea into a way
for the redeemed to pass through?
11Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
They will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
12I, it is I who comfort you.
Can you then fear mortals who die,
human beings who are just grass,
13And forget the Lord, your maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of earth?
All the day you are in constant dread
of the fury of the oppressor
When he prepares himself to destroy;
but where is the oppressor’s fury?
14The captives shall soon be released;
they shall not die and go down into the pit,
nor shall they want for bread.
15For I am the Lord, your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
the Lord of hosts by name.#Jer 31:35.
16I have put my words into your mouth,
I covered you, shielded by my hand,
Stretching out the heavens,
laying the foundations of the earth,
saying to Zion: You are my people.
The Cup of the Lord
17Wake up, wake up!
Arise, Jerusalem,
You who drank at the Lord’s hand
the cup of his wrath;
Who drained to the dregs
the bowl of staggering!#Jer 25:15–17; Ez 23:32–34.
18She has no one to guide her
of all the children she bore;
She has no one to take her by the hand,
of all the children she reared!—
19Your misfortunes are double;
who is there to grieve with you?
Desolation and destruction, famine and sword!
Who is there to comfort you?
20Your children lie helpless
at every street corner
like antelopes in a net.
They are filled with the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.
21But now, hear this, afflicted one,
drunk, but not with wine,#Is 29:9.
22Thus says the Lord, your Master,
your God, who defends his people:
See, I am taking from your hand
the cup of staggering;
The bowl of my wrath
you shall no longer drink.
23I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
those who said to you,
“Bow down, that we may walk over you.”
So you offered your back like the ground,
like the street for them to walk on.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 51
51
LI
1Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness,
Ye that seek Jehovah:
Look unto the rock, from whence ye were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit, whence ye were digged.
2Look unto Abraham your father,
And unto Sarah, who bare you:
For I called him, being then one,
And blessed him, and multiplied him.
3For Jehovah shall comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her desolate places:
And He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of Jehovah:
Joy and gladness shall be found in her,
Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4Attend unto me, my people;
And give ear unto me, O my nation:
For a law shall proceed from me,
And my judgment will I establish for a light of the people.
5My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth;
And mine arm shall judge the people;
The isles shall wait upon me,
And on mine arm shall they trust
6Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look upon the earth beneath:
For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke,
And the earth shall wax old like a garment,
And the inhabitants thereof shall die off like insects;
But my solvation shall be for ever,
And my righteousness shall not be abolished.
7Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness,
The people in whose heart is my law;
Fear ye not the reproach of men,
Neither be ye borne down by their revilings:
8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment,
And the worm shall eat them like wool:
But my righteousness shall be for ever,
And my salvation from generation to generation.
9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah!
Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.
Art thou not it that cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
10Art thou not it which dried the sea, the waters of the great deep?
That made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass over?
11Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return,
And come with singing unto Zion;
And everlasting joy shall be upon their head:
They shall obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12I, even I, am he that comforteth you:
Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of man that shall die,
And of the son of man, who shall be made as grass?
13And shouldest forget Jehovah thy maker,
Who hath stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth;
And shouldest fear continually, every day,
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
As if he were ready to destroy:
And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14The bound prisoner shall soon be released:
He shall not die in the pit,
Neither shall his bread fail.
15For I am Jehovah thy God,
He who setteth the sea in commotion, so that the waves thereof roar:
Jehovah of hosts is his name.
16I have put my words in thy mouth,
And with the shadow of my hand have I covered thee:
That I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth,
And say unto Zion: Thou art my people.
17Awake, awake; stand up, O Jerusalem!
Which hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury:
The dregs of the cup of dizziness, hast thou drunk; thou hast wrung them out.
18There is not one to guide her of all the sons which she hath brought forth;
Neither is there one to support her by the hand, of all the sons which she hath brought up.
19These two things have befallen thee, who shall bemoan thee?
Desolation and destruction; and the famine and the sword; by whom shall I comfort thee?
20Thy sons have fainted away; they lie down at the head of all the streets,
As a stag in a net;
They are full of the fury of Jehovah, the rebuke of thy God.
21Wherefore hear now this, thou afflicted,
And drunken, but not with wine.
22Thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah,
And thy God, who pleadeth the cause of his people;
Behold! I take from thy hand the cup of dizziness,
The dregs of the cup of my fury;
Thou shalt no more drink it again.
23But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee,
Who have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over:
And thou madest thy back as the ground,
And as the street, to them that passed over.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.