Isaiah 51
1 Heare me, ye that follow after righteousnes, and ye that seeke the Lord: looke vnto the rocke, whence ye are hewen, and to the hole of the pit, whence ye are digged.
[Yahweh says], “You people who desire to act righteously/justly, who want to do what I want you to do, listen to me! Think about Abraham! [It is as though] [MET] he was a huge rock cliff; and when you [people of Israel became a nation], [it was as though] [MET] you were cut from that rock [DOU].
2 Consider Abraham your father, and Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
Think about your ancestor Abraham and [his wife] Sarah, of whom [all of] you are descendants. When I first spoke to Abraham, he had no children. But after I blessed him, he had a huge number of descendants.
3 Surely the Lord shall comfort Zion: he shall comfort all her desolations, and he shall make her desert like Eden, and her wildernes like the garden of the Lord: ioy and gladnesse shalbe founde therein: praise, and the voyce of singing.
[Some day I], Yahweh, will encourage his descendants [again], and I will comfort all [the people who live in] the ruins [of Jerusalem]. The desert in that area will become like Eden, like the garden that I, Yahweh, [made/planted]. All the people there will be joyful and happy; they will thank me and sing.
4 Hearken ye vnto me, my people, and giue eare vnto me, O my people: for a Law shall proceede from me, and I will bring foorth my iudgement for the light of the people.
My people of Judah, listen carefully [DOU] to me, because [I want you to] proclaim my laws; the just/right things that I do will be [like] [MET] a light for the people of the nations.
5 My righteousnes is neere: my saluation goeth foorth, and mine armes shall iudge the people: the yles shall waite for me, and shall trust vnto mine arme.
I will soon/quickly rescue you [DOU]; by my power [MTY] I will bring you back [from being exiled in Babylonia] [DOU]. The people who live on islands in the ocean will wait for me [to help them], confidently expecting for me to use my power [MTY].
6 Lift vp your eyes to the heauens, and looke vpon the earth beneath: for the heauens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall waxe olde like a garment, and they that dwell therein, shall perish in like maner: but my saluation shall be for euer, and my righteousnesse shall not bee abolished.
Look up at the sky, and look at the earth, [and see what they are like now], because [some day] the sky will disappear like [SIM] smoke, and the earth will wear out like [SIM] old clothes wear out, and people on the earth will die like gnats/flies. But I will rescue/save you, and you will remain free forever, and I will rule you righteously/fairly forever.
7 Hearken vnto me, ye that know righteousnesse, the people in whose heart is my Lawe. Feare ye not the reproche of men, neither be ye afraide of their rebukes.
You people who know what things are right to do, and who know in your inner beings [what is written in] my laws, listen to me! Do not be afraid of people who taunt/insult you; do not be disturbed/upset when people revile you,
8 For the mothe shall eate them vp like a garment, and the worme shall eate them like wool: but my righteousnesse shalbe for euer, and my saluation from generation to generation.
because [some day they will be destroyed] like [MET] clothing that is eaten by ([larvae of] moths/cockroaches), like wool garments that have been eaten by worms. I will save you people, and you will be saved forever.”
9 Rise vp, rise vp, and put on strength, O arme of the Lord: rise vp as in the olde time in the generations of the worlde. Art not thou the same, that hath cutte Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
Yahweh, wake up [and do something for us]! Show your power! Do mighty things like you did long ago, when you stabbed [RHQ] that sea monster/dragon Rahab and cut it into pieces.
10 Art not thou the same, which hath dried the Sea, euen the waters of the great deepe, making the depth of the Sea a way for the redeemed to passe ouer?
Surely you are [RHQ] the one who caused the [Red] Sea to become dry and made a path through that deep water in order that your people could cross it!
11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall returne, and come with ioy vnto Zion, and euerlasting ioy shalbe vpon their head: they shall obtaine ioy, and gladnesse: and sorow and mourning shall flee away.
And those whom Yahweh will rescue [from being exiled in Babylonia] will [similarly] return to Jerusalem, singing. Their being joyful forever will be [like] [MET] a crown on their heads. They will not be sad or mourn any more; they will be [completely] joyful and happy.
