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 unto me, Ye that pursue righteousness, Ye that seek Yahweh, —Look well unto the rock whence ye were hewn, And unto the 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 well unto Abraham your father, And unto Sarah who gave you birth, —For he was, alone, when called I him, And, I blessed him that I might make him, many.
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.
For Yahweh hath comforted Zion, He hath comforted all her waste places, And hath made her wilderness like Eden, And her waste plain like the garden of Yahweh, —Joy and gladness, shall be found in her, 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.
Attend unto me, O my people, And, O, my nation unto me give ear, —For, instruction, from me, shall go forth, And, my justice—for a light of peoples, will I establish:
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.
At hand is my righteousness. Gone forth hath my salvation, And, mine own arms, unto the peoples, shall give justice, —Upon me, Coastlands, shall wait, And for mine arm, shall they hope.
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—to the heavens—your eyes, And look around to the earth beneath Though, the heavens, like smoke, should have vanished And, the earth, like a garment, should fall to pieces, And, her inhabitants, in like manner, should die, Yet, my salvation, unto times age-abiding, shall continue, And, my righteousness, shall not be broken down.
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 unto me ye who discern righteousness, The people in whose heart is my law, —Do not fear the reproach of frail men, Nor at their revilings, be dismayed;
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 like a garment, shall they be eaten of the moth, And like wool, shall they be eaten of the larva; But, my righteousness, unto times age-abiding shall continue, And, my salvation, unto the remotest 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 put on strength, O arm of Yahweh, Awake, As in days of old, The generations of bygone ages: Art not thou that which—Hewed down Rahab, Piercing the Crocodile?
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 not thou that which dried up—The Sea, The waters of the mighty Deep, —That which made of the abysses of the sea a road for the passing over of the redeemed?
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.
Therefore, the ransomed of Yahweh, shall again come unto Zion, with shouts of triumph, With gladness age-abiding on their head, —Joy, and gladness, shall overtake [them]. Sorrow and sighing have fled 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—I, am he that comforteth you, —Who art, thou, that thou hast feared Frail man that dieth, and A son of the earthborn, who, as grass, shall be delivered up?
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?
That thou hast forgotten Yahweh thy maker, Who stretched out the heavens And founded the earth? That thou hast dreaded continually, all the day, by reason of the fury of the oppressor, in that he was ready to destroy? Where then 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.
The captive hath hastened to be loosed, —That he might not die in the pit. Neither should, his bread, be cut off.
15 For I am the Lord your God who whips up the sea so its waves roar. The Lord Almighty is his name.
But, I—Yahweh, am thy God, Who threw into commotion the sea And the waves thereof roared, —Yahweh 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.”
Therefore have I put my words in thy mouth, And with the shadow of my hand, have I covered thee, —To plant the heavens, and To lay the foundations of the earth, and To say unto Zion My people, thou art!
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.
Rouse thee—rouse, thee stand up, O Jerusalem, Who hast drunk, at the hand of Yahweh, his cup of indignation: The goblet-cup of confusion, hast thou drunk—hast thou drained.
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 none to guide her, Among all the sons she hath borne, —There is none to grasp her hand, Among all the sons she hath brought up.
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?
Twain, are the things befalling thee, Who will lament for thee? Wasting and destruction and famine and sword By whom 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 gazelle in a net, —Who, indeed, are full of The indignation of Yahweh 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, I pray thee, this, thou humbled one, —And drunken but 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, Yahweh, Even thy God who pleadeth the cause of his people: —Lo! I have taken, out of thy hand, the cup of confusion, —As for the goblet-cup of mine indignation, Thou shalt not again drink it, any more;
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.
But I will put it into the hand of thy tormentors, Who said to thy soul, Bow down that we may pass over, —And so thou didst place as the ground, thy back, Yea as the street to such as were passing along.
