Isaiah 51

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

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.

For God 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 God,—Joy and gladness, shall be found in her, Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

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:

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.

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.

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;

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.

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

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?

Therefore, the ransomed of God, 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.

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?

That thou hast forgotten God 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?

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

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

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!

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

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.

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

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 God The rebuke of thy God.

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

Thus, saith Thy Lord, God, 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;

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.