Isaiah 51:11-13

New English Translation

¹¹Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them,^[a]
happiness and joy will overwhelm^[b] them;
grief and suffering will disappear.^[c]
¹²“I, I am the one who consoles you.^[d]
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass?^[e]
¹³Why do you forget^[f] the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky^[g]
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long^[h]
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor?^[i]

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Footnotes

Isaiah 51:11 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
Isaiah 51:11 tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”
Isaiah 51:11 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”
Isaiah 51:12 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
Isaiah 51:12 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (ʾat-hiʾ) in vv. 9-10.
Isaiah 51:13 tn Heb “and that you forget.”
Isaiah 51:13 tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
Isaiah 51:13 tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”
Isaiah 51:13 tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.

New English Translation (NET)

Isaiah 51:11-13 New English Translation

Footnotes

Isaiah 51:11-13

New English Translation