Isaiah 49
49
The Lord's servant
The work of the LORD's servant
1Everyone, listen,#Jr 1.5.
even you foreign nations
across the sea.
The LORD chose me
and gave me a name
before I was born.
2He made my words pierce#He 4.12; Rev 1.16.
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 honoured.”
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 honoured me
and made me strong.
6Now the LORD says to me,#Is 42.6; Lk 2.32; Ac 26.23; Ac 13.47.
“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 honour 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
8This is what the LORD says:#2 Co 6.2.
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.
10They won't go hungry#Rev 7.16,17.
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”. The reference may be to modern Aswan, a city in southern Egypt.
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 jewellery.”
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?”
22The 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 Saviour;
the powerful God of Israel
has rescued his people.
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Isaiah 49: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Isaiah 49
49
Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth
1Listen to #The upper case pronouns here and in the following verses reflect the position that Isaiah is referring to the Messiah, the divine Servant and Son of God. Some have argued that Isaiah is referring instead to himself or to Israel (see v 3 and the note there).Me, O islands and coastlands,
And pay attention, you peoples from far away.
The Lord has called Me from the womb;
From the body of My mother He has named Me.
2He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has kept Me hidden;
And He has made Me a sharpened arrow,
In His quiver He has hidden Me.
3And [the Lord] said to Me, “You are My #At first glance it would seem that Israel is the servant. However, many scholars maintain that the Messiah is being addressed as Israel because He represents and fulfills what Israel as a nation was meant to be: the source of salvation to the world. Note also that in v 6 the Servant is destined to restore Israel, which indicates that He is not Israel itself.Servant, Israel,
In Whom I will show My glory.”
4Then I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity (pride, uselessness);
However My justice 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 and that Israel might be gathered to Him,
—For I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God is My strength—
6He says, “It is too trivial a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the #Lit spared.survivors of Israel;
I will also make You a light to the nations
That My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel’s Holy One says,
To the thoroughly despised One,
To the One hated by the nation
To the Servant of rulers,
“#Rising and bowing down are both gestures of respect: kings arise from their thrones.Kings will see and arise,
Princes shall also bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8This is what the Lord says,
“In a #One ancient rabbi explained this as a time predestined for good.favorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will keep watch over You and give You for a covenant of the people,
To restore the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportion and give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands,
9Saying to those who are bound and captured, ‘Go forth,’
And to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, ‘Show yourselves [come into the light of the Savior].’
They will feed along the roads [on which they travel],
And their pastures will be on all the bare heights.
10They 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.
11And I will make all My mountains a roadway,
And My highways will be raised.
12In fact, these will come from far away;
And, lo, these shall come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of #A reading favored by DSS; MT has Sinim, traditionally interpreted as China, which is unlikely. The Greek (LXX) indicates Persia, the Latin (Vulgate) has “southern land.”Aswan (southern Egypt).”
13Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
And break forth into singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted.
Promise to Zion
14But Zion (Jerusalem in captivity) said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”
15[The Lord answered] “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.
16Indeed, I have inscribed [a picture of] you on the #In Jewish tradition there is a story representing Israel as God’s daughter, who asks Him to stamp a seal of her on His heart and arm (Song 8:6). God replies that such a seal cannot always be seen, so He has instead inscribed her upon His palms.palms of My hands;
Your city walls [Zion] are continually before Me.
17Your #So DSS and ancient versions; MT reads sons.builders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will go away from you.
18Lift up your eyes and look around [at the returning exiles];
All these gather together and they come to you [to rebuild you].
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You [Zion] will indeed clothe yourself with all of them as jewels and tie them on as a bride.
19For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction—
Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who once engulfed you will be far away.
20The children of your bereavement [those born in captivity] will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me’;
Make room for me that I may live here.
21Then [Zion], you will say in your heart,
‘Who has borne me these children,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Indeed, I was left alone;
# Lit These, where are they. From where then did these children come?’ ”
22This is what the Lord God says,
“Listen carefully, I will lift up My hand to the [Gentile] nations
And set up My banner to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in the fold of their garments,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23Kings will be your attendants,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And lick the dust of your feet;
And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the Lord;
For they shall not be put to shame who wait and hope expectantly for Me.
24“Can the spoils of war be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”
25Indeed, this is what the Lord says,
“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the tyrant’s spoils of war will be rescued;
For I will contend with your opponent,
And I will save your children.
26I will make those who oppress you consume their own flesh [in mutually destructive wars]
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And all #Lit flesh.mankind will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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