Isaiah 51

1 “Listen [give ear, hear and obey] to Me, you who pursue [follow after, chase] righteousness [justice, moral integrity], you who seek [search for, desire] the LORD [Yehovah, the divine Redeemer]: Look [regard, gaze] to the rock [stone, foundation] from which you were cut [hewn, carved], and to the quarry [hole, pit] from which you were hewn [digged, extracted]. word study 2 Look [regard carefully, show favor] to Abraham [the father of faith] your father, and to Sarah [noblewoman, mother of Isaac] who gave you birth [bore you, brought you forth]. When I called [summoned, invited] him, he was but one [alone, unique]; then I blessed [praised, honored] him and multiplied [increased, made many] him. word study 3 For the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] will comfort [show pity, sympathize with] Zion and will look with compassion [tender mercy, loving care] on all her ruins [desolations, waste places]; He will make her wilderness [desert, barren land] like Eden [a place of pleasure, beauty] and her desert [wilderness, dry land] like the garden [an enclosed, cultivated area] of the LORD [Yehovah]. Joy [rejoicing, gladness] and gladness [happiness, delight] will be found [discovered, attained] in her, thanksgiving [praise, worship] and melodious song [a song of praise, a voice of melody]. word study 4 Pay attention [listen carefully, give ear] to Me, My people [nation, community], and listen [hear, obey] to Me, My nation [tribes, community]; for a law [instruction, teaching] will go out from Me, and My justice [righteous judgment] will become a light [spiritual guidance, illumination] to the nations [peoples, Gentiles]; I will bring it about [establish, fulfill] quickly. word study 5 My righteousness [moral integrity, justice] draws near [is at hand, is close], My salvation [deliverance, rescue] is on the way [has gone forth, is coming], and My arms [the arm as stretched out; strength, might, power] will bring justice [vindication, judgment] to the nations [peoples, Gentiles]. The islands [coastlands, distant lands] will look for Me and wait in hope [trust, patiently wait] for My arm [strength, powerful deliverance]. word study 6 Lift up your eyes [to gaze intently] to the heavens [the visible universe, the abode of God], and look at the earth [the land, the material world] below; for the heavens will vanish [disappear] like smoke, the earth will wear out [become old, decay] like a garment [a covering, a robe], and its people will die [perish, come to an end] like gnats [small flying insects]. But My salvation [deliverance, victory] will last forever [for all eternity, always], and My righteousness [justice, moral integrity] will never fail [be abolished, come to an end]. word study 7 Listen to Me [Hearken unto, give attention to], you who know [are acquainted with, have understanding of] what is right [righteousness, justice], you people [a nation, a community] with My law [instruction, Torah] in your hearts [inner being, mind and spirit]: Do not fear [be afraid of, dread] the scorn [reproach, shame] of men [humanity, people]; do not be broken [dismayed, shattered] by their insults [revilings, harsh words]. word study 8 For the moth [a destructive insect] will devour them like a garment [treachery, a covering], and the worm [a small, eating creature] will eat them like wool [a white, valuable material]. But My righteousness [moral integrity, virtue] will last forever [for all eternity, always], My salvation [deliverance, victory] through all generations [periods of time, groups of people].” word study 9 Awake, awake [rise up, stir into action], put on strength [might, power], O arm [the arm as stretched out; strength, might, power] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God]. Wake up [arise, rouse yourself] as in days [epochs, periods of time] past, as in generations [ages, periods of history] of old. Was it not You [the Almighty, Eternal One] who cut [hewed, carved] Rahab [the sea monster] to pieces, who pierced [bored, wounded] through the dragon [the serpent, monster]? word study 10 Was it not You [the Lord] who dried up [desiccated, made dry] the sea [a large body of water], the waters [the liquid, the deep] of the great [vast, immense] deep [the abyss, tehom], who made [created, formed] a road [a way, a path] in the depths [the profound, the lowest parts] of the sea [the ocean, the sea in general] for the redeemed [the ransomed, the delivered] to cross over [to pass over, to transition]? word study 11 So the redeemed [ransomed, set free by God] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] will return [come back, turn back to God] and enter Zion [the city of God, Jerusalem] with singing [loud, ringing cries of joy], crowned with everlasting [forever, age-during] joy [delight]. Gladness [rejoicing, celebration] and joy [happiness, cheer] will overtake [catch up to, reach] them, and sorrow [grief, anguish] and