Isaiah 51:4-8
New English Translation
4 Pay attention to me, my people.
Listen to me, my people!
For[a] I will issue a decree,[b]
I will make my justice a light to the nations.[c]
5 I am ready to vindicate,[d]
I am ready to deliver,[e]
I will establish justice among the nations.[f]
The coastlands[g] wait patiently for me;
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power.[h]
6 Look up at the sky.
Look at the earth below.
For the sky will dissipate[i] like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like clothes;
its residents will die like gnats.
But the deliverance I give[j] is permanent;
the vindication I provide[k] will not disappear.[l]
7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law.[m]
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse.
8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;
a clothes moth will devour them like wool.
But the vindication I provide[n] will be permanent;
the deliverance I give will last.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:4 tn Or “certainly.”
- Isaiah 51:4 tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”
- Isaiah 51:4 tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”
- Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
- Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
- Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
- Isaiah 51:5 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
- Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.
- Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”
- Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”
- Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”
- Isaiah 51:7 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
- Isaiah 51:8 tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”
Isaiah 51:4-8
New Living Translation
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.”
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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.
