“Listen to me, my people;(A)
    hear me,(B) my nation:
Instruction(C) will go out from me;
    my justice(D) will become a light to the nations.(E)
My righteousness draws near speedily,
    my salvation(F) is on the way,(G)
    and my arm(H) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(I) will look to me
    and wait in hope(J) for my arm.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(K)
    the earth will wear out like a garment(L)
    and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(M) will last forever,(N)
    my righteousness will never fail.(O)

“Hear me, you who know what is right,(P)
    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:(Q)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
    or be terrified by their insults.(R)
For the moth will eat them up like a garment;(S)
    the worm(T) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,(U)
    my salvation through all generations.”

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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]
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]
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]
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.
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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 51:4 tn Or “certainly.”
  2. Isaiah 51:4 tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”
  3. Isaiah 51:4 tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”
  4. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
  5. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
  6. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
  7. Isaiah 51:5 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
  8. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).
  9. Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.
  10. 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.”
  11. Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”
  12. Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”
  13. Isaiah 51:7 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
  14. Isaiah 51:8 tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”