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Isaiah 47-51
Common English Bible
Isaiah 47-51
Common English Bible
Daughter Babylon dethroned
47 Go down and sit in the dust,
virgin Daughter Babylon!
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter Chaldea,
because they will no longer call you tender and pampered.
2 Take the millstones and grind flour!
Remove your veil, strip off your robe,
expose your thighs, wade through the rivers!
3 Your nakedness will be exposed,
and your disgrace will be seen.
I will take vengeance;
no one will intervene.[a]
4 Our redeemer has spoken;
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name,
the holy one of Israel.
5 Sit silent and go into darkness, Daughter Chaldea,
because they will no longer call you Queen of Kingdoms.
6 I was enraged with my people;
I made my inheritance impure
and put them under your power.
You took no pity on them.
You made your yoke heavy even on the elderly.
7 You said, “I’m forever; I’m the eternal mistress.”
You didn’t stop and think;
you didn’t consider the outcome.
8 So listen to this,
luxuriant one who sits secure,
who says in her heart, I’m utterly unique;
I’ll never sit as a widow;
I’ll never know childlessness:
9 Both of these will happen to you at once, on a single day:
childlessness and widowhood
will envelop you in full measure,
despite your many sorceries,
despite your very powerful spells.
10 You felt secure in your evil;
you said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and knowledge spun you around.
You thought to yourself, I and no one else.
11 Now evil will come against you,
something you won’t anticipate.
A curse will fall upon you,
something you won’t be able to dispel.
Destruction will come upon you suddenly,
something you won’t foresee.
12 Continue with your enchantments,
and with your many spells,
which you have practiced since childhood.
Maybe you will be able to succeed.
Maybe you will inspire terror.
13 You are weary from all your consultations;
let the astrologers stand up and save you,
those who gaze at the stars,
and predict what will happen to you at each new moon.
14 They are just like stubble;
the fire burns them.
They won’t save themselves from the powerful flames.
This is no warming ember or fire to sit beside.
15 Those with whom you have wearied yourself are like this,
those with whom you were in business from your youth:
each has wandered off on their own way;
none will save you.
New things from now on
48 Listen to this, house of Jacob,
who are known by the name of Israel,
descendants of Judah,[b]
who swear by the Lord’s name
and invoke Israel’s God dishonestly and unrighteously.
2 They are known as residents of the holy city,
those who depend upon the God of Israel—
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.
3 Past things I announced long ago;
from my mouth I proclaimed them.
I acted suddenly, and they came about.
4 Because I know that you are stubborn,
your neck is made of iron,
and your forehead is bronze.
5 I informed you long ago;
before they came about I proclaimed them to you
so you wouldn’t say, “My idol did them;
my wood statue and metal god commanded them.”
6 You’ve heard and seen all this—
won’t you admit it?
From now on I’ll tell you new things,
guarded secrets that you don’t know.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you hadn’t heard of them,
so you won’t say, “I already knew them.”
8 You haven’t heard, nor have you known;
as in ages past your ears are closed,
because I knew what a traitor you were;
you were known as a rebel from birth.
9 For the sake of my reputation I control my anger;
for your sake I restrain my powerful radiance
so as to not destroy you.
10 See, I have refined you, but not like silver;
I have tested you[c] in the furnace of misery.
11 For the sake of my reputation, for my own sake, I will act,
for why will my name be made impure?
I won’t give my glory to another.
12 Listen to me, Jacob;
Israel, whom I called:
I am the one;
I am the first and I am the last.
13 My hand founded the earth;
my strong hand spread out the heavens.
When I call to them, they all stand up.
14 Gather yourselves, all of you, and listen.
Who among you announced these things?
“The Lord loves him.
He will do what God wants with Babylon
and with the descendants[d] of Chaldea.”
15 I, I have spoken and told him
the things that will happen to him;
I will make him succeed.
16 Come close to me; listen to this:
Since the very beginning I haven’t spoken in secret.
Whenever anything happens, I am there.
(And now the Lord God has sent me with his spirit.)
