12 I—I am the One who comforts you.
Who are you that you should fear man who dies,(A)
or a son of man who is given up like grass?(B)
13 But you have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.(C)
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?(D)
14 The prisoner[a] 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(E)
His name is Yahweh of Hosts.
16 I have put My words in your mouth,(F)
and covered you in the shadow of My hand,(G)
in order to plant[b] the heavens,
to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, “You are My people.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 51:14 Hb obscure
  2. Isaiah 51:16 Syr reads to stretch out

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[a] men, who have been made[b] 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[c] oppressor’s fury?
14 Distress[d] will quickly be set free.
    He won’t die in the Pit,[e]
        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.’

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 51:12 1QIsaa MT LXX lack mere
  2. Isaiah 51:12 So 1QIsaa; MT reads are made; LXX reads will be dried up
  3. Isaiah 51:13 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa omitted oppressor’s…the then inserted the missing lines at the top of column 43
  4. Isaiah 51:14 So 1QIsaa; MT reads The cowering one; LXX lacks Distress
  5. Isaiah 51:14 I.e. the realm of punishment in the afterlife