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Isaiah 51:21-23
New English Translation
Isaiah 51:21-23
New English Translation
21 So listen to this, oppressed one,
who is drunk, but not from wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign[a] Lord, even your God who judges[b] his people says:
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup of intoxicating wine,[c]
the goblet full of my anger.[d]
You will no longer have to drink it.
23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors[e]
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 51:22 tn Or “Lord,” from אֲדוֹן (ʾadon).
- Isaiah 51:22 tn Many translations say “pleads the cause of his people” (KJV, NRSV, ESV) or similarly (NASB, NIV). The verb רִיב (riv, “to contend, dispute, conduct a law suit”) normally conveys that notion with the cognate direct object רִיב (riv, “cause, dispute, legal case”), but that is lacking here. Instead “his people” are the direct object, an unusual construction. The verb רִיב typically uses a preposition to indicate whether the action is done for or against someone. The syntax here may reflect Isa 3:13 where God is said to judge his people. There רִיב occurs without a direct object, but “his people” are supplied by parallelism in the second half of the line. The immediate context here is about the reversal of judgment, so referring to God as the one who judges his people but now takes his cup of judgement away would fit well.
- Isaiah 51:22 tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”
- Isaiah 51:22 tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”
- Isaiah 51:23 tn That is, to make them drink it.
Isaiah 51:21-23
New International Version
Isaiah 51:21-23
New International Version
21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted(A) one,
made drunk,(B) but not with wine.
22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says,
your God, who defends(C) his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup(D) that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,(E)
who said to you,
‘Fall prostrate(F) that we may walk(G) on you.’
And you made your back like the ground,
like a street to be walked on.”(H)
New English Translation (NET)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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