sighing [groaning, lamenting] will flee [quickly depart, escape]. word study 12 “I, even I [the Lord, your Comforter], am He who comforts [provides solace, calms fears] you. Why should you be afraid [tremble with fear, stand in awe] of mortal man [a human, enosh], of a son of man [a descendant of Adam, a human being] who withers [dies, fades away] like grass [temporary, fleeting]? word study 13 But you have forgotten [mislayed, been oblivious to] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], your Maker [Creator, the one who makes and does], who stretched out [expanded, spread out] the heavens [the visible universe, the sky] and laid the foundations [established, founded] of the earth [the land, the ground]. You live in terror [fear, dread] all day long because of the fury [intense anger, rage] of the oppressor [one who presses, distresses] who is bent on destruction [ruin, corruption] [as if he were ready to destroy, with the intent to annihilate]. But where [in what place, at what location] is the fury [rage, intense anger] of the oppressor [the one who oppresses, distresses]? word study 14 The captive [prisoner, exile] will soon [speedily, quickly] be freed [loosed, set free]; he will not [never] die [perish, come to an end] in the dungeon [pit, underworld], and his bread [food, sustenance] will not [never] be lacking [fail, come to an end]. word study 15 For I am the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] your God [Elohim, the one supreme God] who stirs up [troubles, quiets, or divides] the sea [a large body of water] so that its waves [heaps of water, a spring of water] roar [make a loud noise, are in turmoil]— the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord of Israel] of Hosts [armies, a large group of people or things] is His name [fame, renown, reputation]. word study 16 I have put My words [divine message, utterances] in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow [protection, care] of My hand, to establish [plant, found] the heavens [the visible universe, sky], to found [lay the foundation, establish] the earth [land, ground], and to say [declare, proclaim] to Zion [the city of God, His people], ‘You are [belong to, are part of] My people [nation, community].’” word study 17 Awake, awake [stir yourself]! Rise up, O Jerusalem [the city of peace], you who have drunk [consumed, tasted] from the hand [power, direction] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] the cup [vessel, container] of His fury [intense anger, wrath]; you who have drained [sucked out, emptied] the goblet [bowl, cup] to the dregs [last drops, remains]— the cup that makes men stagger [reel, tremble]. word study 18 Among all [every single one] the sons [descendants, children] she bore [gave birth to, brought forth], there is no one [none, nothing] to guide [lead, direct] her; among all [every single one] the sons [descendants, children] she brought up [nourished, raised], there is no one [none, nothing] to take [lay hold of, grasp] her hand [an open hand; strength, a side or share]. word study 19 These pairs [two things, a dual calamity] have befallen you: devastation [desolation, wasting] and destruction [breaking, shattering], famine [hunger, lack of food] and sword [cutting instrument, war]. Who [what person] will grieve [mourn, be sorry] for you? Who [what person] can comfort [show pity, sympathize with] you? word study 20 Your sons [children, descendants] have fainted; they lie at the head [beginning] of every street [outside, in the open], like an antelope [wild bull, oryx] in a net [snare, trap]. They are full [completely filled] of the wrath [intense anger, rage] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God], the rebuke [stern warning, correction] of your God [Elohim, the supreme God]. word study 21 Therefore [so, thus, in agreement] now hear [listen, obey, give attention] this, you [poor little one, troubled] afflicted [depressed, humble, weak] one, drunken [intoxicated, under the influence], but not [absent, without] with wine [fermented, intoxicating drink]. word study 22 Thus says your Lord [the Sovereign], the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], even your God [Elohim, the supreme God], who defends [pleads the cause of, argues for] His people: “See, I have removed [taken away] from your hand the cup of staggering [reeling, trembling]. From that goblet, the cup [the vessel of wrath] of My fury [intense anger, rage], you will never [not at all] drink again [continue to experience]. word study 23 I will place [put, set] it in the hands [power, direction] of your tormentors [afflictors, oppressors], who told [said, commanded] you: ‘Lie down [bow down, prostrate yourself], so we can walk [pass, cross] over you,’ so that you made [set, laid] your back [body, midst] like the ground [earth, land], like a street [outside, highway] to be traversed [passed over, crossed].” word study