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Isaiah 51
Common English Bible
Isaiah 51
Common English Bible
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.[a]
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[b] 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?[c]—
destruction and devastation,
famine and sword—
who will comfort you?[d]
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 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 51
New International Version
Isaiah 51
New International Version
Everlasting Salvation for Zion
51 “Listen(A) to me, you who pursue righteousness(B)
and who seek(C) the Lord:
Look to the rock(D) from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham,(E) your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.(F)
3 The Lord will surely comfort(G) Zion(H)
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(I)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(J)
her wastelands(K) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(L) will be found in her,
thanksgiving(M) and the sound of singing.
4 “Listen to me, my people;(N)
hear me,(O) my nation:
Instruction(P) will go out from me;
my justice(Q) will become a light to the nations.(R)
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation(S) is on the way,(T)
and my arm(U) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(V) will look to me
and wait in hope(W) for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(X)
the earth will wear out like a garment(Y)
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(Z) will last forever,(AA)
my righteousness will never fail.(AB)
7 “Hear me, you who know what is right,(AC)
you people who have taken my instruction to heart:(AD)
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
or be terrified by their insults.(AE)
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment;(AF)
the worm(AG) will devour them like wool.
But my righteousness will last forever,(AH)
my salvation through all generations.”
9 Awake, awake,(AI) arm(AJ) of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!(AK)
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.(AL)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(AM) to pieces,
who pierced that monster(AN) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(AO)
the waters of the great deep,(AP)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(AQ)
so that the redeemed(AR) might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued(AS) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(AT)
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(AU) will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(AV)
12 “I, even I, am he who comforts(AW) you.
Who are you that you fear(AX) mere mortals,(AY)
human beings who are but grass,(AZ)
13 that you forget(BA) the Lord your Maker,(BB)
who stretches out the heavens(BC)
and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror(BD) every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction?
For where is the wrath of the oppressor?(BE)
14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;(BF)
they will not die in their dungeon,
nor will they lack bread.(BG)
15 For I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea(BH) so that its waves roar(BI)—
the Lord Almighty(BJ) is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth(BK)
and covered you with the shadow of my hand(BL)—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,(BM)
and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.(BN)’”
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
17 Awake, awake!(BO)
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup(BP) of his wrath,(BQ)
you who have drained to its dregs(BR)
the goblet that makes people stagger.(BS)
18 Among all the children(BT) she bore
there was none to guide her;(BU)
among all the children she reared
there was none to take her by the hand.(BV)
19 These double calamities(BW) have come upon you—
who can comfort you?(BX)—
ruin and destruction,(BY) famine(BZ) and sword(CA)—
who can[a] console you?
20 Your children have fainted;
they lie at every street corner,(CB)
like antelope caught in a net.(CC)
They are filled with the wrath(CD) of the Lord,
with the rebuke(CE) of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(CF) one,
made drunk,(CG) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
your God, who defends(CH) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup(CI) 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,(CJ)
who said to you,
‘Fall prostrate(CK) that we may walk(CL) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on.”(CM)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:19 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text / how can I
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
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