Awake, awake,(A) arm(B) of the Lord,
    clothe yourself with strength!(C)
Awake, as in days gone by,
    as in generations of old.(D)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(E) to pieces,
    who pierced that monster(F) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(G)
    the waters of the great deep,(H)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(I)
    so that the redeemed(J) might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued(K) will return.
    They will enter Zion with singing;(L)
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(M) will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(N)

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Wake up, wake up, O Lord! Clothe yourself with strength!
    Flex your mighty right arm!
Rouse yourself as in the days of old
    when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.[a]
10 Are you not the same today,
    the one who dried up the sea,
making a path of escape through the depths
    so that your people could cross over?
11 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem[b] singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

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Footnotes

  1. 51:9 Hebrew You slew Rahab; you pierced the dragon. Rahab is the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature. The name is used here as a poetic name for Egypt.
  2. 51:11 Hebrew Zion.