New International Version
Isaiah 51:3
3The 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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 and 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 only one man, and I blessed him and made him many. 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. 4“Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. 5My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
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, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,
- Isaiah 12:1In that day you will say: “I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.
- Isaiah 40:1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
- Isaiah 49:13Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
- Isaiah 54:6The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit— a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
- Isaiah 66:10“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her.
- Psalms 85:8I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly.
- Jeremiah 31:12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.
- Zephaniah 3:14Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!
- 2 Corinthians 1:3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
- Isaiah 44:26who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’
- Isaiah 49:8This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
- Isaiah 52:9Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 61:4They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
- Psalms 102:13You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to 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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