Isaiah 47-51
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down and sit in the dust,(A)
Virgin Daughter Babylon.(B)
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter Chaldea!
For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled.
2 Take millstones and grind meal;(C)
remove your veil,
strip off your skirt, bare your thigh,
wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness will be uncovered,
and your shame will be exposed.(D)
I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one.[a]
4 The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer;(E)
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.
5 “Daughter Chaldea,
sit in silence(F) and go into darkness.
For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with My people;
I profaned My possession,
and I placed them under your control.
You showed them no mercy;
you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.
7 You said, ‘I will be the mistress forever.’
You did not take these things to heart
or think about their outcome.
8 “So now hear this, lover of luxury,
who sits securely,(G)
who says to herself,
‘I exist, and there is no one else.
I will never be a widow
or know the loss of children.’(H)
9 These two things will happen to you
suddenly, in one day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will happen to you in their entirety,
in spite of your many sorceries(I)
and the potency of your spells.
10 You were secure in your wickedness;
you said, ‘No one sees me.’(J)
Your wisdom and knowledge
led you astray.
You said to yourself,
‘I exist, and there is no one else.’
11 But disaster will happen to you;
you will not know how to avert it.
And it will fall on you,
but you will be unable to ward it off.[b]
Devastation will happen to you suddenly
and unexpectedly.(K)
12 So take your stand with your spells
and your many sorceries,
which you have wearied yourself with from your youth.
Perhaps you will be able to succeed;
perhaps you will inspire terror!
13 You are worn out with your many consultations.
So let them stand and save you—
the astrologers,[c] who observe the stars,(L)
who predict monthly
what will happen to you.
14 Look, they are like stubble;(M)
fire burns them up.(N)
They cannot deliver themselves
from the power[d] of the flame.
This is not a coal for warming themselves,
or a fire to sit beside!
15 This is what they are to you—
those who have wearied you
and have traded with you from your youth—
each wanders on his own way;
no one can save you.
Israel Must Leave Babylon
48 “Listen to this, house of Jacob—
those who are called by the name Israel
and have descended from[e] Judah,(O)
who swear by the name of Yahweh(P)
and declare the God of Israel,
but not in truth or righteousness.
2 For they are named after the Holy City,
and lean on the God of Israel;(Q)
His name is Yahweh of Hosts.
3 I declared the past events long ago;
they came out of My mouth; I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.
4 Because I know that you are stubborn,
and your neck is iron[f]
and your forehead bronze,(R)
5 therefore I declared to you long ago.
I announced it to you before it occurred,
so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them;
my carved image and cast idol control them.’(S)
6 You have heard it. Observe it all.
Will you not acknowledge it?
From now on I will announce new things to you,
hidden things that you have not known.(T)
7 They have been created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today,
so you could not claim, ‘I already knew them!’
8 You have never heard; you have never known;
For a long time your ears have not been open.
For I knew that you were very treacherous,
and were known as a rebel from birth.(U)
9 I will delay My anger for the honor of My name,
and I will restrain Myself for your benefit and for My praise,
so that you will not be destroyed.
10 Look, I have refined you,(V) but not as silver;
I have tested[g] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 I will act for My own sake, indeed, My own,(W)
for how can I[h] be defiled?
I will not give My glory to another.(X)
12 “Listen to Me, Jacob,
and Israel, the one called by Me:
I am He; I am the first,
I am also the last.(Y)
13 My own hand founded the earth,
and My right hand spread out the heavens;(Z)
when I summoned them,
they stood up together.
14 All of you, assemble and listen!
Who among the idols[i] has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;[j]
he will accomplish His will against Babylon,(AA)
and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I—I have spoken;
yes, I have called him;(AB)
I have brought him,
and he will succeed in his mission.(AC)
16 Approach Me and listen to this.
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;(AD)
from the time anything existed, I was there.”
And now the Lord God
has sent me and His Spirit.(AE)
17 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer,(AF) the Holy One of Israel(AG) says:
I am Yahweh your God,
who teaches you for your benefit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention to My commands.
Then your peace would have been like a river,(AH)
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.(AI)
19 Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,(AJ)
and the offspring of your body like its grains;
their name would not be cut off
or eliminated from My presence.
20 Leave Babylon,
flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with a shout of joy,
proclaim this,
let it go out to the end of the earth;
announce,
“The Lord has redeemed His servant(AK) Jacob!”
