Isaiah 51:17-23
New International Version
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
17 Awake, awake!(A)
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup(B) of his wrath,(C)
you who have drained to its dregs(D)
the goblet that makes people stagger.(E)
18 Among all the children(F) she bore
there was none to guide her;(G)
among all the children she reared
there was none to take her by the hand.(H)
19 These double calamities(I) have come upon you—
who can comfort you?(J)—
ruin and destruction,(K) famine(L) and sword(M)—
who can[a] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at every street corner,(N)
like antelope caught in a net.(O)
They are filled with the wrath(P) of the Lord,
with the rebuke(Q) of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(R) one,
made drunk,(S) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
your God, who defends(T) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup(U) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,(V)
who said to you,
‘Fall prostrate(W) that we may walk(X) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on.”(Y)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I
Isaiah 51:17-23
The Message
17-20 So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes!
Up on your feet, Jerusalem!
You’ve drunk the cup God handed you,
the strong drink of his anger.
You drank it down to the last drop,
staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk.
And nobody to help you home,
no one among your friends or children
to take you by the hand and put you in bed.
You’ve been hit with a double dose of trouble
—does anyone care?
Assault and battery, hunger and death
—will anyone comfort?
Your sons and daughters have passed out,
strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits,
Sleeping off the strong drink of God’s anger,
the rage of your God.
21-23 Therefore listen, please,
you with your splitting headaches,
You who are nursing the hangovers
that didn’t come from drinking wine.
Your Master, your God, has something to say,
your God has taken up his people’s case:
“Look, I’ve taken back the drink that sent you reeling.
No more drinking from that jug of my anger!
I’ve passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you,
‘Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!’
And you had to do it. Flat on the ground,
you were the dirt under their feet.”
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson