51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth. 1
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, 2
but I blessed him 3 and gave him numerous descendants. 4
51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, 5
who seek the Lord!
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry 6 from which you were dug! 7
1 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
2 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
3 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
4 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
5 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
6 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
7 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.