Isaiah 51:1-3
New English Translation
There is Hope for the Future
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness,[a]
who seek the Lord.
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry[b] from which you were dug.[c]
2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth.[d]
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual,[e]
but I blessed him[f] and gave him numerous descendants.[g]
3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;
he will console all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her arid rift valley like the garden of the Lord.[h]
Happiness and joy will be restored to[i] her,
thanksgiving and the sound of music.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:1 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
- Isaiah 51:1 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
- Isaiah 51:1 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.
- Isaiah 51:2 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
- Isaiah 51:2 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
- Isaiah 51:2 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
- Isaiah 51:2 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
- Isaiah 51:3 sn The rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) is known for its dry, desert-like conditions in the area of the Dead Sea and southward (although it also includes the Jordan Valley to the north). The wilderness (מִדְבָּר, midbar) is an area that receives less than twelve inches of rain per year and so can only support meager vegetation at best. The imagery here focuses on the transformation from arid and lifeless to watered and luxuriant.
- Isaiah 51:3 tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
Isaiah 51:1-3
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.
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