This prophecy calls for trust in the Lord. Each of its three units begins with the phrase, Listen to me (51:1, 4, 7).
1“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.2Look to Abraham your father,and to Sarah who gave you birth.When I called him, he was but one;then I blessed him and multiplied him.3For the LORD will comfort Zionand will look with compassion on all her ruins;He will make her wilderness like Edenand her desert like the garden of the LORD.Joy and gladness will be found in her,thanksgiving and melodious song.4Pay attention to Me, My people,and listen to Me, My nation;for a law will go out from Me,and My justice will become a light to the nations;I will bring it about quickly.5My righteousness draws near,My salvation is on the way,and My arms will bring justice to the nations.The islands† will look for Meand wait in hope for My arm.6Lift up your eyes to the heavens,and look at the earth below;for the heavens will vanish like smoke,the earth will wear out like a garment,and its people will die like gnats.But My salvation will last forever,and My righteousness will never fail.7Listen to Me, you who know what is right,you people with My law in your hearts:Do not fear the scorn of men;do not be broken by their insults.8For the moth will devour them like a garment,and the worm will eat them like wool.But My righteousness will last forever,My salvation through all generations.”ⓘWake up, wake up: God does not sleep;...
Wake up, wake up: God does not sleep; this prayer is for God to act immediately to save his people (see 52:1; see especially God’s military garb in 59:17).
in the days of old: The exodus from Egypt was an act of redemption that displayed God’s power as he made a path of escape (51:10) for his people (see also 11:15).
9Awake, awake,put on strength, O arm of the LORD.Wake up as in days past,as in generations of old.Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces,who pierced through the dragon?10Was it not You who dried up the sea,the waters of the great deep,who made a road in the depths of the seafor the redeemed to cross over?11So the redeemedof the LORD will returnand enter Zion with singing,crowned with everlasting joy.Gladness and joy will overtake them,and sorrow and sighing will flee.12“I, even I, am He who comforts you.Why should you be afraid of mortal man,of a son of man who withers like grass?13But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,who stretched out the heavensand laid the foundations of the earth.You live in terror all day longbecause of the fury of the oppressorwho is bent on destruction.But where is the fury of the oppressor?14The captive will soon be freed;he will not die in the dungeon,and his bread will not be lacking.15For I am the LORDyour Godwho stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORDof Hosts is His name.16I have put My words in your mouth,and covered you with the shadow of My hand,to establish† the heavens, to found the earth,and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
God’s Fury Removed
ⓘThe prophet called the people of Israel to...
The prophet called the people of Israel to be done with their past and to anticipate God’s future for them.
17Awake, awake!Rise up, O Jerusalem,you who have drunk from the hand of the LORDthe cup of His fury;you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.18Among all the sons she bore,there is no one to guide her;among all the sons she brought up,there is no one to take her hand.19These pairs have befallen you:devastation and destruction,famine and sword.Who will grieve for you?Who can comfort you?†20Your sons have fainted;they lie at the head of every street,like an antelopein a net.They are full of the wrath of the LORD,the rebuke of your God.21Therefore now hear this, you afflicted one,drunken, but not with wine.22Thus says your Lord, the LORD,even your God, who defends His people:“See, I have removed from your handthe cup of staggering.From that goblet, the cup of My fury,you will never drink again.23I will place it in the hands of your tormentors,who told you: ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you,’so that you made your back like the ground,like a street to be traversed.”
Commentary
Isaiah 51:1
The rock and the quarry represent Abraham and Sarah (51:2).
Commentary
Isaiah 51:2
Abraham . . . became a great nation: The exiled community had decreased in number. They needed to have faith that God could restore them again to a healthy and thriving population.
Commentary
Isaiah 51:3
Eden . . . the garden of the Lord: God’s salvation will one day reestablish conditions like those in which human beings first lived (see Gen 2–3).
God is strong enough to crush his enemies and rescue his people, such as when he rescued Israel in the Exodus (see 51:9; Exod 6:6; 15:16).
Commentary
Isaiah 51:6
die like flies: The wicked will die in great multitudes on the day of God’s judgment.
Commentary
Isaiah 51:7
cherish my law in your hearts: Beyond simply knowing God’s word, the Lord desires for his people to internalize, treasure, and obey it (see also Ps 37:31; Jer 31:33).
Those who obey the Lord often endure scorn and insults (see also Matt 5:10–12).
The Exile brought such brutal conditions as imprisonment, starvation, and death.
Commentary
Isaiah 51:15
I am the Lord: The Lord uses this formula to identify himself as the covenant God and to assure his people of the truth of his word and the reliability of his actions (see 27:3–4).
Commentary
Isaiah 51:16
my words in your mouth: The focus shifted back to the servant.
You are my people: Israel was the covenant community.
Commentary
Isaiah 51:17
Wake up, wake up: Israel used these words in a prayer to the Lord (51:9). Israel’s problems were not the result of God’s slowness to act; rather, the people were slow to believe God’s promises.
the cup of the Lord’s fury: The Lord will appropriately measure out his judgment; those who fall under his judgment must figuratively drink from his wrath (see also Matt 26:39).
Commentary
Isaiah 51:20
children have fainted: A sad commentary on Jerusalem’s desolation is provided in Lamentations 1:13, 22; 2:11–12, 19.
Commentary
Isaiah 51:22
God would be the Defender of Israel as he was when Assyria besieged Jerusalem (38:6).
Commentary
Isaiah 51:23
The tormentors were the Babylonians who brought about destruction, war, and famine (51:19).