English Standard Version
Isaiah 51:3
3For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Isaiah 51:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The Lord will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.
Context of Isaiah 51:3
1"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. 4"Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples. 5My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait.
Read all of Isaiah 51Isaiah 51:3 word by word
כִּֽי־נִחַ֨ם יְהוָ֜ה צִיּ֗וֹן נִחַם֙ כָּל־חָרְבֹתֶ֔יהָ וַיָּ֤שֶׂם מִדְבָּרָהּ֙ כְּעֵ֔דֶן וְעַרְבָתָ֖הּ כְּגַן־יְהוָ֑ה שָׂשׂ֤וֹן וְשִׂמְחָה֙ יִמָּ֣צֵא בָ֔הּ תּוֹדָ֖ה וְק֥וֹל זִמְרָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- shall comfortנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: comfortH5162
- Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
- all her waste placesחׇרְבָּהchorbâh · desolationH2723
- and he will makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- her wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- like Edenעֵ֫דֶן‛êden · EdenH5731
- and her desertעֲרָבָה‛ărâbâh · plainH6160
- like the gardenגַּןgan · gardenH1588
- joyשָׂשׂוֹןώâώôn ώâώôn · rejoicingH8342
- and gladnessשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057
- shall be foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- therein, thanksgivingתּוֹדָהtôdâh · thanksgivingH8426
- and the voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- of melodyזִמְרָהzimrâh · melodyH2172
Cross-references for Isaiah 51:3
- Isaiah 51:12"I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,
- Isaiah 12:1You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
- Isaiah 40:1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
- Isaiah 49:13Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
- Isaiah 54:6For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
- Isaiah 66:10"Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her;
- Psalms 85:8Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
- Jeremiah 31:12They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.
- Zephaniah 3:14Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
- 2 Corinthians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
- Isaiah 44:26who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins';
- Isaiah 49:8Thus says the Lord: "In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages,
- Isaiah 52:9Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 61:4They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
- Psalms 102:13You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.
Commentaries on Isaiah 51:3
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For the Lord shall comfort Zion - On the word Zion,‘ see the notes at Isaiah 1:8. The meaning here is, that he would again restore it from its ruins. The argument is drawn from the statement in the previous verses. If God had raised up so great a nation from so humble all origin, he had power to restore the waste places of Judea to more than their former beauty and prosperity (see the notes at Isaiah 40:1). And he will make her wilderness - Judea is here…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Eden … the garden of the LORD: God’s salvation will one day reestablish conditions like those in which human beings first lived (see Genesis 2–3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. For--See for the argument, see on Is 51:2. the garden of the Lord--restoration of the primeval paradise (Ge 2:8; Eze 28:13; Re 2:7). melody--Hebrew, "psalm." God's praises shall again be heard.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 51:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 51
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries