Isaiah 51 · Verse 9

Isaiah 51:9

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

Isaiah 51:9, King James Version

Isaiah 51:9 in other translations

BSB	Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?
WEB	Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of the LORD! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
ASV	Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Is it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the monster?
YLT	Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah, Awake, as in days of old, generations of the ages, Art not Thou it that is hewing down Rahab, Piercing a dragon!
DARBY	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?
BBE	Awake! awake! put on strength, O arm of the Lord, awake! as in the old days, in the generations long past. Was it not by you that Rahab was cut in two, and the dragon Wounded?
Webster	Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not that which hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

What does Isaiah 51:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

9. Impassioned prayer of the exiled Jews. ancient days--(Psa 44:1). Rahab--poetical name for Egypt (see on Is 30:7). dragon--Hebrew, tannin. The crocodile, an emblem of Egypt, as represented on coins struck after the conquest of Egypt by Augustus; or rather here, "its king," Pharaoh (see on Is 27:1; Psa 74:13, 14; Eze 32:2, Margin; Eze 29:3).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 51:9-16

The people whom Christ has redeemed with his blood, as well as by his power, will obtain joyful deliverance from every enemy. He that designs such joy for us at last, will he not work such deliverance in the mean time, as our cases require? In this world of changes, it is a short step from joy to sorrow, but in that world, sorrow shall never come in view. They prayed for the display of God's power; he answers them with consolations of his grace. Did we dread to sin against God, we should not fear the frowns of men. Happy is the man that fears God always. And Christ's church shall enjoy security by the power and providence of the Almighty.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Isaiah 51:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

עוּרִ֨י'u.RiawakeH5782

עוּרִ֤י'u.RiawakeH5782

לִבְשִׁי\־liv.shi-put onH3847

עֹז֙'ozstrengthH5797

זְר֣וֹעַze.Ro.a'O arm ofH2220

יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068

ע֚וּרִי'U.riawakeH5782

כִּ֣ימֵיKi.meilike days ofH3117

קֶ֔דֶםKe.demantiquityH6924

דֹּר֖וֹתdo.Rotgenerations ofH1755

עוֹלָמִ֑יםo.la.Mimantiquiti<es>H5769

הֲל֥וֹאha.Lo'¿ notH3808

אַתְּ\־'at-[are] youH859

הִ֛יאhi'sheH1931

הַמַּחְצֶ֥בֶתha.mach.Tze.vetwho cut in piecesH2672

רַ֖הַבRa.havRahabH7294

מְחוֹלֶ֥לֶתme.cho.Le.let[who] piercedH2490

תַּנִּֽין\׃ta.Nin[the] sea monsterH8577

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 51:9

Psalms 74:13-14
Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Isaiah 52:1
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Psalms 89:10
Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.
Isaiah 27:1
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Isaiah 30:7
For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
Ezekiel 29:3
Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
Psalms 44:1
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
Job 26:12
He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
Isaiah 51:17
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
Isaiah 62:8
The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:
Isaiah 59:16-17
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Psalms 7:6
Arise, O Lord, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Awake.
17; 27:1; Ps 7:6; 44:23; 59:4; 78:65; Hab 2:19
put.
52:1; 59:17; Ps 21:13; 74:13,14; 93:1; Re 11:17
O arm.
5; 53:1; 59:16; 62:8; Lu 1:51; Joh 12:38
as in.
Jud 6:13; Ne 9:7-15; Ps 44:1
Art thou.
Job 26:12; *marg:
Ps 87:4; 89:10
the dragon.
27:1; Ps 74:13,14; Eze 29:3; Hab 3:13; Re 12:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Isaiah 51:8
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.
Isaiah 51:9
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
Isaiah 51:10
Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?

Read all of Isaiah 51

Isaiah 51:9 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Despiértate, despiértate, vístete de fortaleza, oh brazo de Jehová; despiértate como en el tiempo antiguo, en los siglos pasados. ¿No eres tú el que cortó á Rahab, y el que hirió al dragón?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Réveille-toi, réveille-toi, revêts-toi de force, bras de l’ Éternel! Réveille-toi, comme aux jours d’autrefois, comme dans les générations des siècles passés! N’est-ce pas toi qui as taillé en pièces Rahab, qui as frappé le monstre des eaux?
German Elberfelder 1871	Wache auf, wache auf; kleide dich in Macht, du Arm Jehovas! Wache auf wie in den Tagen der Vorzeit, in den Geschlechtern vor alters! Bist du es nicht, der Rahab zerhauen, das Seeungeheuer durchbohrt hat?
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Consurge, consurge, induere fortitudinem, brachium Domini! consurge sicut in diebus antiquis, in generationibus sæculorum. Numquid non tu percussisti superbum, vulnerasti draconem?