Isaiah 51

Chapter 51

Israel Exhorted

¹“^aListen to me, you who ^bpursue righteousness,

Who seek the Lord:

Look to the ^crock from which you were hewn

And to the ¹quarry from which you were dug.

²“Look to ^aAbraham your father

And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;

When he ^bwas but one I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

³Indeed, ^athe Lord will comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her ^bwaste places.

And her ^cwilderness He will make like ^dEden,

And her desert like the ^egarden of the Lord;

^fJoy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

⁴“^aPay attention to Me, O My people,

And give ear to Me, O My ¹nation;

For a ^blaw will go forth from Me,

And I will ²set My ^cjustice for a ^dlight of the peoples.

⁵“My ^arighteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,

And My ^barms will judge the peoples;

The ^ccoastlands will wait for Me,

And for My ^darm they will wait expectantly.

⁶“^aLift up your eyes to the sky,

Then look to the earth beneath;

For the ^bsky will vanish like smoke,

And the earth will wear out like a garment

And its inhabitants will die ¹in like manner;

But My ^csalvation will be forever,

And My righteousness will not ²wane.

⁷“^aListen to Me, you who know righteousness,

A people in whose ^bheart is My law;

Do not fear the ^creproach of man,

Nor be dismayed at their revilings.

⁸“For the ^amoth will eat them like a garment,

And the ^bgrub will eat them like wool.

But My ^crighteousness will be forever,

And My salvation to all generations.”

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

Awake as in the ^bdays of old, the generations of long ago.

^cWas it not You who cut Rahab in pieces,

Who pierced the ^ddragon?

¹⁰Was it not You who ^adried up the sea,

The waters of the great deep;

Who made the depths of the sea a pathway

For the ^bredeemed to cross over?

¹¹So the ^aransomed of the Lord will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And ^beverlasting joy will be on their heads.

They will obtain gladness and joy,

And ^csorrow and sighing will flee away.

¹²“I, even I, am He who ^acomforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of ^bman who dies

And of the son of man who is made ^clike grass,

¹³That you have ^aforgotten the Lord your Maker,

Who ^bstretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you ^cfear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,

As he makes ready to destroy?

But where is the fury of the ^doppressor?

¹⁴“The ^1aexile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, ^bnor will his bread be lacking.

¹⁵“For I am the Lord your God, who ^astirs up the sea and its waves roar (the Lord of hosts is His name).

¹⁶“I have ^aput My words in your mouth and have ^bcovered you with the shadow of My hand, to ^1cestablish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”

^17aRouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,

You who have ^bdrunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger;

The ¹chalice of reeling you have ²drained to the dregs.

¹⁸There is ^anone to guide her among all the sons she has borne,

Nor is there one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

¹⁹These two things have befallen you;

Who will mourn for you?

The ^adevastation and destruction, famine and sword;

How shall I comfort you?

²⁰Your sons have fainted,

They ^alie helpless at the head of every street,

Like an ^bantelope in a net,

Full of the wrath of the Lord,

The ^crebuke of your God.

²¹Therefore, please hear this, you ^aafflicted,

Who are ^bdrunk, but not with wine:

²²Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God

Who ^acontends for His people,

“Behold, I have taken out of your hand the ^bcup of reeling,

The ¹chalice of My anger;

You will never drink it again.

²³“I will ^aput it into the hand of your tormentors,

Who have said to ¹you, ‘^bLie down that we may walk over you.’

You have even made your back like the ground

And like the street for those who walk over it.”