Isaiah 49
49
1Listen to me, you people of the islands!#49:1. “Islands”: or, “coastlands.” Pay attention, you who live far away! The Lord called me before I was born; he gave me my name while I was still in my mother's womb. 2The words he gave me to speak are like a sharp sword. He has protected me by covering me with his hand. He put me in his quiver like a sharp arrow, keeping me safe there.
3He told me, “You are my servant, Israel, and I will reveal my glory through you.”
4But I replied, “I've worked for nothing! I've exhausted myself, and for what? Even so, I leave it with the Lord to do what's right, and my reward is with my God.”
5Now my Lord is going to speak, the one who formed me in the womb as his servant to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to himself.#49:5. “To gather Israel to himself”: Dead Sea Scrolls and some Hebrew manuscripts; the Hebrew text includes the word “not.” I am honored in the Lord's sight, and my God has given me strength. 6He says, “It's nothing much for you to be my servant to bring back the tribes of Jacob, those people of Israel that I've preserved. I'm also going to make you a light for the foreigners so that my salvation may reach everybody.”
7This is what the Lord says, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to the one who was despised and detested by the nation, to the one who is the servant of rulers: Kings will see you and stand up, and princes will bow down to you, because the Lord, who is trustworthy, the Holy One of Israel, has chosen you.
8This is what the Lord says: I will answer you at the proper time; I will help you on the day of salvation. I will take care of you, and I will give you to the people as my agreement with them, to restore the land and to reassign the parts that have been abandoned. 9Tell the prisoners, “Come out!” Tell those living in darkness, “Come into the light!” Like sheep they will feed along the roads and in the pastures on hills that once were barren. 10They won't be hungry or thirsty, and they won't get hot in the sun, for the one who loves them will lead them to springs, and guide them to water. 11I will turn all my mountains into a road; my highways will be really high! 12Look at these people coming from far away! Look at these people coming from the north, and from the west, and from Upper Egypt.#49:12. “Upper Egypt”: following the reading from the Dead Sea Scrolls which appears to indicate Aswan. The Septuagint reads “Persia,” while the Hebrew reads “Sinim,” an unknown place. 13Heavens, shout for joy! Earth, celebrate! Mountains, sing out in happiness! The Lord has come to care for his people, and he will treat his suffering people kindly.
14But Zion said, “The Lord has given up on me; the Lord has forgotten about me.”
15Really? Can a mother forget her nursing baby? Can she forget to be kind to the child she carried in her womb? Even if she could forget, I will never forget you! 16Look at your names I've written on the palms of my hands! I'm always thinking about your walls.#49:16. Presumably the walls of Jerusalem that were knocked down. 17Soon your children will come running back. Your destroyers, those that devastated your land, will be gone. 18Take a look around. See all your children gathering and coming back to you. As I live, declares the Lord, you will wear them all as jewelry, proudly putting them on like a bride. 19Your ruined towns and abandoned places and devastated lands will be crowded with people, while those who took over your country will be long gone. 20The children born during your time of mourning in exile will say, “This place is too crowded for me! Make room so I have a place to live!” 21Then you will say to yourself, “Who gave birth to all these children for me? My children were killed and I was unable to have more; I was exiled and thrown aside—so who brought these children up? Look, I was abandoned, so where did they come from?”
22This is what the Lord God says, Watch as I give the signal to the nations, as I raise my flag to let everyone know. They will bring them back, carrying your sons in their arms, and lifting your daughters onto their shoulders. 23Kings will be your childminders; queens will be your nurses. They will bow low before you, and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, and that those who put their trust in me will never be ashamed.
24Can loot be taken from a warrior? Can prisoners be rescued from a dictator?#49:24. “Dictator”: Dead Sea Scrolls reading. 25But this is what the Lord says: Even the prisoners of warriors will be won back; even loot will be recovered from a dictator. I will fight with your enemies, and I will rescue your children. 26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh and drink their own blood like wine. Then everyone will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 49
49
The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles
1“Listen, #Is. 41:1O coastlands, to Me,
And take heed, you peoples from afar!
