Isaiah 49
49
Salvation Reaches to the Ends of the Earth
1Listen to Me, you islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the #49:1 Lit inward partsbody of My mother He named Me.
2He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a sharpened arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,
In whom I will show My glory.”
4But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and futility;
Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My reward is with My God.”
5¶And 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 too #49:6 Lit lightsmall a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the protected ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light #49:6 Or toof the nations
So that My salvation may #49:6 Lit bereach to the end of the earth.”
7This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
Says to the #49:7 Lit despised of souldespised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8¶This is what the Lord says:
“At a favorable time I answered You,
And on a day of salvation I helped You;
And I will watch over You and make You a covenant of the people,
To #49:8 Lit establishrestore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;
9Saying to those who are bound, ‘#49:9 Lit Go outGo free,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed along the roads,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights.
10“They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And He will guide them to springs of water.
11“I will make all My mountains a road,
And My highways will be raised up.
12“Behold, these will come from afar;
And behold, these will come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan.”
13Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14¶But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15“Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
16“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17“Your #49:17 Ancient versions and DSS; MT sonsbuilders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will leave you.
18“Raise your eyes and look around;
All of them gather together, they come to you.
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will certainly put them all on as #49:18 Lit an ornamentjewelry and bind them on as a bride.
19“For your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land—
Now you will certainly be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who swallowed you will be far away.
20“The children #49:20 Lit of your bereavementyou lost will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21“Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has fathered these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And cannot conceive, and I am an exile, and a wanderer?
And who has raised these?
Behold, I was left alone;
# 49:21 Lit These, where are they? Where are these from?’ ”
22This is what the Lord #49:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LordGod says:
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My flag to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons #49:22 Lit on the chestin their arms,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23“Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground
And lick the dust from your feet;
And you will know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.
24¶“Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
Or the captives of #49:24 Ancient versions and DSS; MT the righteous, cf. v 25a tyrant be rescued?”
25Indeed, this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will save your sons.
26“I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And #49:26 Lit all fleshhumanity will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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Isaiah 49: NASB2020
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Isaiah 49
49
The Work of the Lord's Servant
1 #
Jr 1.5. Everyone, listen,
even you foreign nations
across the sea.
The Lord chose me
and gave me a name
before I was born.
2 #
He 4.12; Rev 1.16. He made my words pierce
like a sharp sword
or a pointed arrow;
he kept me safely hidden
in the palm of his hand.
3The Lord said to me,
“Israel, you are my servant;
and because of you
I will be highly honored.”
4I said to myself,
“I'm completely worn out;
my time has been wasted.
But I did it for the Lord God,
and he will reward me.”
5Even before I was born,
the Lord God chose me
to serve him and to lead back
the people of Israel.
So the Lord has honored me
and made me strong.
6 #
Is 42.6; Lk 2.32; Ac 26.23;
Ac 13.47. Now the Lord says to me,
“It isn't enough for you
to be merely my servant.
You must do more than lead back
survivors from the tribes
of Israel.
I have placed you here as a light
for other nations;
you must take my saving power
to everyone on earth.”
The Lord Will Rescue His People
7Israel, I am the holy Lord God,
the one who rescues you.
You are slaves of rulers
and of a nation
who despises you.#49.7 You … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Now this is what I promise:
Kings and rulers will honor you
by kneeling at your feet.
You can trust me! I am your Lord,
the holy God of Israel,
and you are my chosen ones.
The Lord Will Lead His People Home
8 #
2 Co 6.2. This is what the Lord says:
I will answer your prayers
because I have set a time
when I will help
by coming to save you.
I have chosen you
to take my promise of hope
to other nations.#49.8 my … nations: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
You will rebuild the country
from its ruins,
then people will come
and settle there.
9You will set prisoners free
from dark dungeons
to see the light of day.
On their way home,
they will find plenty to eat,
even on barren hills.
10 #
Rev 7.16,17. They won't go hungry
or get thirsty;
they won't be bothered
by the scorching sun
or hot desert winds.
I will be merciful
while leading them along
to streams of water.
11I will level the mountains
and make roads.
12Then my people will return
from distant lands
in the north and the west
and from the city of Syene.#49.12 Syene: The Dead Sea Scrolls; the Standard Hebrew Text “Sinim.” This city was located at the first cataract of the Nile near the site of modern-day Aswan.
The Lord's Mercy
13Tell the heavens and the earth
to celebrate and sing;
command every mountain
to join in the song.
The Lord's people have suffered,
but he has shown mercy
and given them comfort.
14The people of Zion said,
“The Lord has turned away
and forgotten us.”
15The Lord answered,
“Could a mother forget a child
who nurses at her breast?
Could she fail to love an infant
who came from her own body?
Even if a mother could forget,
I will never forget you.
16A picture of your city
is drawn on my hand.
You are always in my thoughts!
17“Your city will be built faster
than it was destroyed#49.17 Your city … destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.—
those who attacked it
will retreat and leave.
18Look around! You will see
your people coming home.
As surely as I live,
I, the Lord, promise
that your city with its people
will be as lovely as a bride
wearing her jewelry.”
Jerusalem's Bright Future
19Jerusalem is now in ruins!
Nothing is left of the city.
But it will be rebuilt
and soon overcrowded;
its cruel enemies
will be gone far away.
20Jerusalem is a woman
whose children were born
while she was in deep sorrow#49.20 whose children … sorrow: These “children” are Jews who were born in foreign countries during the time that Jerusalem was in ruins. Jerusalem probably stands for all the cities in Judah that were destroyed by the Babylonians.
over the loss of her husband.
Now those children
will come and seek room
in the crowded city,
21and Jerusalem will ask,
“Am I really their mother?
How could I have given birth
when I was still mourning
in a foreign land?
Who raised these children?
Where have they come from?”
22 #
Ba 5.6. The Lord God says:
“I will soon give a signal
for the nations
to return your sons
and your daughters
to the arms of Jerusalem.
23The kings and queens
of those nations
where they were raised
will come and bow down.
They will take care of you
just like a slave
taking care of a child.
Then you will know
that I am the Lord.
You won't be disappointed
if you trust me.”
The Lord Is on Our Side
24Is it possible to rescue victims
from someone strong
and cruel?#49.24 cruel: The Dead Sea Scrolls and two ancient translations; the Standard Hebrew Text “good.”
25But the Lord has promised
to fight on our side
and to rescue our children
from those strong
and violent enemies.
26He will make those cruel people
dine on their own flesh
and get drunk from drinking
their own blood.
Then everyone will know
that the Lord is our Savior;
the powerful God of Israel
has rescued his people.
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