Discovery BoxIsaiah 51:1-8
Context51:1 “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
51:6 Look up at the sky!
Look at the earth below!
For the sky will dissipate 17 like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like clothes;
its residents will die like gnats.
But the deliverance I give 18 is permanent;
the vindication I provide 19 will not disappear. 20
51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law! 21
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!
51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;
a clothes moth will devour them like wool.
But the vindication I provide 22 will be permanent;
the deliverance I give will last.”
[51:1] 1 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
[51:1] 2 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
[51:1] 3 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.
[51:2] 4 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
[51:2] 5 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
[51:2] 6 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
[51:2] 7 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
[51:3] 8 tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[51:4] 10 tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”
[51:4] 11 tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”
[51:5] 12 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
[51:5] 13 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
[51:5] 14 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
[51:5] 15 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
[51:5] 16 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).
[51:6] 17 tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.
[51:6] 18 tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”
[51:6] 19 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”
[51:6] 20 tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”
[51:7] 21 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
[51:8] 22 tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”
