Isaiah 49
49
The Servant of the Lord
1People who live on the islands, listen to me.
Pay attention, you nations far away.
Before I was born the Lord chose me to serve him.
Before I was born the Lord spoke my name.
2He made my words like a sharp sword.
He hid me in the palm of his hand.
He made me into a sharpened arrow.
He took good care of me and kept me safe.
3He said to me, “You are my true servant Israel.
I will show my glory through you.”
4But I said, “In spite of my hard work,
I feel as if I haven’t accomplished anything.
I’ve used up all my strength.
It seems as if everything I’ve done is worthless.
But the Lord will give me what I should receive.
My God will reward me.”
5The Lord formed me in my mother’s body to be his servant.
He wanted me to bring the family of Jacob back to him.
He wanted me to gather the people of Israel to himself.
The Lord will honor me.
My God will give me strength.
6Here is what the Lord says to me.
“It is not enough for you as my servant
to bring the tribes of Jacob back to their land.
It is not enough for you to bring back
the people of Israel I have kept alive.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles.
Then you will make it possible for the whole world to be saved.”
7The Lord sets his people free.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
He speaks to his servant, who is looked down on and hated by the nations.
He speaks to the servant of rulers. He says to him,
“Kings will see you and stand up to honor you.
Princes will see you and bow down to show you their respect.
I am the Lord. I am faithful.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
I have chosen you.”
Israel Is Brought Back to Their Land
8The Lord says to his servant,
“When it is time to have mercy on you, I will answer your prayers.
When it is time to save you, I will help you.
I will keep you safe.
You will put into effect my covenant with the people of Israel.
Then their land will be made like new again.
Each tribe will be sent back to its territory that was left empty.
9I want you to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out.’
Tell those who are in their dark cells, ‘You are free!’
“On their way home they will eat beside the roads.
They will find plenty to eat on every bare hill.
10They will not get hungry or thirsty.
The heat from the desert sun will not beat down on them.
The God who has tender love for them will guide them.
Like a shepherd, he will lead them beside springs of water.
11I will make roads across the mountains.
I will build wide roads for my people.
12They will come from far away.
Some of them will come from the north.
Others will come from the west.
Still others will come from Aswan in the south.”
13Shout for joy, you heavens!
Be glad, you earth!
Burst into song, you mountains!
The Lord will comfort his people.
He will show his tender love to those who are suffering.
14But the city of Zion said, “The Lord has deserted me.
The Lord has forgotten me.”
15The Lord answers, “Can a mother forget the baby
who is nursing at her breast?
Can she stop having tender love
for the child who was born to her?
She might forget her child.
But I will not forget you.
16I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Your walls are never out of my sight.
17Your people will hurry back.
Those who destroyed you so completely will leave you.
18Look up. Look all around you.
All your people are getting together
to come back to you.
You can be sure that I live,”
announces the Lord.
“And you can be just as sure that your people
will be like decorations you will wear.
Like a bride, you will wear them proudly.
19“Zion, you were destroyed. Your land was left empty.
It was turned into a dry and empty desert.
But now you will be too small to hold all your people.
And those who destroyed you will be far away.
20The children born during your time of sorrow
will speak to you. They will say,
‘This city is too small for us.
Give us more space to live in.’
21Then you will say to yourself,
‘Whose children are these?
I lost my children.
And I couldn’t have any more.
My children were taken far away from me.
And no one wanted them.
Who brought these children up?
I was left all alone.
So where have these children come from?’ ”
22The Lord and King continues,
“I will call out to the nations.
I will give a signal to them.
They will bring back your sons in their arms.
They will carry your daughters on their hips.
23Their kings will become like fathers to you.
Their queens will be like mothers who nurse you.
They will bow down to you with their faces toward the ground.
They will kiss the dust at your feet to show you their respect.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Those who put their hope in me will not be ashamed.”
24Can goods that were stolen by soldiers be taken away from them?
Can prisoners be set free from the powerful Babylonians?
25“Yes, they can,” the Lord answers.
“Prisoners will be taken away from soldiers.
Stolen goods will be taken back from the powerful Babylonians.
Zion, I will fight against those who fight against you.
And I will save your people.
26I will make those who treat you badly eat the flesh of others.
They will drink blood and get drunk on it as if it were wine.
Then everyone on earth will know
that I am the one who saves you.
