The Darby Translation DBY
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 Hearken unto 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.
1
Listen to me, you people who pursue what is right and seek the LORD. Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you; for I called him when he was alone, and blessed him, and multiplied him.
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Look to Abraham, your ancestor, and to Sarah, from whom you are descended. When I called Abraham, he was childless. I blessed him and gave him many descendants.
3 For Jehovah shall comfort Zion, he shall comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah: gladness and joy shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of song.
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So the LORD will comfort Zion. He will comfort all those who live among its ruins. He will make its desert like Eden. He will make its wilderness like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
4 Listen unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will establish my judgment for a light of the peoples.
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Pay attention to me, my people. Open your ears to hear me, my nation. My teachings will go out from me. My justice will become a light for the people.
5 My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the peoples: the isles shall wait for me, and in mine arm shall they trust.
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My righteousness is near. My salvation is on the way. I will bring justice to people. The coastlands put their hope in me, and they wait eagerly for me.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall grow 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.
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Look at the sky. Look at the earth below. The sky will vanish like smoke. The earth will wear out like clothing, and those who live there will die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, and my righteousness will never fail.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of men, and be not afraid of their revilings.
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Listen to me, you people who know righteousness, you people who have my teachings in your hearts. Don't be afraid of being insulted by people. Don't be discouraged by their ridicule.
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.
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Moths will eat them like clothing. Worms will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, and my salvation will last throughout every generation.
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, [as in] the generations of passed ages. Is it not thou that hath hewn Rahab in pieces, [and] pierced the monster?
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Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O LORD! Wake up as you did in days long past, as in generations long ago. Didn't you cut Rahab into pieces and stab the serpent?
10 Is it not thou that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?
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Didn't you dry up the sea, the water of the great ocean? You made a road in the depths of the sea so that the people reclaimed [by the LORD] might pass through it.
11 So the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
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The people ransomed by the LORD will return. They will come to Zion singing with joy. Everlasting happiness will be on their heads [as a crown]. They will be glad and joyful. They will have no sorrow or grief.
12 I, [even] I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou fearest a man that shall die, and the son of man that shall become as grass;
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I alone am the one who comforts you. Why, then, are you afraid of mortals, who must die, of humans, who are like grass?
13 and forgettest Jehovah thy Maker, who hath stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and thou art afraid continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he prepareth to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?
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Why have you forgotten the LORD, your Creator? He stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. Why should you live in constant fear of the fury of those who oppress you, of those who are ready to destroy you? Where is the fury of those who oppress you?
14 He that is bowed down shall speedily be loosed, and he shall not die in the pit, nor shall his bread fail.
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Chained prisoners will be set free. They will not die in prison. They will not go without food.
15 And I am Jehovah thy God, who raiseth the sea, so that its waves roar: Jehovah of hosts is his name.
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I am the LORD your God who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar. My name is the LORD of Armies.
16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and covered thee with the shadow of my hand, to plant the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
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I put my words in your mouth and sheltered you in the palm of my hand. I stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and said to Zion, "You are my people."
17 Arouse thyself, arouse thyself, stand up, Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury. Thou hast drunk, hast drained out the goblet-cup of bewilderment:
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Wake up! Wake up! Stand up, Jerusalem! You drank from the cup in the LORD's hand. That cup was filled with his anger. You drank from the bowl, the cup that makes people stagger, and you drained it!
18 -- there is none to guide her among all the children that she hath brought forth; neither is there any to take her by the hand of all the children that she hath brought up.
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From all the children she gave birth to, there was no one to guide her. From all the children she raised, there was no one to take her by the hand.
19 These two [things] are come unto thee; who will bemoan thee? -- desolation and destruction, and famine and sword: how shall I comfort thee?
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Twice as many disasters have happened to you. Who will feel sorry for you? Violence, destruction, famine, and war have happened to you. Who will comfort you?
20 Thy children have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an oryx in a net: they are full of the fury of Jehovah, the rebuke of thy God.
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Your children have fainted. They lie sleeping at every street corner. They are like an antelope caught in a net. They experience the anger of the LORD, the fury of your God.
21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
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Listen to this, you humble people who are drunk but not from wine.
22 thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, and thy God, who pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I take out of thy hand the cup of bewilderment, the goblet-cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:
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The LORD your God defends his people. This is what your master says: I'm taking from your hand the cup that makes people stagger, the bowl, the cup of my fury. You will never drink from it again.
23 and I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who 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.
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I will put it in the hands of those who made you suffer. They said to you, "Lie down so that we can walk over you." So you made your back like the ground and like a street for them to cross.
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