Isaiah 51:1–11

Jerusalem Will Be Saved

51The Lord says, “Listen to me,

those of you who try to live right and follow the Lord.

Look at the rock from which you were cut;

look at the stone quarry from which you were dug.

²Look at Abraham, your ancestor,

and Sarah, who gave birth to your ancestors.

Abraham had no children when I called him,

but I blessed him and gave him many descendants.

³So the Lord will comfort Jerusalem;

he will show mercy to those who live in her ruins.

He will change her deserts into a garden like Eden;

he will make her empty lands like the garden of the Lord.

People there will be very happy;

they will give thanks and sing songs.

⁴“My people, listen to me;

my nation, pay attention to me.

I will give the people my teachings,

and my decisions will be like a light to all people.

⁵I will soon show that I do what is right.

I will soon save you.

I will use my power and judge all nations.

All the faraway places are waiting for me;

they wait for my power to help them.

⁶Look up to the heavens.

Look around you at the earth below.

The skies will disappear like clouds of smoke.

The earth will become useless like old clothes,

and its people will die like flies.

But my salvation will continue forever,

and my goodness will never end.

⁷“You people who know what is right should listen to me;

you people who follow my teachings should hear what I say.

Don’t be afraid of the evil things people say,

and don’t be upset by their insults.

⁸Moths will eat those people as if they were clothes,

and worms will eat them as if they were wool.

But my goodness will continue forever,

and my salvation will continue from now on.”

⁹Wake 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.

¹⁰You 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.

¹¹The 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.