Isaiah 51

¹Hearken to me, ye that pursue righteousness. Ye that seek Jehovah! Look to the rock whence ye were hewn, To the pit-quarry whence ye were digged!

²Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah that bore you! For I called him when only one, And blessed him, and multiplied him.

³Thus will Jehovah have pity upon Zion; He will have pity upon all her desolations. He will make her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the garden of Jehovah. Joy and gladness shall be found therein; Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

⁴Hearken to me, O my people! And give ear to me, O my nation! For a law shall proceed from me, And I will establish my statutes for the light of the nations.

⁵My help is near; my salvation goeth forth; My arm shall judge the nations; Distant lands shall wait for me, And in my arm shall they trust.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look down upon the earth beneath! For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, And the earth shall decay like a garment, And its inhabitants shall perish like flies. But my salvation shall endure forever, And my goodness shall not decay.

⁷Hearken to me, ye that know righteousness, The people in whose heart is my law! Fear ye not the reproach of men, Nor be disheartened by their revilings!

⁸For the moth shall consume them like a garment, And the worm shall eat them like wool. But my goodness shall endure forever, And my salvation from generation to generation.

⁹Awake! awake! clothe thyself with strength, O arm of Jehovah! Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old!

¹⁰Art thou not the same that smote Rahab, And wounded the dragon? Art thou not the same that dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep,—That made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass through?

¹¹Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return; They shall come to Zion with singing; Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; They shall obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

¹²I, even I, am he that hath pity upon you; Who art thou, that thou art afraid of man, that shall die, Of the son of man, that shall perish like grass,

¹³And forgettest Jehovah thy maker, That stretched out the heavens, And founded the earth, And fearest continually every day, On account of the fury of the oppressor, As if he were taking aim to destroy thee? Where now is the fury of the oppressor?

¹⁴Soon shall the enchained be loosed; He shall not die in the pit, Nor shall his bread fail.

¹⁵For I am Jehovah thy God, That rebuketh the sea when his waves roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name.

¹⁶I have put my words into thy mouth, And have covered thee with the shadow of my hand, To establish the heavens, and to found the earth. And to say to Zion, "Thou art my people!"

¹⁷Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem! Thou that hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury, Thou that hast drunk to the dregs the cup of giddiness!

¹⁸There is not one to lead her, of all the sons which she hath brought forth, Nor is there one to take her by the hand, of all the sons which she hath nurtured.

¹⁹These two things have come upon thee, And who bemoaneth thee? Desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword; How shall I comfort thee?

²⁰Thy sons have fainted; they lie at the head of all the streets, Like a deer in the net; They are full of the wrath of Jehovah, Of the rebuke of thy God.

²¹Therefore, hear this, thou afflicted, Thou drunken, and not with wine!

²²Thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, And thy God, that defendeth the cause of his people. Behold, I will take from thy hand the cup of giddiness, The cup of my wrath; Thou shalt drink no more of it.

²³And I will put it into the hand of them that have afflicted thee; That have said to thee, "Bow down, that we may pass over!" And thou madest thy body as the ground, And as the street, to them that passed over.

Isaiah 51

¹Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

²Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

³For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

⁴Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

⁵My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

⁷Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

⁸For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

⁹Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

¹⁰Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?

¹¹Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

¹²I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

¹³And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

¹⁴The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

¹⁵But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name.

¹⁶And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

¹⁷Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.

¹⁸There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.

¹⁹These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?

²⁰Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.

²¹Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:

²²Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:

²³But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.