Comfort for Zion

51 “Listen to me, you who are following what is right and good, and who are looking for the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were cut out, and to the hole from which you were dug. ² Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain. When he was but one, I called him. Then I brought good to him and made him many.” ³ For the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places. He will make her desert like Eden, like the garden of the Lord. Joy and happiness will be found in her. There will be much giving of thanks and much singing.

⁴ “Listen to Me, O My people. Hear Me, O My nation. The Law will go out from Me and My Law will be a light to the people. ⁵ My being right and good is near. My saving power has gone out, and My arms will judge the people. The islands will wait for Me. They will trust with hope for My arm. ⁶ Lift up your eyes to the sky, and look to the earth below. For the sky will go away like smoke. And the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing and those who live in it will die like flies. But My saving power will be forever. My being right and good will not come to an end. ⁷ Listen to Me, you who know what is right and good, you people who have My Law in your hearts. Do not fear the shame of strong words from man. Do not be troubled when they speak against you. ⁸ For the moth will eat them like a piece of clothing. And the worm will eat them like wool. But My being right and good will be forever. My saving power will be to all children’s children to come.”

⁹ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake as in the days of old, as You did with the people who lived long ago. Was it not You Who cut Rahab in pieces, and Who cut through the big dragon? ¹⁰ Was it not You Who dried up the sea, the deep waters, and Who made a path through the deep sea for Your saved people to cross over? ¹¹ So the people, for whom the Lord paid the price to be saved, will return. They will come with songs of joy to Zion. Joy that lasts forever will be on their heads. They will receive joy and happiness, and sorrow and sad voices will hurry away.

¹² “I, even I, am He Who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of a man who dies? Why are you afraid of the sons of men who are made like grass, ¹³ that you have forgotten the Lord Who made you? He spread out the heavens and put the earth in its place. Why do you live in fear all day long because of the anger of the one who makes it hard for you as he makes ready to destroy? But where is his anger? ¹⁴ The one in chains will soon be set free, and will not die in prison. And he will always have enough bread. ¹⁵ For I am the Lord your God, Who fills the sea with action so that its waves sound: The Lord of All is His name. ¹⁶ I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of My hand. I spread out the heavens and put the earth in its place, and say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

No More Suffering for Jerusalem

¹⁷ Awake! awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger. You drank it down, and you had trouble walking. ¹⁸ There is no one to lead her among all the sons born of her. There is no one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up. ¹⁹ These two things have come upon you: Being laid waste and destroyed, hunger and the sword. Who will have sorrow for you? How can I comfort you? ²⁰ Your sons have become weak and have fallen down. They cannot help themselves and they lie at the top of every street, like a deer in a net. The Lord has poured out His anger and sharp words upon them.

²¹ So hear this, you who are suffering, who are drunk, but not with wine. ²² Your Lord, the Lord your God Who fights for His people, says, “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that makes you have trouble walking. You will never drink from the cup of My anger again. ²³ I will put it into the hand of those who make it hard for you, who have said to you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’ You have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to walk over.”