Isaiah 51-52

English Standard Version

^4 (G)“Give attention to me, my people,
    and give ear to me, my nation;
^(H)for a law^[a] will go out from me,
    and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
^5 (I)My righteousness draws near,
    my salvation has gone out,
    and my arms will judge the peoples;
^(J)the coastlands hope for me,
    and for my arm they wait.
^6 (K)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
    and look at the earth beneath;
^(L)for the heavens vanish like smoke,
    the earth will wear out like a garment,
    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;^[b]
(M)but my salvation will be forever,
    and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

^7 (N)“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
    the people ^(O)in whose heart is my law;
^(P)fear not the reproach of man,
    nor be dismayed at their revilings.
^8 (Q)For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
    and the worm will eat them like wool,
^(R)but my righteousness will be forever,
    and my salvation to all generations.”

^9 (S)Awake, awake, ^(T)put on strength,
    O ^(U)arm of the Lord;
awake, ^(V)as in days of old,
    the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut ^(W)Rahab in pieces,
    who pierced ^(X)the dragon?
^10 (Y)Was it not you who dried up the sea,
    the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
    for the redeemed to pass over?
^11 (Z)And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and 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.

¹² “I, I am he ^(AA)who comforts you;
    who are you that you are afraid of ^(AB)man who dies,
    of the son of man who is made ^(AC)like grass,
¹³ and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
    ^(AD)who stretched out the heavens
    and ^(AE)laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
    because of the wrath of ^(AF)the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
    And where is the wrath of ^(AG)the oppressor?
^14 (AH)He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
    he shall not die and go down ^(AI)to the pit,
    neither shall his bread be lacking.
¹⁵ I am the Lord your God,
    ^(AJ)who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    the Lord of hosts is his name.
^16 (AK)And I have put my words in your mouth
    ^(AL)and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
^(AM)establishing^[c] the heavens
    and ^(AN)laying the foundations of the earth,
    and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

^17 (AO)Wake yourself, wake yourself,
    stand up, O Jerusalem,
^(AP)you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
    the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
    the bowl, ^(AQ)the cup of staggering.
^18 (AR)There is none to guide her
    among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
    among all the sons she has brought up.
^19 (AS)These two things have happened to you—
    who will console you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
    who will comfort you?^[d]
20 (AT)Your sons have fainted;
    they lie at the head of every street
    like an ^(AU)antelope ^(AV)in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
    the rebuke of your God.

^21 (AW)Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
    who are drunk, but not with wine:
²² Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
    your God ^(AX)who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand ^(AY)the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
^23 (AZ)and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
    ^(BA)who have said to you,
    ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and ^(BB)you have made your back like the ground
    and like the street for them to pass over.”

^7 (BN)How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, ^(BO)who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
⁸ The voice of ^(BP)your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
    together they sing for joy;
^(BQ)for eye to eye they see
    the return of the Lord to Zion.
^9 (BR)Break forth together into singing,
    ^(BS)you waste places of Jerusalem,
for ^(BT)the Lord has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
^10 (BU)The Lord has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
^(BV)and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God.

^11 (BW)Depart, depart, go out from there;
    touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
    ^(BX)you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
¹² For you shall not ^(BY)go out in haste,
    and you shall not go in flight,
^(BZ)for the Lord will go before you,
    ^(CA)and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.