Isaiah 51
1 Listen to me, those of you who follow what is right, and who worship the Lord. Think about the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were chiseled.
Hearken to me, ye that pursue righteousness. Ye that seek Jehovah! Look to the rock whence ye were hewn, To the pit-quarry whence ye were digged!
2 Look back at Abraham your father, and Sarah who gave birth to you. When I called him, he was only one man, but then I blessed him and he had many descendants.
Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah that bore you! For I called him when only one, And blessed him, and multiplied him.
3 The Lord will care for Zion and feel sorry about all her ruined places. He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert areas like the garden of the Lord. People there will have joy and happiness, giving thanks and singing sweet songs.
Thus will Jehovah have pity upon Zion; He will have pity upon all her desolations. He will make her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the garden of Jehovah. Joy and gladness shall be found therein; Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 Pay attention to me, my people; listen to me, my nation: I will send out my law, and my justice will be a light to the nations.
Hearken to me, O my people! And give ear to me, O my nation! For a law shall proceed from me, And I will establish my statutes for the light of the nations.
5 My rule of right will arrive soon. My salvation is coming. My power will bring judgment to the nations. The distant lands are waiting for me and my power.
My help is near; my salvation goeth forth; My arm shall judge the nations; Distant lands shall wait for me, And in my arm shall they trust.
6 Look up at the heavens, and look down at the earth beneath. The heavens will disappear like smoke, the earth will wear out like old clothes. The people living there will die like flies, but my salvation will last forever, and my way of goodness and right will never be destroyed.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look down upon the earth beneath! For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, And the earth shall decay like a garment, And its inhabitants shall perish like flies. But my salvation shall endure forever, And my goodness shall not decay.
7 Listen to me, you who know what's right, and who have really accepted my teachings. Don't be afraid of people's insults—they're just human—or be terrified by their abusive language.
Hearken to me, ye that know righteousness, The people in whose heart is my law! Fear ye not the reproach of men, Nor be disheartened by their revilings!
8 Moths will eat them up like clothing; bugs will chew through them like wool. But my goodness will last forever, my salvation will endure for all generations.
For the moth shall consume them like a garment, And the worm shall eat them like wool. But my goodness shall endure forever, And my salvation from generation to generation.
9 Please wake up, wake up! Use your strength, powerful Lord! Act as you used to in olden days, in former generations. Weren't you the one who cut Rahab to pieces, who killed that sea monster?
Awake! awake! clothe thyself with strength, O arm of Jehovah! Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old!
10 Weren't you the one who dried up the sea, making a way through the deep waters for the redeemed to cross over?
Art thou not the same that smote Rahab, And wounded the dragon? Art thou not the same that dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep, —That made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass through?
11 Those the Lord has set free will return, singing as they enter Jerusalem, wearing crowns of everlasting joy. They are overcome with thankfulness and happiness; sorrow and sadness simply disappear.
Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return; They shall come to Zion with singing; Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; They shall obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 It's me, yes, I am the one who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortals who die just like grass?
I, even I, am he that hath pity upon you; Who art thou, that thou art afraid of man, that shall die, Of the son of man, that shall perish like grass,
13 You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and who laid the foundations of the earth! That's why you shake with fear all day long, because you're threatened by the anger of those who oppress you, wanting to destroy you. But where are your oppressors and their anger now?
And forgettest Jehovah thy maker, That stretched out the heavens, And founded the earth, And fearest continually every day, On account of the fury of the oppressor, As if he were taking aim to destroy thee? Where now is the fury of the oppressor?
14 The prisoners that are bowed down will soon be set free. They're not going to die; they won't go on being hungry.
Soon shall the enchained be loosed; He shall not die in the pit, Nor shall his bread fail.
15 For I am the Lord your God who whips up the sea so its waves roar. The Lord Almighty is his name.
For I am Jehovah thy God, That rebuketh the sea when his waves roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name.
16 I have told you what to say, and I have protected you with my hand. I created the heavens and founded the earth, and told Zion, “You are my people.”
I have put my words into thy mouth, And have covered thee with the shadow of my hand, To establish the heavens, and to found the earth. And to say to Zion, “Thou art my people!”
17 Wake up, wake up! Get up, Jerusalem! You have drunk from the cup of the Lord's anger he handed to you. You have drained it down to the bottom of the cup, the drink that makes people stagger around.
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem! Thou that hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury, Thou that hast drunk to the dregs the cup of giddiness!
18 Of all your children you had, there's not one left to guide you. Of all the children you raised, there's not one to take you by the hand.
There is not one to lead her, of all the sons which she hath brought forth, Nor is there one to take her by the hand, of all the sons which she hath nurtured.
19 Two tragedies have struck you: devastation caused by famine, and destruction caused by war. Who is going to sympathize with you? Who is going to comfort you?
These two things have come upon thee, And who bemoaneth thee? Desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword; How shall I comfort thee?
20 Your children have collapsed, lying in every street like antelopes caught in a trap. They experienced the full anger of the Lord, the condemnation of your God.
Thy sons have fainted; they lie at the head of all the streets, Like a deer in the net; They are full of the wrath of Jehovah, Of the rebuke of thy God.
21 So please listen to this, you poor people, sitting there in a drunken state, but not from drinking wine.
Therefore, hear this, thou afflicted, Thou drunken, and not with wine!
22 This is what your Lord God says, your God, who defends his people's cause: Look! I have taken away from you the cup that made you stagger around. You will never again have to drink from that cup, the cup of my anger.
Thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, And thy God, that defendeth the cause of his people. Behold, I will take from thy hand the cup of giddiness, The cup of my wrath; Thou shalt drink no more of it.
23 Instead I will give that cup to the people who tormented you, to those who said to you, “Lie face down so we can walk all over you.” You had to make your backs like the ground, like a street to be walked on.
And I will put it into the hand of them that have afflicted thee; That have said to thee, “Bow down, that we may pass over!” And thou madest thy body as the ground, And as the street, to them that passed over.
