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Isaiah51

The chapter begins by calling those who seek righteousness to remember their origins in Abraham and Sarah, promising God's comfort for Zion and her waste places. It emphasizes the eternal nature of God's salvation and righteousness, contrasting it with the fleeting existence of man and the heavens. The Lord assures His people not to fear human reproach, as He, the Creator, will deliver them and turn the cup of His fury upon their oppressors.
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Remember Your Ancestral Origins

1
Hearken 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. ​
2
Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. ​
3
For 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. ​

God’s Eternal Law and Salvation

4
Hearken 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. ​
5
My 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.
6
Lift 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. ​

Do Not Fear Human Reproach

7
Hearken 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. ​
8
For 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.

Call for God’s Mighty Intervention

9
Awake, 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? ​
10
Art 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?
11
Therefore 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.
12
I, 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;
13
And 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?
14
The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.
15
But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
16
And 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.
17
Awake, 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.
18
There 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.
19
These 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?
20
Thy 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.
21
Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
22
Thus 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:
23
But 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.

Study Notes for Isaiah 51

Verse 1

The call to look to the 'rock' and 'pit' is a metaphor for Israel’s humble, initial origins, specifically Abraham and Sarah, reminding the people that God can build a great nation from nothing.

Verse 2

By recalling Abraham, whom God called 'alone' and increased, the prophet assures the discouraged exiles that God is capable of restoring the desolate nation (Zion) despite its current smallness and weakness.

Verse 3

The promise of restoration for Zion uses powerful Edenic imagery ('wilderness like Eden'), signifying a return to perfect fertility, joy, and peace after the devastation of exile.

Verse 4

God promises that His 'law' (Torah/teaching) and 'judgment' will proceed forth, indicating that Israel’s restoration will serve as a light and instruction for all surrounding nations ('my people,' 'O my nation').

Verse 6

This verse contrasts the reliability of God’s salvation with the temporary nature of the created order. Even the heavens and earth will perish, but God’s righteousness is eternal and cannot be abolished.

Verse 7

Addressed to those loyal to God’s law, this section encourages perseverance. The fear of human insult or oppression is irrational because mortals and their power are fleeting.

Verse 9

This is a dramatic appeal (apostrophe) to God’s power ('arm of the LORD'), urging Him to intervene immediately, referencing His mighty acts performed in the past.

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