17 The Lord your redeemer,
the holy one of Israel, proclaims:
I am the Lord your God
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If you would pay attention to my commands,
your well-being would be like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your offspring would be like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains.
Their name would never be eliminated,
never wiped out from before me.
20 Go out from Babylon;
flee from the Chaldeans!
Report this with a loud shout, proclaim it;
broadcast it out to the end of the earth.
Say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
God made water flow from the rock for them;
split the rock, and water flowed out.
22 There is no well-being, says the Lord, for the wicked.
The servant speaks up
49 Listen to me, coastlands;
pay attention, peoples far away.
The Lord called me before my birth,
called my name when I was in my mother’s womb.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
and hid me in the shadow of God’s own hand.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
and concealed me in God’s quiver,
3 saying to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I show my glory.”
4 But I said, “I have wearied myself in vain.
I have used up my strength for nothing.”
Nevertheless, the Lord will grant me justice;
my reward is with my God.
5 And now the Lord has decided—
the one who formed me from the womb as his servant—
to restore Jacob to God,
so that Israel might return to him.
Moreover, I’m honored in the Lord’s eyes;
my God has become my strength.
6 He said: It is not enough, since you are my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the survivors of Israel.
Hence, I will also appoint you as light to the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
7 The Lord, redeemer of Israel and its holy one,
says to one despised,
rejected by nations,
to the slave of rulers:
Kings will see and stand up;
commanders will bow down
on account of the Lord, who is faithful,
the holy one of Israel,
who has chosen you.
8 The Lord said:
At the right time, I answered you;
on a day of salvation, I helped you.
I have guarded you,
and given you as a covenant to the people, to restore the land,
and to reassign deserted properties,
9 saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”
and to those in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
Along the roads animals[e] will graze;
their pasture will be on every treeless hilltop.
10 They won’t hunger or thirst;
the burning heat and sun won’t strike them,
because one who has compassion for them will lead them
and will guide them by springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads;
my highways will be built up.
12 Look! These will come from far away.
Look! These from the north and west,
and these from the southland.[f]
13 Sing, heavens! Rejoice, earth!
Break out, mountains, with a song.
The Lord has comforted his people,
and taken pity on those who suffer.
Compassion for Zion
14 But Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child,
fail to pity the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
but I won’t forget you.
16 Look, on my palms I’ve inscribed you;
your walls are before me continually.
17 Your builders[g] come quickly;
those who destroy and demolish you will depart from you.
18 Look up all around and see:
they are all gathered;
they come to you.
As surely as I live, says the Lord,
you will put them all on like ornaments,
bind them on like a bride.
19 As for your ruins and desolate places
and destroyed land—
you will soon be crowded with settlers,
and those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 You will again hear the children who were born bereaved say,
“The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.”
21 And you will think to yourself,
Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and desolate, exiled and sent off.
So who raised these?
I was left behind, I was alone;
where were these?
22 The Lord God says:
Look, I will raise my hand to the nations,
and to the peoples I will lift up my signal.
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and will carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your attendants,
and their queens your nursemaids.
With faces to the ground they will bow down to you;
they will lick the dust from your feet.
You will know that I am the Lord;
the one who hopes in me won’t be ashamed.
24 Can loot be taken from warriors?
Can a tyrant’s captives escape?
25 The Lord says:
Even the captives of warriors will be taken,
and the tyrant’s loot will escape.
I myself will oppose those who oppose you,
and I myself will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
and as with wine, with their own blood they will be drunk,
so that all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your savior,
and the mighty one of Jacob is your redeemer.
50 The Lord says:
Where’s your mother’s divorce decree,
with which I sent her away?
Or to which lender did I sell you?
On account of your sins you were sold;
on account of your transgressions
your mother was sent away.
2 Why did I come and find no one?
Why did I call when no one answered?
Is my hand too small to redeem you?[h]
Don’t I have enough power to save?
With my rebuke I dry up the sea
and make the rivers into wilderness.
Their fish stink from lack of water;
they die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness
and cover them with funeral clothing.
God’s faithful servant
4 The Lord God gave me an educated tongue
to know how to respond to the weary
with a word that will awaken them in the morning.[i]
God awakens my ear in the morning to listen,
as educated people do.
5 The Lord God opened my ear;
I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back.
6 Instead, I gave my body to attackers,
and my cheeks to beard pluckers.
I didn’t hide my face
from insults and spitting.
7 The Lord God will help me;
therefore, I haven’t been insulted.
Therefore, I set my face like flint,
and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed.
8 The one who will declare me innocent is near.
Who will argue with me?
Let’s stand up together.
Who will bring judgment against me?
Let him approach me.
9 Look! The Lord God will help me.
Who will condemn me?
Look, they will wear out like clothing;
the moth will eat them.
10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who listens to the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
and has no light?
They will trust in the Lord’s name,
and rely upon their God.
11 Look! All of you are kindling fire,
igniting torches.
Walk by the light of your fire,
by the torches you have ignited.
This is what will happen to you by my hand:
you will lie down in grief.
Look to Abraham and Sarah
51 Listen 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.
2 Look 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.
3 The 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
4 Pay 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.
5 I 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.[j]
6 Look 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.
7 Listen 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.
8 The 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
9 Awake, 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?
10 Didn’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?
11 Then 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.
12 I, I am the one who comforts you.
Why should you fear humans who will die,
mortals who are treated like grass?
13 You 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?
14 The imprisoned ones will soon be released;
they won’t die in the pit
or even lack bread.
15 I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.
16 I put my words in your mouth
and hid you in the shadow of my hand,
stretching out[k] the heavens, founding the earth,
and saying to Zion, “You are my people.”
Wake yourself, Jerusalem
17 Wake 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.
18 There’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.
19 These two things have happened to you—
Who will be sorry for you?[l]—
destruction and devastation,
famine and sword—
who will comfort you?[m]
20 Your 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.
21 Therefore, hear this, suffering one,
who is drunk, but not from wine.
22 The 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.
23 I 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.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:3 Syr, cf Vulg; MT I won’t meet a man
- Isaiah 48:1 Or came out from the waters of Judah
- Isaiah 48:10 Or I have chosen
- Isaiah 48:14 LXX; MT his arm
- Isaiah 49:9 Heb lacks animals.
- Isaiah 49:12 Heb Sinim
- Isaiah 49:17 Or children
- Isaiah 50:2 Heb lacks you.
- Isaiah 50:4 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 51:5 Or for my arm
- Isaiah 51:16 Or planting
- Isaiah 51:19 DSS (1QIsaa), LXX, Vulg; MT How will I
- Isaiah 51:19 Or how will I comfort you?
Isaiah 47-51
New International Version
Isaiah 47-51
New International Version
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(A)
Virgin Daughter(B) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.[a](C)
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.(D)
2 Take millstones(E) and grind(F) flour;
take off your veil.(G)
Lift up your skirts,(H) bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness(I) will be exposed
and your shame(J) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(K)
I will spare no one.(L)”
5 “Sit in silence,(Q) go into darkness,(R)
queen city of the Babylonians;(S)
no more will you be called
queen(T) of kingdoms.(U)
6 I was angry(V) with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;(W)
I gave them into your hand,(X)
and you showed them no mercy.(Y)
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forever(Z)—
the eternal queen!’(AA)
But you did not consider these things
or reflect(AB) on what might happen.(AC)
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
lounging in your security(AD)
and saying to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.(AE)
I will never be a widow(AF)
or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
in a moment,(AG) on a single day:
loss of children(AH) and widowhood.(AI)
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries(AJ)
and all your potent spells.(AK)
10 You have trusted(AL) in your wickedness
and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(AM)
Your wisdom(AN) and knowledge mislead(AO) you
when you say to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(AP) will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenly(AQ) come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,(AR)
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(AS)
Let your astrologers(AT) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save(AU) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(AV)
the fire(AW) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.(AX)
These are not coals for warmth;
this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
these you have dealt with
and labored(AY) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
there is not one that can save(AZ) you.
