Font Size
Isaiah 47-51
Holman Christian Standard Bible
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
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
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.