I am the Lord. I set you free.
I am the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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Isaiah 49: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Isaiah 49
49
Yahweh’s Servant Brings Salvation
1Listen to me, coastlands,
and listen attentively, peoples from far away!
Yahweh called me from the womb;
from the body#Literally “intestines” of my mother he made my name known.
2And he made#Literally “put” my mouth like a sharp sword;
he hid me in the shadow of his hand,
and he made#Literally “put” me like an sharpened arrow;
he hid me in his quiver.
3And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will show my glory.”
4But#Or “And” I myself said, “I have labored in#Or “for” vain;
I have used up my strength for nothing and vanity!
Nevertheless, my justice is with Yahweh,
and my reward is with my God.”
5And now Yahweh says,
who formed me from the womb as a servant for him,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might not#The reading tradition (Qere) has “to him” be gathered,
for#Or “and” I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh,
and my God has become my strength.
6And he says, “It is trivial for you to be#Literally “from being you” a servant for me,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel.
I will give you as a light to the nations,
to be my salvation to the end of the earth.”
7Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one,
to the one who despises#A Dead Sea Scroll reads “is despised with respect to” life,
to the one who abhors the nation,
to the slave of rulers:
“Kings shall see and stand up;
princes, and they shall bow down,
for the sake of Yahweh, who is faithful,
the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you.”
Yahweh Restores the Afflicted
8Thus says Yahweh:
“I have answered you in a time of favor,
and helped you on a day of salvation,
and watched over you,
and given you as a covenant of the people,
to raise up the land,
to give the desolate hereditary property as an inheritance,
9saying to the prisoners,#Literally “captured ones” “Come out!”
to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves!”
they shall feed along#Literally “on” the ways,
and their pasturage shall be on all the barren heights.
10They shall not be hungry or thirsty,
and heat and sun shall not strike them,
for he who takes pity on them will lead them,
and he will guide them to springs of water.
11And I will make#Literally “put” all my mountains like a road,
and my highways shall lead up.#Or “be high”
12Look! These shall come from afar,
And look! These from the north and from the west
and these from the land of Sinim.”
13Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth!
Mountains must break forth in rejoicing!
For Yahweh has comforted his people,
and he will take pity on his afflicted ones.
Yahweh Remembers Zion
14But#Or “And” Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
and the Lord has forgotten me!”
15Can a woman forget her suckling,
refrain from having compassion on the child of her womb?
Indeed, these may forget,
but#Or “and” I, I will not forget you!
16Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17Your children hasten;
your destroyers and those who laid you waste depart#Or “move away” from you.
18Lift your eyes up all around and see;
all of them gather; they come to you.
As surely as I live,#Literally “Life I”
declares#Literally “declaration of” Yahweh,
surely you shall put on all of them like an ornament,
and you shall bind them on like a bride.
19Surely your sites of ruins and desolate places and land of ruins,#Hebrew “ruin”
surely now you will be too cramped for your#Literally “cramped by” inhabitants,#Hebrew “inhabitant”
and those who engulfed you will be far away.
20Yet the children born when you were bereaved#Literally “of your bereavement” will say in your hearing,#Literally “ears”
“The place is too cramped for me;
make room#Literally “approach” for me so that I can dwell.”
21Then#Or “And” you will say in your heart,
“Who has borne me these?”
And, “I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and thrust away;
so#Or “and” who raised these?
Look at me! I was left alone;
where have these come from?”#Literally “these where they”
22Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
“Look! I will lift my hand up to the nations,
and I will raise my signal to the peoples,
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.#Hebrew “shoulder”
23And kings shall be your guardians,#Literally “those who nurture”
and their queens your nurses.
They shall bow down, faces#Literally “noses” to the ground, to you,
and they will lick up the dust of your feet.
Then#Or “And” you will know that I am Yahweh;
those who await me shall not be ashamed.
24Can war-booty be taken from the mighty?
or can a captive of a righteous#The Dead Sea Scroll has “violent” person be rescued?
25But thus says Yahweh:
“Indeed a captive of the mighty shall be taken,
and the war-booty of the tyrant shall be rescued,
for#Or “and” I myself will dispute with your opponent,
and I myself will save your children.
26And I will feed your oppressors their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk with their blood as with wine.
Then#Or “And” all flesh shall know that I am Yahweh,
your savior and redeemer, the strong one of Jacob.”
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