Isaiah 51
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Salvation for Zion
51 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 dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain.
When I called him, he was only one;
I blessed him and made him many.(A)
3 For the Lord will comfort Zion;(B)
He will comfort all her waste places,
and He will make her wilderness like Eden,(C)
and her desert like the garden of the Lord.(D)
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and melodious song.
4 Pay 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.(E)
I will bring it about quickly.
5 My righteousness is near,(F)
My salvation appears,
and My arms will bring justice to the nations.(G)
The coastlands[a] will put their hope in Me,
and they will look to My strength.[b]
6 Look 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.[c](H)
But My salvation will last forever,(I)
and My righteousness will never be shattered.
7 Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is My instruction:(J)
do not fear disgrace by men,
and do not be shattered by their taunts.
8 For the moth will devour them like a garment,(K)
and the worm will eat them like wool.(L)
But My righteousness will last forever,
and My salvation for all generations.
9 Wake up, wake up!
Put on the strength of the Lord’s power.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations of long ago.
Wasn’t it You who hacked Rahab to pieces,(M)
who pierced the sea monster?(N)
10 Wasn’t it You who dried up the sea,(O)
the waters of the great deep,
who made the sea-bed into a road
for the redeemed to pass over?(P)
11 And the redeemed of the Lord will return(Q)
and come to Zion with singing,
crowned with unending joy.
Joy and gladness will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
12 I—I am the One who comforts you.
Who are you that you should fear man who dies,(R)
or a son of man who is given up like grass?(S)
13 But you have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.(T)
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?(U)
14 The prisoner[d] is soon to be set free;
he will not die and go to the Pit,
and his food will not be lacking.
15 For I am Yahweh your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar(V)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts.
16 I have put My words in your mouth,(W)
and covered you in the shadow of My hand,(X)
in order to plant[e] the heavens,
to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, “You are My people.”
17 Wake yourself, wake yourself up!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk the cup of His fury(Y)
from the hand of the Lord;
you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs—
the cup that causes people to stagger.
18 There 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.
19 These two things have happened to you:(Z)
devastation and destruction,
famine and sword.
Who will grieve for you?
How can I[f] comfort you?
20 Your 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.
21 So listen to this, afflicted
and drunken one—but not with wine.(AA)
22 This is what your Lord says—
Yahweh, even your God,
who defends His people(AB)—
“Look, I have removed
the cup of staggering from your hand;
that goblet, the cup of My fury.
You will never drink it again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you:(AC)
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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:5 Or islands
- Isaiah 51:5 Lit arm
- Isaiah 51:6 Or die in like manner
- Isaiah 51:14 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 51:16 Syr reads to stretch out
- Isaiah 51:19 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg read you? Who can
Isaiah 51
Common English Bible
Look to Abraham and Sarah
51 Listen 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.
2 Look 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.
3 The 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
4 Pay 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.
5 I 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.[a]
6 Look 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.
7 Listen 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.
8 The 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
9 Awake, 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?
10 Didn’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?
11 Then 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.
12 I, I am the one who comforts you.
Why should you fear humans who will die,
mortals who are treated like grass?
13 You 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?
14 The imprisoned ones will soon be released;
they won’t die in the pit
or even lack bread.
15 I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.
16 I put my words in your mouth
and hid you in the shadow of my hand,
stretching out[b] the heavens, founding the earth,
and saying to Zion, “You are my people.”
Wake yourself, Jerusalem
17 Wake 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.
18 There’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.
19 These two things have happened to you—
Who will be sorry for you?[c]—
destruction and devastation,
famine and sword—
who will comfort you?[d]
20 Your 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.
21 Therefore, hear this, suffering one,
who is drunk, but not from wine.
22 The 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.
23 I 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.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:5 Or for my arm
- Isaiah 51:16 Or planting
- Isaiah 51:19 DSS (1QIsaa), LXX, Vulg; MT How will I
- Isaiah 51:19 Or how will I comfort you?
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible