Isaiah 51:9-23

¶Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]? [Is 30:7] Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea, The waters of the great deep, Who made the depths of the sea a pathway For the redeemed to cross over? So the redeemed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion; Everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away. [Rev 7:17; 21:1, 4] ¶“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of a son of man who is made [as destructible] as grass, That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you continually tremble with fear all day long because of the rage of the oppressor, As he takes aim to destroy? And where is the rage of the oppressor? The [captive] exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his food be lacking. For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is His name. I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the [renewed] heavens and lay the foundations of the [renewed] earth, and to say to Zion (Jerusalem), ‘You are My people.’ ” [Is 65:17; 66:22; Rev 21:1] ¶Wake yourself up! Wake yourself up! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath, You who have drunk the cup of staggering and intoxication to the dregs [leaving only sediment]. There is no one to guide her among all the sons she has borne, Nor is there anyone to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared. These two tragedies have befallen you; Who will show sympathy for you and mourn with you? The desolation and destruction [on the land and city], famine and sword [on the inhabitants]; How shall I comfort you? Your sons have fainted; They lie helpless at the head of every street, Like an antelope in a net, Full [from drinking] of the wrath of the LORD, The rebuke of your God. ¶Therefore, now hear this, you who are afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine [but overwhelmed by the wrath of God]. So says your Lord, the LORD, who is also your God Who pleads the cause of His people, “Listen carefully, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering and intoxication, The cup of My wrath; You shall never drink it again. “I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down so that we may walk over you.’ You have even made your back like the ground And like the street for those who walk over it.”