Isaiah 51

Everlasting Salvation for Zion

“Listen^a to me, you who pursue righteousness^b

and who seek^c the Lord:

Look to the rock^d from which you were cut

and to the quarry from which you were hewn;

look to Abraham,^e your father,

and to Sarah, who gave you birth.

When I called him he was only one man,

and I blessed him and made him many.^f

The Lord will surely comfort^g Zion^h

and will look with compassion on all her ruins;ⁱ

he will make her deserts like Eden,^j

her wastelands^k like the garden of the Lord.

Joy and gladness^l will be found in her,

thanksgiving^m and the sound of singing.

“Listen to me, my people;ⁿ

hear me,^o my nation:

Instruction^p will go out from me;

my justice^q will become a light to the nations.^r

My righteousness draws near speedily,

my salvation^s is on the way,^t

and my arm^u will bring justice to the nations.

The islands^v will look to me

and wait in hope^w for my arm.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

look at the earth beneath;

the heavens will vanish like smoke,^x

the earth will wear out like a garment^y

and its inhabitants die like flies.

But my salvation^z will last forever,^a

my righteousness will never fail.^b

“Hear me, you who know what is right,^c

you people who have taken my instruction to heart:^d

Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals

or be terrified by their insults.^e

For the moth will eat them up like a garment;^f

the worm^g will devour them like wool.

But my righteousness will last forever,^h

my salvation through all generations.”

Awake, awake,ⁱ arm^j of the Lord,

clothe yourself with strength!^k

Awake, as in days gone by,

as in generations of old.^l

Was it not you who cut Rahab^m to pieces,

who pierced that monsterⁿ through?

Was it not you who dried up the sea,^o

the waters of the great deep,^p

who made a road in the depths of the sea^q

so that the redeemed^r might cross over?

Those the Lord has rescued^s will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;^t

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy^u will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^v

“I, even I, am he who comforts^w you.

Who are you that you fear^x mere mortals,^y

human beings, who are but grass,^z

that you forget^a the Lord your Maker,^b

who stretched out the heavens^c

and laid the foundations of the earth,

that you live in constant terror^d every day

because of the wrath of the oppressor,

who is bent on destruction?

For where is the wrath of the oppressor?^e

The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;^f

they will not die in their dungeon,

nor will they lack bread.^g

For I am the Lord your God,

who stirs up the sea^h so that its waves roarⁱ—

the Lord Almighty^j is his name.

I have put my words in your mouth^k

and covered you with the shadow of my hand^l—

I who set the heavens in place,

who laid the foundations of the earth,^m

and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.ⁿ’ ”

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

Awake, awake!^a

Rise up, Jerusalem,

you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord

the cup^b of his wrath,^c

you who have drained to its dregs^d

the goblet that makes people stagger.^e

Among all the children^f she bore

there was none to guide her;^g

among all the children she reared

there was none to take her by the hand.^h

These double calamitiesⁱ have come upon you—

who can comfort you?^j—

ruin and destruction,^k famine^l and sword^m—

who can console you?

Your children have fainted;

they lie at every street corner,ⁿ

like antelope caught in a net.^o

They are filled with the wrath^p of the Lord,

with the rebuke^q of your God.

Therefore hear this, you afflicted^r one,

made drunk,^s but not with wine.

This is what your Sovereign Lord says,

your God, who defends^t his people:

“See, I have taken out of your hand

the cup^u that made you stagger;

from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,

you will never drink again.

I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,^v

who said to you,

‘Fall prostrate^w that we may walk^x on you.’

And you made your back like the ground,

like a street to be walked on.”^y