The Servant Perseveres

4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman,

so that I know how to help the weary.

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.

5 The sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly;

I have not rebelled,

I have not turned back.

6 I offered my back to those who attacked,

my jaws to those who tore out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from insults and spitting.

7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,

so I am not humiliated.

For that reason I am steadfastly resolved;

I know I will not be put to shame.

8 The one who vindicates me is close by.

Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other!

Who is my accuser? Let him challenge me!

9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.

Who dares to condemn me?

Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;

a moth will eat away at them.

10 Who among you fears the Lord?

Who obeys his servant?

Whoever walks in deep darkness,

without light,

should trust in the name of the Lord

and rely on his God.

11 Look, all of you who start a fire

and who equip yourselves with flaming arrows,

walk in the light of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited!

This is what you will receive from me:

you will lie down in a place of pain.

51 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness,

who seek the Lord!

Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,

at the quarry from which you were dug!

2 Look at Abraham, your father,

and Sarah, who gave you birth.

When I summoned him, he was a lone individual,

but I blessed him and gave him numerous descendants.

3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;

he will console all her ruins.

He will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the Garden of the Lord.

Happiness and joy will be restored to her,

thanksgiving and the sound of music.

4 Pay attention to me, my people!

Listen to me, my people!

For I will issue a decree,

I will make my justice a light to the nations.

5 I am ready to vindicate,

I am ready to deliver,

I will establish justice among the nations.

The coastlands wait patiently for me;

they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power.

6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give is permanent;

the vindication I provide will not disappear.

7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who are aware of my law!

Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;

don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!

8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;

a clothes moth will devour them like wool.

But the vindication I provide will be permanent;

the deliverance I give will last.”

9 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord!

Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!

Did you not smash the Proud One?

Did you not wound the sea monster?

10 Did you not dry up the sea,

the waters of the great deep?

Did you not make a path through the depths of the sea,

so those delivered from bondage could cross over?

11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them,

happiness and joy will overwhelm them;

grief and suffering will disappear.

12 “I, I am the one who consoles you.

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass?

13 Why do you forget the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor?

14 The one who suffers will soon be released;

he will not die in prison,

he will not go hungry.

15 I am the Lord your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.

The Lord who commands armies is his name!