Isaiah 51

1 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:

“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn.

2 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.

Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him.

3 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.

For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.

4 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:

Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation; for a law will go out from Me, and My justice will become a light to the nations; I will bring it about quickly.

5 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.

My righteousness draws near, My salvation is on the way, and My arms will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look for Me and wait in hope for My arm.

6 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.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.

7 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;

Listen to Me, you who know what is right, you people with My law in your hearts: Do not fear the scorn of men; do not be broken by their insults.

8 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.

For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation through all generations.”

9 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?

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?

10 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?

Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?

11 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.

So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

12 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?

“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?

13 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?

But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction. But where is the fury of the oppressor?

14 The captive hath hastened to be loosed, —That he might not die in the pit. Neither should, his bread, be cut off.

The captive will soon be freed; he will not die in the dungeon, and his bread will not be lacking.

15 But, I—Yahweh, am thy God, Who threw into commotion the sea And the waves thereof roared, —Yahweh of hosts, is his name.

For I am the LORD your God who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD of Hosts is His name.

16 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!

I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

17 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.

Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs— the cup that makes men stagger.

18 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.

Among all the sons she bore, there is no one to guide her; among all the sons she brought up, there is no one to take her hand.

19 Twain, are the things befalling thee, Who will lament for thee? Wasting and destruction and famine and sword By whom shall I comfort thee?

These pairs have befallen you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? Who can comfort you?

20 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.

Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore, hear, I pray thee, this, thou humbled one, —And drunken but not with wine: —

Therefore now hear this, you afflicted one, drunken, but not with wine.

22 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;

Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God, who defends His people: “See, I have removed from your hand the cup of staggering. From that goblet, the cup of My fury, you will never drink again.

23 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.

I will place it in the hands of your tormentors, who told you: ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you,’ so that you made your back like the ground, like a street to be traversed.”