CHAPTER 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 hewn.
Look
to
Abraham
your father,
and to
Sarah
who bore you.
When
I called him,
he was but one;
then I blessed him
and multiplied him.
For
the LORD
will comfort
Zion
and look with compassion
on all her
ruins;
He will make
her wilderness
like Eden
and her desert
like the garden
of the LORD.
Joy
and gladness
will be found in her,
thanksgiving
and melodious
song.
Pay attention
to Me,
My people,
and listen
to Me,
My nation;
for
a law
will go out from Me,
and My justice will become
a light
to the nations;
I will bring it about quickly.
My righteousness
draws near,
My salvation
is on the way,
and My arms
will bring justice
to the nations.
The islands
will look
for Me
and wait in hope
for
My arm.
Lift up
your eyes
to the heavens,
and look
at
the earth
below;
for
the heavens
will vanish
like smoke,
the earth
will wear out
like a garment,
and its people
will die
like gnats.
But My salvation
will last forever,
and My righteousness
will never
fail.
Listen
to Me,
you who know
what is right,
you people
with My law
in your hearts:
Do not
fear
the scorn
of men;
do not
be broken
by their insults.
For
the moth
will devour them
like a garment,
and the worm
will eat
them like wool.
But My righteousness
will last forever,
My salvation
through all generations.
Awaken,
awaken,
put on
strength,
O arm
of the LORD.
Wake up
as in days
past,
as in generations
of long ago.
Was it not
You
who cut Rahab
to pieces,
who pierced through
the dragon?
Was it not
You
who dried up
the sea,
the waters
of the great
deep,
who made
a road
in the depths
of the sea
for the redeemed
to cross over?
So the redeemed
of the LORD
will return
and enter
Zion
with singing,
crowned
with unending
joy.
Joy
and gladness
will overtake them,
and sorrow
and sighing
will flee.
I,
even I,
am He
who comforts you.
Who
are you
that you fear
mortal
man,
or a son
of man
who withers
like grass?
But you have forgotten
the LORD,
your Maker,
who stretched out
the heavens
and laid the foundations
of the earth.
You live in terror
all day long
because of
the fury
of the oppressor,
who
is bent
on destruction.
But where
is the fury
of the oppressor?
The captive
will soon
be freed;
he will not
die
in the dungeon,
and his bread
will not
be lacking.
For I
am the LORD
your God
who stirs up
the sea
so that its waves
roar—
the LORD
of Hosts
is His name.
I have put
My words
in your mouth,
and covered
you in the shadow
of My hand,
to establish
the heavens,
to found
the earth,
and to say
to Zion,
“You
are My people.”
Awaken,
awaken!
Rise up,
O Jerusalem,
you who
have drunk
from the hand
of the LORD
the cup
of His fury;
you who have drained
the goblet
to the dregs,
the cup
that makes men stagger.
Among all
the sons
she bore,
there is no
one to guide
her;
among all
the sons
she brought up,
there is no
one to take
her hand.
These
pairs
have befallen you:
devastation
and destruction,
famine
and sword.
Who
will grieve for you?
Who
can comfort you?
Your sons
have fainted;
they lie
at the head
of every
street,
like an antelope
in a net.
They are full
of the wrath
of the LORD,
the rebuke
of your God.
Thus
says
your Lord,
the LORD,
even your God,
who defends
His people:
“See,
I have removed
the cup
of staggering
from your hand;
from that goblet,
the cup
of My fury,
you will never
drink
again.
I will place it
in the hands
of your tormentors,
who
told
you:
‘Lie down,
so we can walk over you.’
And you made
your back
like the ground,
and like a street
to be traversed.