Isaiah 51:1–15

SALVATION FOR ZION

51Listen 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 dug.

²Look to Abraham your father,

and to Sarah who gave birth to you.

When I called him, he was only one;

I blessed him and made him many.^g

³For the Lord will comfort Zion;^h

he will comfort all her waste places,

and he will make her wilderness like Eden,ⁱ

and her desert like the garden of the Lord.^j

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and melodious song.

⁴Pay attention to me, my people,

and listen to me, my nation;

for instruction will come from me,

and my justice for a light to the nations.^k

I will bring it about quickly.

⁵My righteousness is near,^l

my salvation appears,

and my arms will bring justice to the nations.^m

The coasts and islands will put their hope in me,

and they will look to my strength.^A

⁶Look up to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and its inhabitants will die like gnats.^Bn

But my salvation will last forever,^o

and my righteousness will never be shattered.

⁷Listen to me, you who know righteousness,

the people in whose heart is my instruction:^p

do not fear disgrace by men,

and do not be shattered by their taunts.

⁸For moths will devour them like a garment,^q

and worms will eat them like wool.^r

But my righteousness will last forever,

and my salvation for all generations.

⁹Wake up, wake up!

Arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength.

Wake up as in days past,

as in generations long ago.

Wasn’t it you who hacked Rahab to pieces,^s

who pierced the sea monster?^t

¹⁰Wasn’t it you who dried up the sea,^u

the waters of the great deep,

who made the sea-bed into a road

for the redeemed to pass over?^v

¹¹And the ransomed of the Lord will return^w

and come to Zion with singing,

crowned with unending joy.

Joy and gladness will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee.

¹²I—I am the one who comforts you.

Who are you that you should fear humans who die,^a

or a son of man who is given up like grass?^b

¹³But you have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,

who stretched out the heavens

and laid the foundations of the earth.^c

You are in constant dread all day long

because of the fury of the oppressor,

who has set himself to destroy.

But where is the fury of the oppressor?^d

¹⁴The prisoner^A is soon to be set free;

he will not die and go to the Pit,

and his food will not be lacking.

¹⁵For I am the Lord your God

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar^e—

his name is the Lord of Armies.