#Jer. 1:5; Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; 10:36The Lord has called Me from the womb;
From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
2And He has made #Is. 11:4; Hos. 6:5; (Heb. 4:12); Rev. 1:16; 2:12My mouth like a sharp sword;
#Is. 51:16In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me #Ps. 45:5a polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.”
3“And He said to me,
#(Is. 41:8; 42:1; Zech. 3:8)‘You are My servant, O Israel,
#Is. 44:23; Matt. 12:18; (John 13:31, 32; 14:13; 15:8; 17:4; Eph. 1:6)In whom I will be glorified.’
4#(Ezek. 3:19)Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;
Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord,
And my work with my God.’ ”
5“And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel #Matt. 23:37; (Rom. 11:25–29)is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God shall be My strength),
6Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a #Is. 42:6; 51:4; (Luke 2:32); Acts 13:47; (Gal. 3:14)light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
7Thus says the Lord,
The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One,
#(Ps. 22:6; Is. 53:3; Matt. 26:67; 27:41); Mark 15:29; Luke 23:35To Him whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
#(Is. 52:15)“Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You.”
8Thus says the Lord:
“In an #Ps. 69:13; 2 Cor. 6:2acceptable time I have heard You,
And in the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will preserve You #Is. 42:6and give You
As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth,
To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;
9That You may say #Is. 61:1; Zech. 9:12; Luke 4:18to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
“They shall feed along the roads,
And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.
10They shall neither #Is. 33:16; 48:21; Rev. 7:16hunger nor thirst,
#Ps. 121:6Neither heat nor sun shall strike them;
For He who has mercy on them #Ps. 23:2; Is. 40:11; 48:17will lead them,
Even by the springs of water He will guide them.
11#Is. 40:4I will make each of My mountains a road,
And My highways shall be elevated.
12Surely #Is. 43:5, 6these shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
13#Is. 44:23Sing, O heavens!
Be joyful, O earth!
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.
God Will Remember Zion
14#Is. 40:27But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15“Can#Ps. 103:13; Mal. 3:17 a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
#Rom. 11:29Yet I will not forget you.
16See, #Ex. 13:9; Song 8:6; Hag. 2:23I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17Your sons shall make haste;
Your destroyers and those who laid you waste
Shall go away from you.
18#Is. 60:4; John 4:35Lift up your eyes, look around and see;
All these gather together and come to you.
As I live,” says the Lord,
“You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all #Prov. 17:6as an ornament,
And bind them on you as a bride does.
19“For your waste and desolate places,
And the land of your destruction,
#Is. 54:1, 2; Zech. 10:10Will even now be too small for the inhabitants;
And those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20#Is. 60:4The children you will have,
#(Matt. 3:9; Rom. 11:11)After you have lost the others,
Will say again in your ears,
‘The place is too small for me;
Give me a place where I may dwell.’
21Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have lost my children and am desolate,
A captive, and wandering to and fro?
And who has brought these up?
There I was, left alone;
But these, where were they?’ ”
22#Is. 60:4Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations,
And set up My standard for the peoples;
They shall bring your sons in their arms,
And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23#Ps. 72:11; Is. 52:15Kings shall be your foster fathers,
And their queens your nursing mothers;
They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
And #Ps. 72:9; Mic. 7:17lick up the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
#Ps. 34:22; (Rom. 5:5)For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
24#Matt. 12:29; Luke 11:21, 22Shall the prey be taken from the mighty,
Or the captives of the righteous be delivered?
25But thus says the Lord:
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
And the prey of the terrible be delivered;
For I will contend with him who contends with you,
And I will save your children.
26I will #Is. 9:20feed those who oppress you with their own flesh,
And they shall be drunk with their own #Rev. 14:20blood as with sweet wine.
All flesh #Ps. 9:16; Is. 60:16shall know
That I, the Lord, am your Savior,
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.