But now listen to this, you afflicted ones who sit in a drunken stupor, though not from drinking wine.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore now hear this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
- KJV Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
- BSB Therefore now hear this, you afflicted one, drunken, but not with wine.
- NKJV Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine.
- NASB ¶Therefore, listen to this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God addresses the afflicted city, drunk but not from wine, preparing to announce her relief.
Overview
Jerusalem is intoxicated not by wine but by the cup of God's wrath (v.17). God calls the afflicted to hear, signaling that a word of comfort and reversal is coming. The sober address prepares for the promise that the cup of wrath will be taken away, fulfilled when Christ drinks it in His people's place.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Isa 29:9Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
- Isa 54:11“You afflicted, tossed with storms, and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in beautiful colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires.
- Isa 51:17Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from Yahweh’s hand the cup of his wrath. You have drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 51:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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