Isaiah 51:9–12

9 Awake, awake, arm of the Lord,

clothe yourself with strength!

Awake, as in days gone by,

as in generations of old.

Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,

who pierced that monster through?

10 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

so that the redeemed might cross over?

11 Those the Lord has rescued will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you.

Who are you that you fear mere mortals,

human beings who are but grass,

9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;

Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.

Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep;

That hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?

11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return,

And come with singing unto Zion;

And everlasting joy shall be upon their head:

They shall obtain gladness and joy;

And sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you:

Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die,

And of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

9 Wake up, wake up, O Lord! Clothe yourself with strength!

Flex your mighty right arm!

Rouse yourself as in the days of old

when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.

10 Are you not the same today,

the one who dried up the sea,

making a path of escape through the depths

so that your people could cross over?

11 Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.

They will enter Jerusalem singing,

crowned with everlasting joy.

Sorrow and mourning will disappear,

and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

12 “I, yes I, am the one who comforts you.

So why are you afraid of mere humans,

who wither like the grass and disappear?

9 Awake, awake, put on strength,

O arm of the Lord!

Awake as in the ancient days,

In the generations of old.

Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart,

And wounded the serpent?

10 Are You not the One who dried up the sea,

The waters of the great deep;

That made the depths of the sea a road

For the redeemed to cross over?

11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,

And come to Zion with singing,

With everlasting joy on their heads.

They shall obtain joy and gladness;

Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you.

Who are you that you should be afraid

Of a man who will die,

And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?

9 Wake up, wake up, and use your strength,

powerful Lord.

Wake up as you did in the old times,

as you did a long time ago.

With your own power, you cut Rahab into pieces

and killed that sea monster.

10 You dried up the sea

and the waters of the deep ocean.

You made the deepest parts of the sea into a road

for your people to cross over and be saved.

11 The people the Lord has freed will return

and enter Jerusalem with joy.

Their happiness will last forever.

They will have joy and gladness,

and all sadness and sorrow will be gone far away.

12 The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you.

So why should you be afraid of people, who die?

Why should you fear people who die like the grass?

9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Is it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the monster? 10 Is it not thou that driedst up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that madest the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? 11 And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass;

9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, as in the generations of passed ages. Is it not thou that hath hewn Rahab in pieces, and pierced the monster? 10 Is it not thou that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? 11 So the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou fearest a man that shall die, and the son of man that shall become as grass;

9 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Lord! 

Wake up as you did in days long past, as in generations long ago. 

Didn’t you cut Rahabinto pieces and stab the serpent? 

10 Didn’t you dry up the sea, the water of the great ocean? 

You made a road in the depths of the sea 

so that the people reclaimed ⸤by the Lord⸥ 

might pass through it. 

11 The people ransomed by the Lord will return. 

They will come to Zion singing with joy. 

Everlasting happiness will be on their heads ⸤as a crown⸥. 

They will be glad and joyful. 

They will have no sorrow or grief. 

12 I alone am the one who comforts you. 

Why, then, are you afraid of mortals, who must die, 

of humans, who are like grass? 

9 Wake up, wake up!

Put on the strength of the Lord’s power.

Wake up as in days past,

as in generations of long ago.

Wasn’t it You who hacked Rahab to pieces,

who pierced the sea monster?

10 Wasn’t it You who dried up the sea,

the waters of the great deep,

who made the sea-bed into a road

for the redeemed to pass over?

11 And the redeemed of the Lord will return

and come to Zion with singing,

crowned with unending joy.

Joy and gladness will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee.

12 I—I am the One who comforts you.

Who are you that you should fear man who dies,

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

9 Awake, awake, put on strength,

O arm of the Lord!

Awake, as in days of old,

the generations of long ago!

Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,

who pierced the dragon?

10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,

the waters of the great deep;

who made the depths of the sea a way

for the redeemed to cross over?

11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with rejoicing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain joy and gladness,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 I, I am he who comforts you;

why then are you afraid of a mere mortal who must die,

a human being who fades like grass?

9 Awake! Awake; put on strength, O arm of Yahweh!

Awake as in days of long ago,

the generations of a long time back!

Are you not the one who cut Rahab in pieces,

the one who pierced the sea-dragon?

10 Are you not the one who dried up the sea,

the waters of the great deep,

the one who made the depths of the sea a way

for those who are redeemed to cross over?

11 So the redeemed ones of Yahweh shall return,

and they shall come to Zion with singing,

and everlasting joy shall be on their heads.

Joy and gladness shall appear;

sorrow and sighing shall flee away!

12 “I, I am he who comforts you;

who are you that you are afraid of man? He dies!

And of the son of humankind? He is sacrificed as grass!

9 Wake up! Lord, wake up! Dress your powerful arm with strength

as if it were your clothes.

Wake up, just as you did in the past.

Wake up, as you did long ago.

Didn’t you cut Rahab to pieces?

Didn’t you stab that sea monster to death?

10 Didn’t you dry up the Red Sea?

Didn’t you dry up those deep waters?

You made a road on the bottom of that sea.

Then those who were set free went across.

11 Those the Lord has saved will return to their land.

They will sing as they enter the city of Zion.

Joy that lasts forever will be like beautiful crowns on their heads.

They will be filled with gladness and joy.

Sorrow and sighing will be gone.

12 The Lord says to his people,

“I comfort you because of who I am.

Why are you afraid of mere men?

They are only human beings.

They are like grass that dries up.

9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord;

Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago.

Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces,

Who pierced the dragon?

10 Was it not You who dried up the sea,

The waters of the great deep;

Who made the depths of the sea a pathway

For the redeemed to cross over?

11 So the ransomed of the Lord will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And everlasting joy will be on their heads.

They will obtain gladness and joy,

And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies

And of the son of man who is made like grass,