21 They did not thirst
when He led them through the deserts;
He made water flow for them from the rock;(AL)
He split the rock, and water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.(AM)
The Servant Brings Salvation
49 Coastlands,[k] listen to me;
distant peoples, pay attention.
The Lord called(AN) me before I was born.
He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.(AO)
2 He made my words like a sharp sword;(AP)
He hid me in the shadow of His hand.(AQ)
He made me like a sharpened arrow;
He hid me in His quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel;(AR)
I will be glorified in him.”
4 But I myself said: I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and futility;
yet my vindication is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.
5 And now, says the Lord,
who formed me from the womb to be His Servant,
to bring Jacob back to Him
so that Israel might be gathered to Him;
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is my strength—
6 He says,
“It is not enough for you to be My Servant
raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make you a light for the nations,(AS)
to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”(AT)
7 This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer(AU) of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,[l](AV)
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and stand up,
and princes[m] will bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel(AW)—and He has chosen you.”(AX)
8 This is what the Lord says:
I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.(AY)
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,(AZ)
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
9 saying to the prisoners: Come out,(BA)
and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves.
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.(BB)
10 They will not hunger or thirst,
the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;
for their compassionate One will guide them,
and lead them to springs of water.(BC)
11 I will make all My mountains into a road,
and My highways will be raised up.(BD)
12 See, these will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,[n](BE)
and from the land of Sinim.[o][p]
13 Shout for joy, you heavens!(BF)
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted His people,(BG)
and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.(BH)
Zion Remembered
14 Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
The Lord has forgotten me!”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;(BI)
your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your builders[q] hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18 Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.(BJ)
As I live”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“you will wear all your children[r] as jewelry,
and put them on as a bride does.
19 For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins—
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,(BK)
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Yet as you listen, the children
that you have been deprived of will say,
‘This place is too small for me;
make room for me so that I may settle.’(BL)
21 Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering—
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself—
but these, where did they come from?’”[s]
22 This is what the Lord God says:
Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,
and raise My banner to the peoples.(BM)
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.(BN)
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens[t] your nursing mothers.(BO)
They will bow down to you
with their faces to the ground,
and lick the dust at your feet.(BP)
Then you will know that I am Yahweh;(BQ)
those who put their hope in Me
will not be put to shame.(BR)
24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of the righteous[u] be delivered?
25 For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,
and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;
I will contend with the one who contends with you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,(BS)
and they will be drunk with their own blood
as with sweet wine.
Then all flesh will know
that I, Yahweh, am your Savior,(BT)
and your Redeemer,(BU) the Mighty One of Jacob.”(BV)
50 This is what the Lord says:
Where is your mother’s divorce certificate
that I used to send her away?(BW)
Or who were My creditors that I sold you to?(BX)
Look, you were sold for your iniquities,(BY)
and your mother was put away
because of your transgressions.
2 Why was no one there when I came?
Why was there no one to answer when I called?
Is My hand too short to redeem?(BZ)
Or do I have no power to deliver?
Look, I dry up the sea by My rebuke;(CA)
I turn the rivers into a wilderness;
their fish rot because of lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I dress the heavens in black
and make sackcloth their clothing.(CB)
The Obedient Servant
4 The Lord God has given Me
the tongue of those who are instructed(CC)
to know how to sustain the weary with a word.
He awakens Me each morning;
He awakens My ear to listen like those being instructed.(CD)
5 The Lord God has opened My ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I did not turn back.(CE)
6 I gave My back to those who beat Me,
and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard.
I did not hide My face from scorn and spitting.(CF)
7 The Lord God will help Me;
therefore I have not been humiliated;
therefore I have set My face like flint,(CG)
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 The One who vindicates Me is near;(CH)
who will contend with Me?
Let us confront each other.[v]
Who has a case against Me?[w]
Let him come near Me!
9 In truth, the Lord God will help Me;
who will condemn Me?(CI)
Indeed, all of them will wear out like a garment;
a moth will devour them.(CJ)
10 Who among you fears the Lord,
listening to the voice of His Servant?(CK)
Who among you walks in darkness,
and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of Yahweh;
let him lean on his God.
11 Look, all you who kindle a fire,
who encircle yourselves with[x] firebrands;
walk in the light of your fire
and in the firebrands you have lit!
This is what you’ll get from My hand:
you will lie down in a place of torment.
Salvation for Zion
51 Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain.
When I called him, he was only one;
I blessed him and made him many.(CL)
3 For the Lord will comfort Zion;(CM)
He will comfort all her waste places,
and He will make her wilderness like Eden,(CN)
and her desert like the garden of the Lord.(CO)
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and melodious song.
4 Pay attention to Me, My people,
and listen to Me, My nation;
for instruction will come from Me,
and My justice for a light to the nations.(CP)
I will bring it about quickly.
5 My righteousness is near,(CQ)
My salvation appears,
and My arms will bring justice to the nations.(CR)
The coastlands[y] will put their hope in Me,
and they will look to My strength.[z]
6 Look up to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and its inhabitants will die like gnats.[aa](CS)
But My salvation will last forever,(CT)
and My righteousness will never be shattered.
7 Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is My instruction:(CU)
do not fear disgrace by men,
and do not be shattered by their taunts.
8 For the moth will devour them like a garment,(CV)
and the worm will eat them like wool.(CW)
But My righteousness will last forever,
and My salvation for all generations.
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,(CX)
who pierced the sea monster?(CY)
10 Wasn’t it You who dried up the sea,(CZ)
the waters of the great deep,
who made the sea-bed into a road
for the redeemed to pass over?(DA)
11 And the redeemed of the Lord will return(DB)
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,(DC)
or a son of man who is given up like grass?(DD)
13 But you have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.(DE)
You are in constant dread all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor,
who has set himself to destroy.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?(DF)
14 The prisoner[ab] is soon to be set free;
he will not die and go to the Pit,
and his food will not be lacking.
15 For I am Yahweh your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar(DG)—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts.
16 I have put My words in your mouth,(DH)
and covered you in the shadow of My hand,(DI)
in order to plant[ac] the heavens,
to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, “You are My people.”
17 Wake yourself, wake yourself up!
Stand up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk the cup of His fury(DJ)
from the hand of the Lord;
you who have drunk the goblet to the dregs—
the cup that causes people to stagger.
18 There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has raised;
there is no one to take hold of her hand
among all the offspring she has brought up.
19 These two things have happened to you:(DK)
devastation and destruction,
famine and sword.
Who will grieve for you?
How can I[ad] comfort you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net.
They are full of the Lord’s fury,
the rebuke of your God.
21 So listen to this, afflicted
and drunken one—but not with wine.(DL)
22 This is what your Lord says—
Yahweh, even your God,
who defends His people(DM)—
“Look, I have removed
the cup of staggering from your hand;
that goblet, the cup of My fury.
You will never drink it again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,
who said to you:(DN)
Lie down, so we can walk over you.
You made your back like the ground,
and like a street for those who walk on it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:3 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 47:11 Or to atone for it
- Isaiah 47:13 Lit dividers of the heavens
- Isaiah 47:14 Lit hand
- Isaiah 48:1 Lit have come from the waters of
- Isaiah 48:4 Lit is an iron sinew
- Isaiah 48:10 Or chosen
- Isaiah 48:11 DSS, Syr; MT reads it
- Isaiah 48:14 Lit among them
- Isaiah 48:14 = Cyrus
- Isaiah 49:1 Or Islands
- Isaiah 49:7 Or by the nation
- Isaiah 49:7 Lit princes and they
- Isaiah 49:12 Lit sea
- Isaiah 49:12 DSS read of the Syenites
- Isaiah 49:12 Perhaps modern Aswan in southern Egypt
- Isaiah 49:17 DSS, Aq, Theod, Vg; MT, Syr, Sym read sons
- Isaiah 49:18 Lit all of them
- Isaiah 49:21 Lit where are they
- Isaiah 49:23 Lit princesses
- Isaiah 49:24 DSS, Syr, Vg read fearsome one, or tyrant
- Isaiah 50:8 Lit us stand
- Isaiah 50:8 Lit Who is lord of My judgment
- Isaiah 50:11 Syr reads who set ablaze
- Isaiah 51:5 Or islands
- Isaiah 51:5 Lit arm
- Isaiah 51:6 Or die in like manner
- Isaiah 51:14 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 51:16 Syr reads to stretch out
- Isaiah 51:19 DSS, LXX, Syr, Vg read you? Who can
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