Isaiah 51
New Living Translation
A Call to Trust the Lord
51 “Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—
all who seek the Lord!
Consider the rock from which you were cut,
the quarry from which you were mined.
2 Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor,
and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation.
Abraham was only one man when I called him.
But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”
3 The Lord will comfort Israel[a] again
and have pity on her ruins.
Her desert will blossom like Eden,
her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found there.
Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.
4 “Listen to me, my people.
Hear me, Israel,
for my law will be proclaimed,
and my justice will become a light to the nations.
5 My mercy and justice are coming soon.
My salvation is on the way.
My strong arm will bring justice to the nations.
All distant lands will look to me
and wait in hope for my powerful arm.
6 Look up to the skies above,
and gaze down on the earth below.
For the skies will disappear like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing.
The people of the earth will die like flies,
but my salvation lasts forever.
My righteous rule will never end!
7 “Listen to me, you who know right from wrong,
you who cherish my law in your hearts.
Do not be afraid of people’s scorn,
nor fear their insults.
8 For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing.
The worm will eat at them as it eats wool.
But my righteousness will last forever.
My salvation will continue from generation to generation.”
9 Wake up, wake up, O Lord! Clothe yourself with strength!
Flex your mighty right arm!
Rouse yourself as in the days of old
when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.[b]
10 Are you not the same today,
the one who dried up the sea,
making a path of escape through the depths
so that your people could cross over?
11 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem[c] singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
12 “I, yes I, am the one who comforts you.
So why are you afraid of mere humans,
who wither like the grass and disappear?
13 Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator,
the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy
and laid the foundations of the earth.
Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors?
Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?
Where is their fury and anger now?
It is gone!
14 Soon all you captives will be released!
Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate!
15 For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar.
My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
and hidden you safely in my hand.
I stretched out[d] the sky like a canopy
and laid the foundations of the earth.
I am the one who says to Israel,
‘You are my people!’”
17 Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem!
You have drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury.
You have drunk the cup of terror,
tipping out its last drops.
18 Not one of your children is left alive
to take your hand and guide you.
19 These two calamities have fallen on you:
desolation and destruction, famine and war.
And who is left to sympathize with you?
Who is left to comfort you?[e]
20 For your children have fainted and lie in the streets,
helpless as antelopes caught in a net.
The Lord has poured out his fury;
God has rebuked them.
21 But now listen to this, you afflicted ones
who sit in a drunken stupor,
though not from drinking wine.
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord,
your God and Defender, says:
“See, I have taken the terrible cup from your hands.
You will drink no more of my fury.
23 Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors,
those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust
and walk on your backs.’”
Footnotes
- 51:3 Hebrew Zion; also in 51:16.
- 51:9 Hebrew You slew Rahab; you pierced the dragon. Rahab is the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature. The name is used here as a poetic name for Egypt.
- 51:11 Hebrew Zion.
- 51:16 As in Syriac version (see also 51:13); Hebrew reads planted.
- 51:19 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions; Masoretic Text reads How can I comfort you?
Isaiah 51
International Standard Version
Deliverance for Zion
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord!
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
to the quarry from which you were hewn.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave you birth.
For when he was only one person I called him,
but I made him fruitful[a] and made him many.
3 For the Lord will have compassion on Zion,
have compassion on all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her deserts like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving, and the sound of singing.[b]
Sorrow and sighing will flee away.[c]
4 “Pay attention to me, my people!
Listen to me, my nation!
For instruction[d] will go out from me,
and my justice will become a light for the nations.[e]
I will quickly bring 5 my deliverance near;
my salvation is on the way.
His arm[f] will bring justice to[g] the nations;[h]
the coastlands will hope for him,[i]
and they will wait for his arm.[j]
6 “Lift up your eyes, you[k] heavens
and look to the earth beneath;
and see who created these.[l]
Its inhabitants will die just like this;[m]
but my salvation will be forever,
and my deliverance will never fail.
7 Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
you people who have my instruction[n] in their hearts.
Don’t fear the insults of mortals,
and don’t be dismayed at their hateful words.[o]
8 For moths will eat them up just like a garment,
and worms will devour them like wool;
but my deliverance will last[p] forever,
and my salvation to all generations.
9 “Awake! Awake! Clothe yourself with strength,
you arm[q] of the Lord!
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of long ago.
Was it not you who split apart[r] Rehob,[s]
who pierced that sea monster through?[t]
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in[u] the depths of the sea
so that the redeemed could cross over?”
