Isaiah 51
51
Israel Should Be Like Abraham
1“Some of you people try hard to live good lives. You go to the Lord for help. Listen to me. You should look at Abraham your father. He is the rock you were cut from. 2Abraham is your father, so look at him. Look at Sarah, who gave birth to you. Abraham was alone when I called him. Then I blessed him, and he began a great family with many descendants.”
3In the same way, the Lord will bless Zion. He will feel sorry for her and her people, and he will do something great for her. He will turn the desert into a garden. It will be like the Garden of Eden. The land was empty, but it will become like the Lord’s garden. People there will be very happy. They will sing victory songs to thank God for what he did.
4“My people, listen to me!
My decisions will be like lights showing people how to live.
5I will soon save you and show that I am fair.
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 like worthless old clothes.
The people on earth will die,
but my salvation will continue forever.
My goodness will never end.
7You people who understand goodness should listen to me.
You people who follow my teachings should hear the things I say.
Don’t be afraid of evil people.
Don’t let their insults upset you.
8They will be like old clothes eaten by moths.
They will be like wool eaten by worms.
But my goodness will last forever.
My salvation will continue forever and ever.”
God’s Own Power Will Save His People
9Wake up! Wake up!
Arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength.
Show your power the way you did long ago,
as you have from ancient times.
You are the one who destroyed Rahab.
You defeated the Dragon.#51:9 Rahab … Dragon This is Rahab the great sea monster. Some ancient stories tell about Rahab fighting with God.
10You dried up the water that was in the deep sea.
You made a road through the deepest parts of the sea.
Your people crossed over and were saved.
11The Lord will save his people.
They will return to Zion with joy.
They will be very happy.
Their happiness will be like a crown on their heads forever.
They will be singing with joy.
All sadness will be gone far away.
12The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you.
So why should you be afraid of people?
They are only humans who live and die like the grass.
13“I, the Lord, am the one who made you.
With my power I made the earth
and spread the sky over the earth.
But you have forgotten me,
so you are always afraid that angry men will hurt you.
Those men planned to destroy you,
but where are they now?
14“People in prison will soon be made free.
They will not die and rot in prison.
They will have plenty of food.
15“I am the Lord your God,
the one who stirs up the sea and makes the waves roar.”
The Lord All-Powerful is his name.
16“My servant, I gave you the words I want you to say, and I covered you with my hands to protect you. I did this to make a new heaven and earth and so that you would say to Israel, ‘You are my people.’”
God Punished Israel
17Wake up! Wake up!
Jerusalem, get up!
The Lord was very angry with you.
So you were punished.
It was like a cup of poison you had to drink,
and you drank it all.
18Jerusalem had many people, but none of them became leaders for her. None of the children she raised became guides to lead her. 19Troubles came to you, Jerusalem, in pairs: Your land was destroyed and lies in ruins, and your people suffered from famine and war.
But no one felt sorry for you or showed you mercy. 20Your people became weak. They fell on the ground and lay there. They were lying on every street corner, like animals caught in a net. They were punished by the Lord’s anger until they could not accept any more punishment. When God said he would give them more punishment, they became very weak.
21Listen to me, poor Jerusalem. You are weak like a drunk, but you are not drunk from wine. You are weak from that “cup of poison.”
22Your God is the one who fights for his people. He is your Lord GOD, and he says to you, “Look, I am taking this ‘cup of poison’ away from you. It is full of my anger, and I am taking it out of your hand. You will not be punished by my anger again. 23I will now use my anger to punish the people who hurt you. They tried to kill you. They told you, ‘Bow down before us, and we will walk on you.’ They forced you to bow down before them, and then they walked on your back like dirt. You were like a road for them to walk on.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Isaiah 51
51
Look to Abraham and Sarah
1Listen to me,
you who look for righteousness,
you who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry where you were dug.
2Look to Abraham your ancestor,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
They were alone when I called them,
but I blessed them and made them many.
3The LORD will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her ruins.
He will make her desert like Eden
and her wilderness like the LORD’s garden.
Happiness and joy will be found in her—
thanks and the sound of singing.
Salvation endures forever
4Pay attention to me, my people;
listen to me, my nation,
for teaching will go out from me,
my justice, as a light to the nations.
5I will quickly bring my victory.
My salvation is on its way,
and my arm will judge the peoples.
The coastlands hope for me;
they wait for my judgment.#51.5 Or for my arm
6Look up to the heavens,
and gaze at the earth beneath.
The heavens will disappear like smoke,
the earth will wear out like clothing,
and its inhabitants will die like gnats.
But my salvation will endure forever,
and my righteousness will be unbroken.
7Listen to me, you who know what is right,
people who carry my teaching in your heart:
Don’t fear human scorn,
and don’t be upset when they abuse you.
8The moth will eat them as if they were clothing,
and the worm will eat them like wool,
but my righteousness is forever,
and my salvation for all generations.
Awake, arm of the LORD
9Awake, awake, put on strength,
arm of the LORD.
Awake as in times past,
generations long ago.
Aren’t you the one who crushed Rahab,
who pierced the dragon?
10Didn’t you dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
And didn’t you make the redeemed a road to cross
through the depths of the sea,
a road for the redeemed to pass?
11Then let those ransomed by the LORD return
and come to Zion with singing
and with everlasting joy upon their heads.
Let happiness and joy overwhelm them;
let grief and groaning flee.
12I, I am the one who comforts you.
Why should you fear humans who will die,
mortals who are treated like grass?
13You forgot the LORD your maker,
the one who stretched out the heavens
and founded the earth.
You were continually afraid, all day long,
on account of the oppressor’s wrath—
a fear by which they intend to destroy you.
Where now is the oppressor’s wrath?
14The imprisoned ones will soon be released;
they won’t die in the pit
or even lack bread.
15I am the LORD your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of heavenly forces is his name.
16I put my words in your mouth
and hid you in the shadow of my hand,
stretching out#51.16 Or planting the heavens, founding the earth,
and saying to Zion, “You are my people.”
Wake yourself, Jerusalem
17Wake yourself, wake yourself!
Rise up, Jerusalem,
who drank the cup of wrath from the LORD’s hand.
You drank; you drained the goblet of reeling.
18There’s no one to guide her among all the children she bore;
there’s no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.
19These two things have happened to you—
Who will be sorry for you?#51.19 DSS (1QIsaa), LXX, Vulg; MT How will I—
destruction and devastation,
famine and sword—
who will comfort you?#51.19 Or how will I comfort you?
20Your children passed out;
they lay at the head of every street like antelope in a net,
filled with the LORD’s wrath,
with the rebuke of your God.
21Therefore, hear this, suffering one,
who is drunk, but not from wine.
22The LORD, your Lord and your God,
who contends for his people, says:
Look, I have taken the cup of reeling,
the goblet of my wrath, from your hand.
You will no longer drink from it.
23I will put it in the hand of your tormentors,
who said to you,
“Lie down so that we can walk on you.
Make your back like the ground,
like a street for those walking on it.”
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