Isaiah 51

Hearken 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.

Listen closely, all who strive for goodness and seek God: remember your humble beginnings and the depths from which you've risen.

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

Consider your forefather Abraham and your mother Sarah, who gave birth to you. When I called Abraham he was just one man; I showered him with blessings and made him into many.

For 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.

The Lord promises to soothe Zion's pain, to breathe life into her barren lands. He will transform her wilderness into a paradise, her desert into a divine garden. There, joy and gratitude will bloom, and songs of happiness will echo.

Hearken 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.

Listen closely, my people, my nation. I will provide guidance and my fair judgment will be a beacon of light for all.

My 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.

My goodness is close; my rescue has begun. I will fairly judge all, and even distant lands will eagerly await me, placing their trust in my strength.

Lift 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.

Look up at the sky and down at the ground. They'll fade away like smoke, the earth will age like worn-out clothes, and everyone living will eventually pass away. But my promise of salvation will always stand, and my justice will never end.

Hearken 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.

Listen to me, all you who are righteous and carry my laws in your hearts. Don't be afraid of people's insults or criticisms.

For 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.

Moths will consume them as they do clothing, and worms will devour them as they do wool. Yet, my goodness will remain eternal, and my salvation will extend from one generation to the next.

Awake, 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?

Rise up, rise up, show your power, O Lord; awaken, just like in the olden days, in the times of our ancestors. Weren't you the one who defeated Rahab, and injured the dragon?

Art 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?

Aren't you the one who dried up the vast ocean, the waters of the great deep, making a path through its depths, providing a safe passage for the rescued?

Therefore 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.

Those saved by God will return, joyfully singing to Zion. They'll wear eternal happiness like a crown, filled with joy and gladness. All their sadness and grief will simply disappear.

I, 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;

It's me, your comforting guide. Why fear a mortal man, who is as fleeting as grass?

And 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?

You've forgotten your Creator, the one who sculpted the skies and laid the earth's foundation. You live in constant fear of your tormentor's wrath, as if they could end you at any moment. But where is this wrath now?

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

The prisoner will soon be set free; he will not die in his cell, and his food will not run out.

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

I am your God, the one who split the roaring sea. My name is the Lord of all.

And 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.

I've filled your heart with my words and shielded you with my hand, so I can create the heavens, shape the earth, and declare to Zion, "You are my people."

Awake, 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.

Rise up, Jerusalem, you've tasted the bitter wrath of the Lord. You've drained the cup of fear to its last drop.

There 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.

None of her children, whom she raised, are there to guide her or hold her hand.

These 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?

Two calamities have befallen you; who will mourn for you? Ruin and devastation, hunger and war: who can offer you comfort?

Thy 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.

Your children are exhausted, collapsed at every street corner, trapped like a wild bull in a net. They are overwhelmed with God's anger, suffering from His stern reprimand.

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

Listen closely, you who are suffering and disoriented, but not from alcohol:

Thus 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:

Your Lord, your God, who fights for you, declares: "See, I've removed the cup of fear and fury from your grasp. You won't have to drink from it again."

But 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.

Instead, I will put that cup into the hands of those who hurt you, who demanded you to submit so they could walk over you. You've made yourself like a road for them to tread on.