A Promise of Return to the Land
11 “The scattered ones[v] of the Lord will return,
and they will enter Zion with singing.
Everlasting joy will be upon their heads;
they will attain joy and gladness,
and[w] sorrow and sighing will flee away.[x]
12 “I—yes, I—am the one who comforts you.
Who are you, that you are so afraid of humans who will die,
descendants of mere[y] men, who have been made[z] like grass?
13 As a result, you have forgotten the Lord who made you,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the earth’s foundations,
and you live in constant fear every day
because of the oppressor’s fury,
since he’s ready to destroy.
Now where is the[aa] oppressor’s fury?
14 Distress[ab] will quickly be set free.
He won’t die in the Pit,[ac]
nor will he lack food.”
A Promise of Restoration
15 “For I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea, so that its waves roar,
‘The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.’
16 I have put my words in your mouth
and have covered you with the shadow of my hand,
so that I could plant the heavens
and lay the earth’s foundations,
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’
17 “Awake, Awake!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the Lord’s hand
from the cup that is[ad] his anger.
You have drunk to the dregs
the cup that makes you stagger,[ae]
and have drained it.
18 There is no one to guide you[af]
out of all the children she bore,
no one to take her by the hand
out of all the children she brought up.
19 “These twin things have come upon you
(who can feel sorry for you?):
ruin and destruction,
famine and the sword—
who can console you?
20 Your children have fainted.
They lie at the head of every street,
like antelope caught in a trap,
filled with the anger of the Lord
and the rebuke of your God.
21 Now listen to this, you afflicted one,
made drunk, but not with wine:
22 This is what your Lord, the Lord,[ag] says,
your[ah] God, who defends his people’s cause:
“See, I have taken from your hand the cup that made you stagger.[ai]
And you will never again drink to the dregs the cup that is my anger.
23 But I will put it into the hands of those who tormented and oppressed you,[aj]
those who said to you,
‘Lie down,[ak] so we can step over you,’
so that you had to make your back like the ground,
and like a street for them to walk over.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:2 So 1QIsaa; MT reads blessed him; LXX reads blessed him and loved him
- Isaiah 51:3 Or music
- Isaiah 51:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack this line; cf Isa 51:11
- Isaiah 51:4 Or For the Law
- Isaiah 51:4 Lit. peoples
- Isaiah 51:5 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab reads My arms; or My arm; MT LXX read My arms
- Isaiah 51:5 The verb is pl. in 1QIsaa MT
- Isaiah 51:5 Lit. peoples
- Isaiah 51:5 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read me
- Isaiah 51:5 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read my arm
- Isaiah 51:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read to the
- Isaiah 51:6 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read for the heavens will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment
- Isaiah 51:6 Or like gnats
- Isaiah 51:7 Or Law
- Isaiah 51:7 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; spelling differs from MT; LXX reads contempt
- Isaiah 51:8 Lit. be
- Isaiah 51:9 I.e. the Messiah
- Isaiah 51:9 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac Vulg (cf. Job 26:12). MT LXXmss read cut in pieces
- Isaiah 51:9 So 1QIsaa MT qere reads Rahab
- Isaiah 51:9 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac MT Vulg; LXX lacks Was it…through?
- Isaiah 51:10 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack in
- Isaiah 51:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read ransomed ones; 1QIsaa corrector wrote redeemed then erased and wrote scattered ones
- Isaiah 51:11 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac LXX; MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 51:11 So 1QIsaa MTms (sing.); cf Isa 51:3; MT (pl.)
- Isaiah 51:12 1QIsaa MT LXX lack mere
- Isaiah 51:12 So 1QIsaa; MT reads are made; LXX reads will be dried up
- Isaiah 51:13 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa omitted oppressor’s…the then inserted the missing lines at the top of column 43
- Isaiah 51:14 So 1QIsaa; MT reads The cowering one; LXX lacks Distress
- Isaiah 51:14 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife
- Isaiah 51:17 Lit. hand, the cup of
- Isaiah 51:17 Lit. the cup of staggering
- Isaiah 51:18 So 1QIsaa; MT reads no one to guide her; LXX reads no one who comforted you
- Isaiah 51:22 1QIsaa MT; MTms lacks Lord
- Isaiah 51:22 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and your
- Isaiah 51:22 Lit. the cup of staggering
- Isaiah 51:23 So 1QIsaa; MT reads tormented you; LXX reads harmed you and humiliated you
- Isaiah 51:23 Lit.bow down
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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