Isaiah 51

‘You who want to do what is right,

you must listen to Me.

You who want to serve Me,

you must remember where you came from.

₂You must think of your

forefather Abraham and of Sarah.

You were born from her.

Abraham was alone when I called him,

but then I blessed him,

and I gave him many descendants.

₃I will bless Jerusalem again

and be good to its people, this is sure.

The city is only a heap of stones now,

but I will help them again.

The city looks like a desert,

but I will make it like the Garden of Eden.

It is only a dry land now,

but I will make it like the garden of the Lord.

The people in the city will rejoice and be happy.

They will sing and they will thank Me.’

₄‘My people, you must listen to Me.

All the people who belong to Me,

listen to what I say. I want to teach you

what you must do and

I want all the nations to know

that I always do what is right,

and that will be like a light to them.

₅Now is the time that I will do

what is right. I want to save you now.

I rule over all nations.

The people who live far away near the sea

are waiting for Me to rule over them.

₆Look to the sky above and

look at the earth below.

The sky will disappear like smoke,

the earth will become old and die,

and will become like old clothes,

and the people on earth will die like flies.

But I will save you, and you will always be mine.

I will always do what is right,

and I will never stop.

₇My people, you know what is right,

and you know what I want you to do.

You must listen to Me.

Don't be afraid when people laugh at you,

and don't fear when they say bad things about you.

₈They will become like old clothes

or wool that was eaten by moths.

But I will always do what is right.

I will save people from every generation.’

₉Lord, please wake up.

Please do something and be strong again.

Be awake like the time

when You started everything long ago.

You cut Rahab to pieces,

and You stabbed the sea monster and killed him.

₁₀It was You who dried up the sea,

the waters of the deep sea.

It was You who made a path

in the deep sea so that the Israelites

could walk through it

when You saved them.

₁₁That is how the people of Israel

will come back when you free them.

They will rejoice and be happy

when they come into Zion.

They will be happy and laugh,

and they will not worry or sigh anymore.

‘I am the One who comforts you

and helps you feel better.

Why are you afraid of people who will die?

Why are you afraid of people who are

like grass and don't live for a long time?

₁₃You have forgotten Me.

I am the Lord who made you.

I made the expanse above the earth

and I put the earth in its place,

but you are afraid and you tremble

before people who are angry with you,

the people who oppress you and want to kill you.

But where are those people now?

Where are the people who were

angry with you and oppressed you?

They do not oppress you anymore.

₁₄Prisoners who suffer and bow down

will soon become free.

They will not die and go to the grave,

and they will not be hungry,

because there will be enough food.

₁₅I am the Lord your God

who moves the water in the sea

so that the waves become big and wild.

My name is the Lord who rules over all.

₁₆I have put my words in your mouth

and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand.

I made the expanse above the earth

and I put the earth in its place.

I told the people of Zion: “You are my people.” ’

₁₇Jerusalem, you must wake up.

You must wake and get up.

The Lord was angry with you.

He made you drink from

the cup_of_suffering that has made you drunk.

You had to drink it all until the cup was empty.

₁₈The Lord says: ‘Jerusalem,

you were like a woman

who had a lot of children,

but later, not one of those children

helped her by taking her hand.

₁₉There were 2 things that happened to you:

Enemies started to fight against you

and destroyed you, and the enemies

made your people go hungry

and killed them.

What must I do so that

all will be well with you again?

₂₀Your sons have fainted,

and they lie down at the street corners

like deer that were caught in a net.

This happened because the Lord was angry,

and because your God wanted you to suffer.

₂₁You can not help yourself,

and that is why you must listen to the Lord.

You became drunk,

not because you had too much wine,

but because you had a lot of trouble.’

₂₂The Lord your God speaks.

He will help his people. He says:

‘Look, I take the cup from your hand,

the cup that has made you drunk.

I did it because I was angry with you.

You won't have to drink it again,

and I will not punish you any longer.

₂₃But I give the cup to the people

who made you suffer,

the people who said to you:

“Lie down on the ground.

We want to walk over you.”

You had to become like the ground,

like the streets where people walk.’