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 Brings Salvation
1Coasts and islands,#49:1 Or Islands listen to me;
distant peoples, pay attention.
The Lord called#Is 44:2,24; 46:3; Jr 1:5 me before I was born.
He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.#Lk 1:15
2He made my words like a sharp sword;#Is 11:4; Heb 4:12; Rv 1:16; 2:12,16
he hid me in the shadow of his hand.#Is 51:16
He made me like a sharpened arrow;
he hid me in his quiver.
3He said to me, “You are my servant,#Is 41:8–9; 42:1; 49:5–7; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11; Ezk 34:23–24; Zch 3:8; Ac 3:13
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
4But I myself said: I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and futility;
yet my vindication is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.
5And now, says the Lord,
who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is my strength —
6he says,
“It is not enough for you to be my servant
raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make you a light for the nations,#Is 42:6; 51:4; Lk 2:32; Ac 13:47; 26:23
to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”#Ac 13:47
7This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer#Is 41:14; 43:14 of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,#49:7 Or by the nation#Ps 22:6–8; 69:7–9; Is 53:3
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see, princes will stand up,
and they#49:7 Lit princes and they will all bow down
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel#Is 1:4 — and he has chosen you.”#Is 41:8–9; 42:1; 43:10,20; 44:1–2; 45:4; 65:9,15,22
8This is what the Lord says:
I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.#Ps 69:13; 2Co 6:2
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,#Is 42:6
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
9saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”#Is 42:7; 61:1; Lk 4:18
and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.#Is 41:18
10They will not hunger or thirst,
the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;
for their compassionate one will guide them,
and lead them to springs.#Ps 23:2; Is 40:11; Jn 4:10; Rv 7:16–17
11I will make all my mountains into a road,
and my highways will be raised up.#Is 40:4
12See, these will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,#49:12 Lit sea#Is 43:5–6
and from the land of Sinim.#49:12 DSS read of the Syenites#49:12 Perhaps modern Aswan in southern Egypt
13Shout for joy, you heavens!#Is 44:23
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted his people,#Is 40:1
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.#Is 54:7–10; Mt 11:29
Zion Remembered
14Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
the Lord has forgotten me!”
15“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;#Sg 8:6; Hg 2:23
your walls are continually before me.
17Your builders#49:17 DSS, Aq, Theod, Vg; MT, Syr, Sym read sons hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.#Is 60:4
As I live” —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
“you will wear all your children#49:18 Lit all of them as jewelry,
and put them on as a bride does.
19For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,#Is 54:1–2; Zch 10:10
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20Yet as you listen, the children
that you have been deprived of will say,
‘This place is too small for me;
make room for me so that I may settle.’#Is 54:1–3
21Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering —
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself —
but these, where did they come from?’” #49:21 Lit where are they
22This is what the Lord God says:
Look, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my banner to the peoples.#Is 11:10–12; 18:3; 62:10
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.#Is 14:2; 43:6; 60:4
23Kings will be your guardians
and their queens#49:23 Lit princesses your nursing mothers.#Is 60:3,10–11
They will bow down to you
with their faces to the ground
and lick the dust at your feet.#Is 14:1–2
Then you will know that I am the Lord;#Is 41:20; 43:10; 60:16
those who put their hope in me
will not be put to shame.#Ps 25:3; Is 45:17; Jl 2:27
24Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
or the captives of a tyrant#49:24 DSS, Syr, Vg; MT reads a righteous man be delivered?
25For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,
and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;
I will contend with the one who contends with you,
and I will save your children.
26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,#Is 9:20
and they will be drunk with their own blood
as with sweet wine.
Then all humanity will know
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,#Is 43:3
and your Redeemer,#Is 41:14 the Mighty One of Jacob.”#Gn 49:24; Ps 132:2,5; Is 60:16
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