Isaiah 51
New International Reader's Version
The Lord’s Saving Power for Zion Lasts Forever
51 The Lord says, “Listen to me, you who want to do what is right.
Pay attention, you who look to me.
Consider the rock you were cut out of.
Think about the rock pit you were dug from.
2 Consider Abraham. He is the father of your people.
Think about Sarah. She is your mother.
When I chose Abraham, he did not have any children.
But I blessed him and gave him many of them.
3 You can be sure that I will comfort Zion’s people.
I will look with loving concern on all their destroyed buildings.
I will make their deserts like Eden.
I will make their dry and empty land like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be there.
People will sing and give thanks to me.
4 “Listen to me, my people.
Pay attention, my nation.
My instruction will go out to the nations.
I make everything right.
That will be a guiding light for them.
5 The time for me to set you free is near.
I will soon save you.
My powerful arm will make everything right among the nations.
The islands will put their hope in me.
They will wait for my powerful arm to act.
6 Look up toward the heavens.
Then look at the earth.
The heavens will vanish like smoke.
The earth will wear out like clothes.
Those who live there will die like flies.
But I will save you forever.
My saving power will never end.
7 “Listen to me, you who know what is right.
Pay attention, you who have taken my instruction to heart.
Do not be afraid when mere human beings make fun of you.
Do not be terrified when they laugh at you.
8 They will be like clothes that moths have eaten up.
They will be like wool that worms have chewed up.
But my saving power will last forever.
I will save you for all time to come.”
9 Wake up, arm of the Lord! Wake up!
Dress yourself with strength as if it were your clothes!
Wake up, just as you did in the past.
Wake up, as you did long ago.
Didn’t you cut Rahab to pieces?
Didn’t you stab that sea monster to death?
10 Didn’t you dry up the Red Sea?
Didn’t you dry up those deep waters?
You made a road on the bottom of that sea.
Then those who were set free went across.
11 Those the Lord has saved will return to their land.
They will sing as they enter the city of Zion.
Joy that lasts forever will be like beautiful crowns on their heads.
They will be filled with gladness and joy.
Sorrow and sighing will be gone.
12 The Lord says to his people,
“I comfort you because of who I am.
Why are you afraid of mere human beings?
They are like grass that dries up.
13 How can you forget me? I made you.
I stretch out the heavens.
I lay the foundations of the earth.
Why are you terrified every day?
Is it because those who are angry with you are crushing you?
Is it because they are trying to destroy you?
Their anger can’t harm you anymore.
14 You prisoners who are so afraid will soon be set free.
You will not die in your prison cells.
You will not go without food.
15 I am the Lord your God.
I stir up the ocean. I make its waves roar.
My name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.
16 I have put my words in your mouth.
I have kept you safe in the palm of my hand.
I set the heavens in place.
I laid the foundations of the earth.
I say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”
The Cup of the Lord’s Great Anger
17 Wake up, Jerusalem!
Wake up! Get up!
The Lord has handed you the cup of his great anger.
And you have drunk from it.
That cup makes people unsteady on their feet.
And you have drunk from it to the very last drop.
18 Among all the children who were born to you
there was none to guide you.
Among all the children you brought up
there was none to lead you by the hand.
19 Nothing but trouble has come to you.
You have been wiped out and destroyed.
And you have suffered hunger and war.
No one feels sorry for you.
No one can comfort you.
20 Your children have fainted.
They lie helpless at every street corner.
They are like antelope that have been caught in a net.
They have felt the full force of the Lord’s great anger.
Jerusalem, your God had to warn them strongly.
21 So listen to me, you suffering people of Jerusalem.
You have been made drunk, but not by drinking wine.
22 Your Lord and King speaks.
He is your God.
He stands up for his people. He says,
“I have taken from you the cup of my great anger.
It made you unsteady on your feet.
But you will never drink
from that cup again.
23 Instead, I will give it to those who made you suffer.
They said to you,
‘Fall down flat on the ground.
Then we can walk all over you.’
And that is exactly what you did.
You made your back like a street to be walked on.”
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
Isaiah 51
New King James Version
The Lord Comforts Zion(A)
51 “Listen to Me, (B)you who [a]follow after righteousness,
You who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
2 (C)Look to Abraham your father,
And to Sarah who bore you;
(D)For I called him alone,
And (E)blessed him and increased him.”
3 For the Lord will (F)comfort Zion,
He will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert (G)like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
4 “Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
(H)For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
(I)As a light of the peoples.
5 (J)My righteousness is near,
My salvation has gone forth,
(K)And My arms will judge the peoples;
(L)The coastlands will wait upon Me,
And (M)on My arm they will trust.
6 (N)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For (O)the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
(P)The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be (Q)forever,
And My righteousness will not be [b]abolished.
7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
You people (R)in whose heart is My law:
(S)Do not fear the reproach of men,
Nor be afraid of their insults.
8 For (T)the moth will eat them up like a garment,
And the worm will eat them like wool;
But My righteousness will be forever,
And My salvation from generation to generation.”
9 (U)Awake, awake, (V)put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake (W)as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.
(X)Are You not the arm that cut (Y)Rahab apart,
And wounded the (Z)serpent?
10 Are You not the One who (AA)dried up the sea,
The waters of the great deep;
That made the depths of the sea a road
For the redeemed to cross over?
11 So (AB)the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, even I, am He (AC)who comforts you.
Who are you that you should be afraid
(AD)Of a man who will die,
And of the son of a man who will be made (AE)like grass?
13 And (AF)you forget the Lord your Maker,
(AG)Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth;
You have feared continually every day
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
When he has prepared to destroy.
(AH)And where is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed,
(AI)That he should not die in the pit,
And that his bread should not fail.
15 But I am the Lord your God,
Who (AJ)divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16 And (AK)I have put My words in your mouth;
(AL)I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
(AM)That I may [c]plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth,
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”
God’s Fury Removed
17 (AN)Awake, awake!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who (AO)have drunk at the hand of the Lord
The cup of His fury;
You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling,
And drained it out.
18 There is no one to guide her
Among all the sons she has brought forth;
Nor is there any who takes her by the hand
Among all the sons she has brought up.
19 (AP)These two things have come to you;
Who will be sorry for you?—
Desolation and destruction, famine and sword—
(AQ)By whom will I comfort you?
20 (AR)Your sons have fainted,
They lie at the head of all the streets,
Like an antelope in a net;
They are full of the fury of the Lord,
The rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted,
And drunk (AS)but not with wine.
22 Thus says your Lord,
The Lord and your God,
Who (AT)pleads the cause of His people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
The cup of trembling,
The dregs of the cup of My fury;
You shall no longer drink it.
23 (AU)But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you,
Who have said to [d]you,
‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’
And you have laid your body like the ground,
And as the street, for those who walk over.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:1 pursue
- Isaiah 51:6 broken
- Isaiah 51:16 establish
- Isaiah 51:23 Lit. your soul
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Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
