51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, 1
who seek the Lord!
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry 2 from which you were dug! 3
51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth. 4
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, 5
but I blessed him 6 and gave him numerous descendants. 7
51:3 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 8 her,
thanksgiving and the sound of music.
51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!
Listen to me, my people!
For 9 I will issue a decree, 10
I will make my justice a light to the nations. 11
51:5 I am ready to vindicate, 12
I am ready to deliver, 13
I will establish justice among the nations. 14
The coastlands 15 wait patiently for me;
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. 16
1 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
2 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
3 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.
4 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
5 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
6 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
7 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
8 tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
9 tn Or “certainly.”
10 tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”
11 tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”
12 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
13 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
14 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
15 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
16 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).