Read & explore together
God’s Fury Removed
Isaiah 51:17–23 addresses Jerusalem with images of judgement, helplessness and then a promised change. The passage begins with the cup of Yahweh’s wrath and ends with Yahweh removing that cup from her hand.
Understanding the passage
The setting of this message
Jerusalem is spoken to directly as one who has drunk Yahweh’s cup. The passage says there is no one to guide her or take her by the hand, and her sons have fainted in the streets. Then Yahweh says he will take away the cup and give it to those who afflict her.
Isaiah 51:17–23Main takeaway
This passage teaches that Yahweh names Jerusalem’s suffering plainly and then declares that the cup of his wrath will be removed from her hand.
Explore the message
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Jerusalem has drained the cupThe opening call says, ‘Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem’. She is pictured as having drunk from Yahweh’s hand ‘the cup of his wrath’ and ‘the cup of staggering’.
Explanation
The opening call says, ‘Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem’. She is pictured as having drunk from Yahweh’s hand ‘the cup of his wrath’ and ‘the cup of staggering’. This is not wine but an image of judgement that leaves her reeling and emptied.
02No guide and no comfortJerusalem has no son to guide her or take her by the hand. The passage then names ‘desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword’.
Explanation
Jerusalem has no son to guide her or take her by the hand. The passage then names ‘desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword’. The question ‘How can I comfort you?’ shows how severe and overwhelming her condition is.
03Her sons lie helplessThe suffering is seen in her sons, who have fainted and lie ‘at the head of all the streets’.
Explanation
The suffering is seen in her sons, who have fainted and lie ‘at the head of all the streets’. They are compared to ‘an antelope in a net’, a picture of weakness and entrapment. Their condition is described as being full of Yahweh’s wrath and rebuke.
04Yahweh removes the cupThe tone changes with ‘Therefore now hear this’. Yahweh, ‘your God who pleads the cause of his people’, says he has taken the cup of staggering from Jerusalem’s hand.
Explanation
The tone changes with ‘Therefore now hear this’. Yahweh, ‘your God who pleads the cause of his people’, says he has taken the cup of staggering from Jerusalem’s hand. She will not drink it any more. Instead, it will be put into the hand of those who afflict her.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01How is the ‘cup’ described in this passage?
List the words attached to it and notice that it is called Yahweh’s wrath and staggering.
02Which details show Jerusalem’s helplessness?
Look for the missing guide, the missing hand to lead, and the sons fainting in the streets.
03What change does Yahweh announce at the end?
Trace who holds the cup in verse 17 and who holds it in verses 22–23.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Isaiah 51:17–23
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.
18There is no one to guide her among all the sons to whom she has given birth; and there is no one who takes her by the hand among all the sons whom she has brought up.
19These two things have happened to you— who will grieve with you?— desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword. How can I comfort you?
20Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of Yahweh’s wrath, the rebuke of your God.
21Therefore now hear this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
22Your Lord Yahweh, your God who pleads the cause of his people, says, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath. You will not drink it any more.
23I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, ‘Bow down, that we may walk over you;’ and you have laid your back as the ground, like a street to those who walk over.”