Isaiah 49
49
The Servant of the Lord
1Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.
3He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
4But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
and my reward is with my God.”
5And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am#49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
6he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
7This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Restoration of Israel
8This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.
10They will neither hunger nor thirst,
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
11I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways will be raised up.
12See, they will come from afar—
some from the north, some from the west,
some from the region of Aswan.#49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim”
13Shout for joy, you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;
burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
17Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
“you will wear them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19“Though you were ruined and made desolate
and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
20The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’
21Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.
Who brought these up?
I was left all alone,
but these—where have they come from?’ ”
22This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations,
I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
they will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their hips.
23Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
24Can plunder be taken from warriors,
or captives be rescued from the fierce#49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous?
25But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
and your children I will save.
26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.
Then all mankind will know
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
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Yeshayah (Isaiah) 49
49
1Listen to Me, O coastlands, and hear, you peoples from afar! יהוה has called Me from the womb, from My mother’s belly He has caused My Name to be remembered.
2And He made My mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand He hid Me, and made Me a polished shaft. In His quiver He hid Me.”
3And He said to Me, ‘You are My servant, O Yisra’ĕl, in whom I am adorned.’
4And I said, ‘I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for emptiness, and in vain. But my right-ruling is with יהוה, and my work with my Elohim.’ ”
5And now said יהוה – who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Ya‛aqoḇ back to Him, though Yisra’ĕl is not gathered to Him, yet I am esteemed in the eyes of יהוה, and My Elohim has been My strength –
6and He says, “Shall it be a small matter for You to be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Ya‛aqoḇ, and to bring back the preserved ones of Yisra’ĕl? And I shall give You as a light to the nations, to be My deliverance to the ends of the earth!”
7Thus said יהוה, the Redeemer of Yisra’ĕl, their Set-apart One, to the despised, to the loathed One of the nation, to the Servant of rulers, “Sovereigns shall see and arise, rulers also shall bow themselves, because of יהוה who is steadfast, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl. And He has chosen You!”
8Thus said יהוה, “In a favourable time I shall answer You, and in the day of deliverance I shall help You – and I guard You and give You for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the ruined inheritances,
9to say to the prisoners, ‘Go out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ Let them feed on the ways, and let their pasture be on all bare hills.
10“They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither heat or sun strike them, for He who has compassion on them shall lead them, even by fountains of water guide them.
11“And I shall make all My mountains a way, and My highways raised up.
12“See, these come from far away, and see, those from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinim.”
13Sing, O heavens, rejoice, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For יהוה shall comfort His people and have compassion on His afflicted ones.
14But Tsiyon says, “יהוה has forsaken me, and יהוה has forgotten me.”
15“Would a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Though they forget, I never forget you.
16“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are always before Me.
17“Your sons shall hurry, your destroyers and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18“Lift up your eyes round about and see, all of them gather together and come to you. As I live,” declares יהוה, “you shall put on all of them as an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does.
19“For your wastes, and your deserted places, and the land of your destruction, shall soon be too narrow for the inhabitants, while those who swallowed you up are far away.
20“The sons of your bereavement shall yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too narrow for me, make room for me to live.’
21“And you shall say in your heart, ‘Who has brought forth these for me, since I am bereaved and barren, an exile, and wandering to and fro? And who reared them? See, I was left alone – from where did these come?’ ”
22Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I lift My hand up to the nations, and set up My banner for the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters carried on their shoulders;
23“And sovereigns shall be your foster fathers, and their sovereignesses your nursing mothers. They bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. And you shall know that I am יהוה – those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed.”
24Is prey taken from the mighty, and the captives of the righteous delivered?
25Yet thus said יהוה, “Even the captives of the mighty are taken away, and the prey of the ruthless is delivered; and I strive with him who strives with you, and I save your children.
26“And I shall feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and let them drink their own blood as sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, יהוה, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Ya‛aqoḇ.”
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