12 I, euen I am he, that comfort you. Who art thou, that thou shouldest feare a mortall man, and the sonne of man, which shalbe made as grasse?
[Yahweh says], “I am the one who encourages you. So (why are you/you should not be) [RHQ] afraid of humans who will [wither and disappear like] [MET] grass.
13 And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath spred out the heauens, and layde the foundations of the earth? and hast feared continually all the day, because of the rage of the oppressour, which is readie to destroy? Where is now the rage of the oppressour?
(Why have you/You should not have) [RHQ] forgotten [me], Yahweh, the one who created your nation, the one who stretched out the sky and laid the foundations of the earth. (Why are you/You should not be) [RHQ] continually afraid of those who are angry with you and (oppress you/treat you cruelly) and want to get rid of you. [You should not be afraid of them now], because those angry people have now disappeared!
14 The captiue hasteneth to be loosed, and that hee should not die in the pitte, nor that his bread should faile.
Soon you people who have been caused to be slaves [in Babylonia] will be freed! You will not remain in prison, and you will not die of hunger,
15 And I am the Lord thy God that deuided the Sea, when his waues roared: the Lord of hostes is his Name.
because I am Yahweh, your God, the one who stirs up the sea and causes the waves to roar; I am the Commander of the armies of angels!
16 And I haue put my wordes in thy mouth, and haue defended thee in the shadowe of mine hand, that I may plant the heauens, and lay the foundation of the earth, and say vnto Zion, Thou art my people.
I have given you my message [MTY] to proclaim, and I have protected you with my hand [MTY]. I stretched out the sky and laid the foundation of the earth. And I am the one who says to you Israeli people, ‘You are my people!’”
17 Awake, awake, and stande vp, O Ierusalem, which hast drunke at the hande of the Lord the cup of his wrath: thou hast drunken the dregges of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
[You people of] [APO] Jerusalem, wake up [DOU]! You have experienced Yahweh severely punishing [MTY] you. Yahweh has caused you to suffer much, all that he wanted you to suffer, like [MET] someone who causes another person to suffer by forcing him to drink every drop of [MTY] a cupful of bitter liquid.
18 There is none to guide her among all the sonnes, whome she hath brought foorth: there is none that taketh her by the hand of all the sonnes that she hath brought vp.
[Now] you do not have any children who are alive [DOU] and able to take your hand and guide you.
19 These two thinges are come vnto thee: who will lament thee? desolation and destruction and famine, and the sworde: by whome shall I comfort thee?
You have experienced several disasters: Your country has become desolate/deserted; [your cities have been] destroyed; [many people have] died from hunger; [many people have been] killed by your enemies’ swords. Now, there is no one [RHQ] left to console/comfort you and sympathize with you.
20 Thy sonnes haue fainted, and lye at the head of all the streetes as a wilde bull in a nette, and are full of the wrath of the Lord, and rebuke of thy God.
Your children have fainted and lie in the streets; they are [as helpless as] [SIM] an antelope [that has been caught] in a net. What has happened to them is because Yahweh has been very angry with them; he has rebuked them severely.
21 Therefore heare nowe this, thou miserable and drunken, but not with wine.
So now, you people who have suffered much, [you act as though] you are drunk, but it is not because you have drunk a lot of wine.
22 Thus saith thy Lord God, euen God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Beholde, I haue taken out of thine hande the cuppe of trembling, euen the dregges of the cuppe of my wrath: thou shalt drinke it no more.
Yahweh, your Lord and your God, the one who argues/pleads your case, says this: “Note this: [It is as though] [MET] I have taken that cup of bitter liquid from your hands; I will not be angry with you and cause you to suffer any more.
23 But I will put it into their hande that spoile thee: which haue said to thy soule, Bowe downe, that wee may goe ouer, and thou hast layde thy bodie as the grounde, and as the streete to them that went ouer.
Instead, I will cause those who have tormented you to suffer; [I will severely punish] those who said to you, ‘Prostrate yourselves in order that we may walk on you; [lie down on your stomachs] in order that your backs will be like [SIM] streets that we can walk on.’”
