Isaiah 51

Isaiah · Chapter 51

Isaiah 51:1

1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.2Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.3For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.4Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.5My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.7Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?10Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?11Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.12I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;13And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?14The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.15But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.16And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.17Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.18There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.19These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?20Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.21Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:22Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:23But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn.Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek Jehovah: look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
listenשִׁמְע֥וּshim-'UH8085G
to hear: hear

שָׁמַע (sha.ma) : hear v 1) to hear, listen to, obey 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to hear (perceive by ear) 1a2) to hear of or concerning 1a3) to hear (have power to hear) 1a4) to hear with attention or interest, listen to 1a5) to understand (language) 1a6) to hear (of judicial cases) 1a7) to listen, give heed 1a7a) to consent, agree 1a7b) to grant request 1a8) to listen to, yield to 1a9) to obey, be obedient 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be heard (of voice or sound) 1b2) to be heard of 1b3) to be regarded, be obeyed 1c) (Piel) to cause to hear, call to hear, summon 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cause to hear, tell, proclaim, utter a sound …

to meאֵלַ֛י'e-LAIH0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

O [those who] pursueרֹ֥דְפֵיRO-de-feiH7291
to pursue

רָדַף (ra.daph) 1) to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to pursue, put to flight, chase, dog, attend closely upon 1a2) to persecute, harass (fig) 1a3) to follow after, aim to secure (fig) 1a4) to run after (a bribe) (fig) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be pursued 1b2) one pursued (participle) 1c) (Piel) to pursue ardently, aim eagerly to secure, pursue 1d) (Pual) to be pursued, be chased away 1e) (Hiphil) to pursue, chase

of righteousnessצֶ֖דֶקTZE-dekH6664G
righteousness

צֶ֫דֶק (tse.deq) 1) justice, rightness, righteousness 1a) what is right or just or normal, rightness, justness (of weights and measures) 1b) righteousness (in government) 1b1) of judges, rulers, kings 1b2) of law 1b3) of Davidic king, Messiah 1b4) of Jerusalem as seat of just government 1b5) of God's attribute 1c) righteousness, justice (in case or cause) 1d) rightness (in speech) 1e) righteousness (as ethically right) 1f) righteousness (as vindicated), justification (in controversy), deliverance, victory, prosperity 1f1) of God as covenant-keeping in redemption 1f2) in name of Messianic king …

[those who] seekמְבַקְשֵׁ֣יme-vak-SHEIH1245
to seek

בָּקַשׁ (ba.qash) 1) to seek, require, desire, exact, request 1a) (Piel) 1a1) to seek to find 1a2) to seek to secure 1a3) to seek the face 1a4) to desire, demand 1a5) to require, exact 1a6) to ask, request 1b) (Pual) to be sought

of Yahwehיְהוָ֑הYAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

lookהַבִּ֙יטוּ֙ha-BI-tuH5027
to look

נָבַט (na.vat) 1) to look, regard 1a) (Piel) to look 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) tolook 1b2) to regard, show regard to, pay attention to, consider 1b3) to look upon, regard, show regard to

toאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

[the] rockצ֣וּרtzurH6697H
mountain

טוּר (tur) mountain Aramaic of tsur (צוּר "rock" H6697H)

[which] you were dugחֻצַּבְתֶּ֔םchu-tzav-TEMH2672
to hew

חָצַב (cha.tsav) 1) to dig, cleave, divide, hew, make, cut out, dig out, cut down, quarry, hewer, mason 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to hew out, dig 1a2) to hew 1a2a) stone 1a2b) wood 1a3) to hew in pieces (metaph.) 1a4) to divide, cleave 1b) (Niphal) to be cut, be hewn, be engraved 1c) (Hiphil) to hew into pieces, cut up into pieces 1d) (Pual) to be cut from, be hewn from

and toוְאֶל־ve-'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

[the] excavation ofמַקֶּ֥בֶתma-KE-vetH4718B
hole

מַקֶּבֶת (maq.qe.vet) hole, excavation, perforation

[the] pitבּ֖וֹרBorH0953A
pit

בּוֹר (bor) pit, well, cistern, dungeon, pit of the grave

[which] you were dug outנֻקַּרְתֶּֽם׃nu-kar-TEMH5365
to dig

נָקַר (na.qar) 1) to bore, pick, dig, pick out 1a) (Qal) to bore, pick, dig 1b) (Piel) to bore out 1c) (Pual) to be dug out

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.