Isaiah 51:3-6

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 ¹  her,

thanksgiving and the sound of music.

51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!

Listen to me, my people!

For ²  I will issue a decree, ³ 

I will make my justice a light to the nations. ⁴ 

51:5 I am ready to vindicate, ⁵ 

I am ready to deliver, ⁶ 

I will establish justice among the nations. ⁷ 

The coastlands ⁸  wait patiently for me;

they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. ⁹ 

51:6 Look up at the sky!

Look at the earth below!

For the sky will dissipate ¹⁰  like smoke,

and the earth will wear out like clothes;

its residents will die like gnats.

But the deliverance I give ¹¹  is permanent;

the vindication I provide ¹²  will not disappear. ¹³ 

[51:3]  ¹ tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[51:4]  ² tn Or “certainly.”

[51:4]  ³ tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”

[51:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”

[51:5]  ³ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”

[51:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”

[51:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”

[51:5]  ⁶ tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”

[51:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).

[51:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.

[51:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”

[51:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”