Isa 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
Isa 51:2 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.
Isa 51:3 The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
Isa 51:4 “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.
Isa 51:5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
Isa 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Isa 51:7 “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults.
Isa 51:8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.”
Isa 51:9 Awake, awake, arm of the LORD, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?
Isa 51:10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?
Isa 51:11 Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isa 51:12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,
Isa 51:13 that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?
Isa 51:14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread.
Isa 51:15 For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name.
Isa 51:16 I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand— I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.'”
Isa 51:17 Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.
Isa 51:18 Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand.
Isa 51:19 These double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?— ruin and destruction, famine and sword— who can console you?
Isa 51:20 Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the LORD, with the rebuke of your God.
Isa 51:21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine.
Isa 51:22 This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again.
Isa 51:23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”
Isa 51:11 So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isa 51:12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?
Isa 51:13 And you forget the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?
Isa 51:14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, That he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail.
Isa 51:15 But I am the LORD your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared—The LORD of hosts is His name.
Isa 51:16 And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”
Isa 51:17 Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out.
Isa 51:18 There is no one to guide her Among all the sons she has brought forth; Nor is there any who takes her by the hand Among all the sons she has brought up.
Isa 51:19 These two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you?—Desolation and destruction, famine and sword—By whom will I comfort you?
Isa 51:20 Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the LORD, The rebuke of your God.
Isa 51:21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine.
Isa 51:22 Thus says your Lord, The LORD and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it.
Isa 51:23 But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’ And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over.”
1 An exhortation, after the pattern of Abraham, to trust in Christ,
3 by reason of his comfortable promises,
4 of his righteous salvation, 7
and man’s mortality.
9 Christ by his sanctified arm defends him from the fear of man.
17 He bewails the afflictions of Jerusalem,
21 and promises deliverance.
The Lord’s Comfort for Zion
Isa 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
Isaiah now addresses the devout in Israel, those who sincerely and earnestly looked for the fulfillment of the promises made to the fathers but who had become discouraged because of their delay and apparent failure (see on chs. 49:4, 14; 50:1).
They had forgotten how the Lord had led their fathers in ages past. God now invites them to turn to Him and to forget their doubts and misgivings. For those who seek righteousness and deliverance there is but one way to attain these objectives, and that is by faithful obedience to the voice of the Lord.
Pursue Righteousness.
Heb. ṣedeq, usually but also “justice,” “success,” or “deliverance.” He who sows righteousness will reap justice, success, and deliverance. The one is the cause, the other the result. Both shades of meaning may be intended here. The first is emphasized in v. 7, and the second in v. 5. If Israel would only do right, they could expect justice, success, and deliverance.
You were hewn.
Israel was to reflect on the way by which God had led the nation in past ages. From a humble beginning they had become a great nation. As stone is taken from the quarry and shaped into a beautiful temple, so the people of Israel had been brought out of Egypt and Mesopotamia and prepared by God to be His living representatives.
How marvellously the Lord had worked in their behalf! Now He would have them take courage, in faith believing that He would do so again.
Isa 51:2 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.
God reminds Israel of their origin as a nation (Gen. 11:28, 31; 12:1, 4, 5). Triumphs of the past should inspire courage in the present and hope for the future (see Hosea 1:10).
Isa 51:3 The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
Isa 51:4 “Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples.
Law.
Instruction Heb. torah, which includes all the revealed will of God (see on Deut. 31:9; Ps. 19:7). God here promises to continue making His purposes known to Israel (see Amos 3:7).
My judgment. Divine justice will again be established on earth (see on ch. 42:4, 6), and confidence in god’s rulership will bring in a spirit of peace and security.
Isa 51:5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
Isa 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
The hour is coming when the atmospheric heavens are to “be dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10, 11). Heaven and earth may pass away, but God’s revealed will (see on Isa. 51:4) abides forever (see Matt. 5:18). When God restores the earth to its original state it will not again revert to its present state of moral chaos.
Isa 51:7 “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults.
Those who “know righteousness” are here defined as having the law of God—a transcript of His character—in their hearts. His revealed will (see on v. 4) is etched upon their minds, and in character they are like Him (see Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:27; 1 John 3:2, 3).
Isa 51:8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.”
Sin and sinners will pass away, but righteousness is permanent. Transgression will inevitably bring ruin, but obedience brings life and blessing (Isa. 1:19, 20, 28; John 3:16; Rom. 6:23; see on Matt. 7:21–28).
Isa 51:9 Awake, awake, arm of the LORD, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?
Representing the devout in Israel, Isaiah pleads with God to repeat the great works of deliverance that marked the days of old (see on vs. 1, 2). Rahab. A poetical term for Egypt (see on Ps. 87:4; Isa. 30:7). As God has delivered His people in ages past, so may He deliver them now!
Isa 51:10 Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over?
Isa 51:11 So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah again foretells the return from Babylonian captivity. Similarly, “all Israel” (Rom. 11:26), the spiritual children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), will be delivered from the tyranny of mystical Babylon
Isa 51:12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,
I, even I. Literally, “I, I.” Repetition of the pronoun emphasizes the Lord as the source of Israel’s confidence. If God is with them, who can be against them (see Rom. 8:31)? There is no other help.
Isa 51:13 that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?
This was the cause of all the difficulties that had beset Israel and all they had yet to face. On the danger of forgetting God, see Rom. 1:20–24.
Isa 51:14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread.
Egypt was once the “dungeon” in which Israel languished. Similarly, for a time, Babylon was to hold them fast. But no power on earth can thwart God’s purpose to deliver His own when the time comes for their release.
Isa 51:16 And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’
My words. That is, the words of God in the mouth of Isaiah.
Plant the heavens. Isaiah envisions the earth restored to its Edenic state (see Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13).
Isa 51:17 Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.
Here God speaks to a reprobate Jerusalem to arouse her from a drunken stupor induced, as it were, by the wine of God’s fury. The meting out of judgment is often likened to the pouring out of a cup of wrath (Ps. 75:8; Jer. 25:15, 16; Eze. 23:32–34; Rev. 14:10). An earnest call is extended to Jerusalem to arouse herself and come to her senses before it is forever too late.
Isa 51:18 Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand.
Jerusalem’s sons have fallen in battle (ch. 49:20, 21), and she finds herself a forlorn exile (see on ch. 49:21). She has had many children, but none of them is now present to help her. In her time of greatest need she finds herself utterly forsaken. If relief is to be provided it must come from God.
Isa 51:19 These double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?— ruin and destruction, famine and sword— who can console you?
The one, famine and the sword, has brought about the other, desolation and destruction (see Eze. 14:21; Rev. 6:8).
Isa 51:20 Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the LORD, with the rebuke of your God.
Jerusalem is described as in a state of siege, its defenders fallen in the streets. They are like a wild animal taken in a net, struggling frantically to escape, and finally overcome with exhaustion.
Isa 51:21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine.
Isa 51:22 This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again.
In chastening Israel, God dealt with them as a loving father deal with a wayward son (see Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5–11; Rev. 3:19). To Israel the cup had been bitter indeed. The Lord arises in response to the appeal of v. 17 (see vs. 18, 19), to comfort (see on ch. 40:1) and rescue Jerusalem. The hour of her release is at hand.
Isa 51:23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”
The reason for passing the cup of divine fury on to the oppressors of Israel is clearly set forth in chs. 10:5–13; 49:25. The unwonted cruelty of the conquerors of Israel cried for justice.