Stubborn Israel
48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel(BA)
and come from the line of Judah,(BB)
you who take oaths(BC) in the name of the Lord(BD)
and invoke(BE) the God of Israel—
but not in truth(BF) or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(BG)
and claim to rely(BH) on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:(BI)
3 I foretold the former things(BJ) long ago,
my mouth announced(BK) them and I made them known;
then suddenly(BL) I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn(BM) you were;
your neck muscles(BN) were iron,
your forehead(BO) was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced(BP) them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;(BQ)
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,(BR)
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created(BS) now, and not long ago;(BT)
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew(BU) of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;(BV)
from of old your ears(BW) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(BX) you are;
you were called a rebel(BY) from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake(BZ) I delay my wrath;(CA)
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.(CB)
10 See, I have refined(CC) you, though not as silver;
I have tested(CD) you in the furnace(CE) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(CF) for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?(CG)
I will not yield my glory to another.(CH)
Israel Freed
12 “Listen(CI) to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:(CJ)
I am he;(CK)
I am the first and I am the last.(CL)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(CM)
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(CN)
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.(CO)
14 “Come together,(CP) all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold(CQ) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(CR)
will carry out his purpose(CS) against Babylon;(CT)
his arm will be against the Babylonians.[b]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called(CU) him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed(CV) in his mission.
16 “Come near(CW) me and listen(CX) to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(CY)
at the time it happens, I am there.”
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(DC) the Holy One(DD) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(DE) you what is best for you,
who directs(DF) you in the way(DG) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(DH) to my commands,
your peace(DI) would have been like a river,(DJ)
your well-being(DK) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(DL) would have been like the sand,(DM)
your children like its numberless grains;(DN)
their name would never be blotted out(DO)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(DP) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(DQ)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(DR)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(DS) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(DT) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(DU) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(DV)
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen(DY) to me, you islands;(DZ)
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(EA) the Lord called(EB) me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(EC)
2 He made my mouth(ED) like a sharpened sword,(EE)
in the shadow of his hand(EF) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(EG)
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,(EH)
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(EI)”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;(EJ)
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(EK)
and my reward(EL) is with my God.”(EM)
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb(EN) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel(EO) to himself,
for I am[c] honored(EP) in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength(EQ)—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(ER)
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(ES)
I will also make you a light(ET) for the Gentiles,(EU)
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(EV)
7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(EW)—
to him who was despised(EX) and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(EY) will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,(EZ)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(FA)
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(FB) you.”
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favor(FC) I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;(FD)
I will keep(FE) you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,(FF)
to restore the land(FG)
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(FH)
9 to say to the captives,(FI) ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness,(FJ) ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.(FK)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(FL)
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(FM)
He who has compassion(FN) on them will guide(FO) them
and lead them beside springs(FP) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways(FQ) will be raised up.(FR)
12 See, they will come from afar(FS)—
some from the north, some from the west,(FT)
some from the region of Aswan.[d]”
13 Shout for joy,(FU) you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;(FV)
burst into song, you mountains!(FW)
For the Lord comforts(FX) his people
and will have compassion(FY) on his afflicted ones.(FZ)
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child(GC) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!(GD)
16 See, I have engraved(GE) you on the palms of my hands;
your walls(GF) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste(GG) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather(GH) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(GI)” declares the Lord,
“you will wear(GJ) them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(GK)
and your land laid waste,(GL)
now you will be too small for your people,(GM)
and those who devoured(GN) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’(GO)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?(GP)
I was bereaved(GQ) and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.(GR)
Who brought these(GS) up?
I was left(GT) all alone,(GU)
but these—where have they come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(GV) says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations,
I will lift up my banner(GW) to the peoples;
they will bring(GX) your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their hips.(GY)
23 Kings(GZ) will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.(HA)
They will bow down(HB) before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust(HC) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(HD)
those who hope(HE) in me will not be disappointed.(HF)”
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives(HH) will be taken from warriors,(HI)
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(HJ)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(HK)
and your children I will save.(HL)
26 I will make your oppressors(HM) eat(HN) their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood,(HO) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(HP)
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(HQ)
your Redeemer,(HR) the Mighty One of Jacob.(HS)”
Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(HT)
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
did I sell(HU) you?
