Isaiah

51 Hearken unto me, Ye that pursue righteousness, Ye that seek Yahweh,—Look well unto the rock whence ye were hewn, And unto the quarry whence ye were digged:

2 Look well unto Abraham your father, And unto Sarah who gave you birth,—For he was alone when called I him, And I blessed him that I might make him many.

3 For Yahweh hath comforted Zion, He hath comforted all her waste places, And hath made her wilderness like Eden, And her waste plain like the garden of Yahweh,—Joy and gladness shall be found in her, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

4 Attend unto me, O my people, And O my nation unto me give ear,—For instruction from me shall go forth, And my justice—for a light of peoples will I establish:

5 At hand is my righteousness, Gone forth hath my salvation, And mine own arms unto the peoples shall give justice,—Upon me Coastlands shall wait, And for mine arm shall they hope.

6 Lift up—to the heavens—your eyes And look around to the earth beneath, Though the heavens like smoke should have vanished And the earth like a garment should fall to pieces, And her inhabitants in like manner should die, Yet my salvation unto times age-abiding shall continue, And my righteousness shall not be broken down.

7 Hearken unto me, ye who discern righteousness, The people in whose heart is my law,—Do not fear the reproach of frail men, Nor at their revilings be dismayed;

8 For like a garment shall they be eaten of the moth, And like wool shall they be eaten of the larva; But my righteousness unto times age-abiding shall continue, And my salvation unto the remotest generation.

9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Yahweh, Awake As in days of old, The generations of bygone ages: Art not thou that which—Hewed down Rahab, Piercing the Crocodile?

10 Art not thou that which dried up—The Sea, The waters of the mighty Deep,—That which made of the abysses of the sea a road for the passing over of the redeemed?

11 Therefore the ransomed of Yahweh shall again come unto Zion with shouts of triumph, With gladness age-abiding on their head,—Joy and gladness shall overtake [them], Sorrow and sighing have fled away.

12 I—I am he that comforteth you,—Who art thou that thou hast feared Frail man that dieth, and A son of the earthborn who as grass shall be delivered up?

13 That thou hast forgotten Yahweh thy maker Who stretched out the heavens And founded the earth? That thou hast dreaded continually all the day by reason of the fury of the oppressor, in that he was ready to destroy? Where then is the fury of the oppressor?

14 The captive hath hastened to be loosed,—That he might not die in the pit Neither should his bread be cut off.

15 But I—Yahweh am thy God, Who threw into commotion the sea And the waves thereof roared,—Yahweh of hosts is his name.

16 Therefore have I put my words in thy mouth, And with the shadow of my hand have I covered thee,—To plant the heavens and To lay the foundations of the earth, and To say unto Zion, My people thou art!

17 Rouse thee—rouse thee, stand up, O Jerusalem, Who hast drunk at the hand of Yahweh his cup of indignation: The goblet-cup of confusion hast thou drunk—hast thou drained.

18 There is none to guide her, Among all the sons she hath borne,—There is none to grasp her hand, Among all the sons she hath brought up.

19 Twain are the things befalling thee, Who will lament for thee? Wasting and destruction and famine and sword, By whom shall I comfort thee?

20 Thy sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets like a gazelle in a net,—Who indeed are full of The indignation of Yahweh, The rebuke of thy God.

21 Therefore hear, I pray thee, this, thou humbled one,—And drunken but not with wine:—

22 Thus saith Thy Lord Yahweh, Even thy God who pleadeth the cause of his people:—Lo! I have taken out of thy hand the cup of confusion,—As for the goblet-cup of mine indignation Thou shalt not again drink it any more;

23 But I will put it into the hand of thy tormentors, Who said to thy soul, Bow down that we may pass over,—And so thou didst place as the ground thy back, Yea as the street to such as were passing along.