UST GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR EZRA NEH EST JOB PSA PROV ECC SNG ISA JER LAM EZE DAN HOS JOEL AMOS OBA YNA MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL MAT MARK LUKE YHN ACTs ROM 1 COR 2 COR GAL EPH PHP COL 1 TH 2 TH 1 TIM 2 TIM TIT PHM HEB YAC 1 PET 2 PET 1 YHN 2 YHN 3 YHN YUD REV

ISA C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 C38 C39 C40 C41 C42 C43 C44 C45 C46 C47 C48 C49 C50 C51 C52 C53 C54 C55 C56 C57 C58 C59 C60 C61 C62 C63 C64 C65 C66

UST ISA Chapter 51

◄ ISA 51 ► ║ ═ ©

51 Yahweh says, “You people who want to do what is right

and want to obey me, listen to me!

Consider the man from whom you came,

just as people cut a stone block from a cliff

or dig it out of a quarry.

2 Think about your ancestor Abraham

and his wife Sarah, from whom all of you descend.

When I first spoke to Abraham,

he had no children.

But I blessed him and enabled him to have many descendants.”

3 Yahweh will encourage the people of the city of Jerusalem on Mount Zion.

He will bring people back to the places in Judah where no one now lives.

He will make her dry land as fertile as the Garden of Eden,

which Yahweh himself planted.

The people of Judah will celebrate happily.

They will thank Yahweh and sing praises to him.

4 Yahweh says, “Listen carefully to me,

you people of my nation!

Do that because I am going to proclaim my laws,

and then the people of other nations will recognize how to live right.

5 I am about to act justly and save you.

I will use my power to make things right among the nations.

People throughout the world will wait for me to act.

They will confidently expect me to use my power.

6 Look up at the sky

and look down at the earth,

because the sky will disappear, just as smoke clears,

and the earth will go away, like old clothing that falls apart.

Similarly, the people who live on the earth will die.

But I will always keep saving you.

I will always do what is right.

7 You people who know what is right

and who earnestly want to obey my laws, listen to me!

Do not be afraid when people insult you.

Do not let their mocking discourage you.

8 Recognize that God will destroy those people,

just as grubs that will grow into moths eat wool clothes.

But I will always do what is right,

and I will keep saving you and your descendants.”

9 Yahweh, act with your great power!

Do mighty things as you did long ago,

many generations before now!

You are the one who pushed back the sea to make the dry land.

It was as if you destroyed a chaos monster

that lived in the ocean.

10 You are the one who dried up the Sea of Reeds,

whose waters are so deep.

You made a dry path through the midst of that sea

so that the people you rescued could cross it!

11 In the same way, those whom Yahweh frees from Babylon

will return to Zion, singing joyfully.

They will always be happy.

They will celebrate gladly.

They will no longer be sad or grieving.

12 Yahweh says, “I am the one who comforts you.

So you are people who should not be afraid of other people.

Human beings are mortal, like grass that dries up and dies.

13 So you should not have abandoned me, Yahweh, who created you.

I am the one who created the sky and put it in place.

I am the one who formed the earth.

So you should not live in constant fear every day

because your enemies are angry and want to destroy you.

Even though they are angry, they will not be able to hurt you.

14 Those who have been captives will soon go free!

They will not die in prison,

and they will not go hungry.

15 I am Yahweh your God;

I am the one who calms the sea when it becomes stormy.

I am Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies!

16 I have told you what to say on my behalf,

and I have kept you safe with my power.

I have told you to tell the exiles from Judah,

‘You are my people!’

When I restore them, it will be as if

I am creating the sky and the land once more.”

17 You people from Jerusalem, realize what is happening and respond.

Yahweh was angry with you, and he punished you.

It was as if you drank an entire large bowl of strong wine

and became so drunk that you could no longer stand up.

18 None of the people from Jerusalem

are being leaders of their community

and guiding its people about what to do.

19 Two very bad things have happened to you.

Enemies have destroyed your land, ruining your cities,

and your people have died from hunger and in battle.

No one is comforting you.

20 Your people have collapsed,

and they are lying helplessly in the streets,

like animals caught in traps.

This has happened because Yahweh, your God,

has been angry with them and has punished them.

21 But now please listen to this, you people who have suffered greatly.

You are staggering around in confusion,

but not because you have drunk too much wine.

22 Yahweh, your Lord and your God,

who defends his people, says this:

“Listen! I am no longer angry with you,

so I am going to end these punishments,

and I will not punish you again.

23 Instead, I will punish those who tormented you.

Those people said to you,

‘Lie face down on the ground so that we can walk on top of you!’

They treated you as if your back were a street

for them to walk on.”