51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, 1
who seek the Lord!
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry 2 from which you were dug! 3
51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth. 4
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, 5
but I blessed him 6 and gave him numerous descendants. 7
1 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
2 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
3 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.
4 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
5 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
6 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
7 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”