Because of your sins(HV) you were sold;(HW)
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?(HX)
Was my arm too short(HY) to deliver you?
Do I lack the strength(HZ) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(IA) I dry up the sea,(IB)
I turn rivers into a desert;(IC)
their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness(ID)
and make sackcloth(IE) its covering.”
4 The Sovereign Lord(IF) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(IG)
to know the word that sustains the weary.(IH)
He wakens me morning by morning,(II)
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(IJ)
5 The Sovereign Lord(IK) has opened my ears;(IL)
I have not been rebellious,(IM)
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat(IN) me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(IO)
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.(IP)
7 Because the Sovereign Lord(IQ) helps(IR) me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(IS)
and I know I will not be put to shame.(IT)
8 He who vindicates(IU) me is near.(IV)
Who then will bring charges against me?(IW)
Let us face each other!(IX)
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord(IY) who helps(IZ) me.
Who will condemn(JA) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths(JB) will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears(JC) the Lord
and obeys(JD) the word of his servant?(JE)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,(JF)
trust(JG) in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(JH)
go, walk in the light of your fires(JI)
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(JJ)
You will lie down in torment.(JK)
Everlasting Salvation for Zion
51 “Listen(JL) to me, you who pursue righteousness(JM)
and who seek(JN) the Lord:
Look to the rock(JO) from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham,(JP) 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.(JQ)
3 The Lord will surely comfort(JR) Zion(JS)
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(JT)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(JU)
her wastelands(JV) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(JW) will be found in her,
thanksgiving(JX) and the sound of singing.
4 “Listen to me, my people;(JY)
hear me,(JZ) my nation:
Instruction(KA) will go out from me;
my justice(KB) will become a light to the nations.(KC)
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation(KD) is on the way,(KE)
and my arm(KF) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(KG) will look to me
and wait in hope(KH) for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(KI)
the earth will wear out like a garment(KJ)
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(KK) will last forever,(KL)
my righteousness will never fail.(KM)
7 “Hear me, you who know what is right,(KN)
you people who have taken my instruction to heart:(KO)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
or be terrified by their insults.(KP)
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;(KQ)
the worm(KR) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,(KS)
my salvation through all generations.”
9 Awake, awake,(KT) arm(KU) of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!(KV)
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.(KW)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(KX) to pieces,
who pierced that monster(KY) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(KZ)
the waters of the great deep,(LA)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(LB)
so that the redeemed(LC) might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued(LD) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(LE)
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(LF) will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(LG)
12 “I, even I, am he who comforts(LH) you.
Who are you that you fear(LI) mere mortals,(LJ)
human beings who are but grass,(LK)
13 that you forget(LL) the Lord your Maker,(LM)
who stretches out the heavens(LN)
and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror(LO) every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?(LP)
14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;(LQ)
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.(LR)
15 For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea(LS) so that its waves roar(LT)—
the Lord Almighty(LU) is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth(LV)
and covered you with the shadow of my hand(LW)—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,(LX)
and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.(LY)’”
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
17 Awake, awake!(LZ)
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup(MA) of his wrath,(MB)
you who have drained to its dregs(MC)
the goblet that makes people stagger.(MD)
18 Among all the children(ME) she bore
there was none to guide her;(MF)
among all the children she reared
there was none to take her by the hand.(MG)
19 These double calamities(MH) have come upon you—
who can comfort you?(MI)—
ruin and destruction,(MJ) famine(MK) and sword(ML)—
who can[f] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at every street corner,(MM)
like antelope caught in a net.(MN)
They are filled with the wrath(MO) of the Lord,
with the rebuke(MP) of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(MQ) one,
made drunk,(MR) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
your God, who defends(MS) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup(MT) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,(MU)
who said to you,
‘Fall prostrate(MV) that we may walk(MW) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on.”(MX)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
- Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
- Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous
- Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I
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