Isaiah 49
49
XLIX
1Listen, O isles, unto me;
And hearken, ye people, from far;
Jehovah hath called me from the womb,
From the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name.
2And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of his hand hath He concealed me;
Yea, He hath made me a polished arrow,
In his quiver hath He hid me:
3And He said unto me: Thou art my servant,
O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4But I said: I have laboured in vain;
For nought, and for vanity, have I spent my strength:
Nevertheless my right is with Jehovah,
And the reward of my work with my God.
5And now, saith Jehovah
Who hath formed me from the womb to be his servant,
To bring Jacob again unto him,
And that Israel unto him may be gathered:
For I am glorious in the eyes of Jehovah,
And my God is my strength.
6Yea, He said: It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the saved of Israel:
I will also give thee for a light to the nations,
To be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
7Thus saith Jehovah,
The Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One,
To him who is despised of men; to him whom the nation abhorreth;
To the servant of rulers:
Kings shall see, and shall rise up;
Princes, and they shall bow themselves:
Because of Jehovah who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
8Thus saith Jehovah:
In time of grace will I hear thee,
And in the day of salvation will I help thee;
And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people,
To restore the land, to give possession of the desolate heritages:
9To say to the bounden, Go forth;
To those that are in darkness, Come into light
They shall feed beside the ways,
And on all the eminences shall be their pasture.
10They shall not hunger, nor thirst;
Neither shall the glowing heat, nor the sun, smite them:
For He that hath mercy on them shall lead them,
And shall guide them to the fountains of water.
11And I will make all my mountains an even way,
And my causeways shall be raised on high.
12Behold! these shall come from far;
And, lo! these from the north and from the west;
And these from the land of Sinim.
13Sing, O ye heavens! and be joyful, O earth!
And burst forth into song, O mountains!
For Jehovah hath comforted his people,
And hath had mercy on his afflicted.
14But Zion saith: Jehovah hath forsaken me,
And the Lord hath forgotten me.
15Can a woman forget her suckling,
That she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Yea, they may forget;
Yet I will not forget thee.
16Behold! I have graven thee on the palms of my hands;
Thy walls are ever before me.
17Thy sons shall make haste:
Thy destroyers, and they that made thee waste, shall depart from thee.
18Lift up thine eyes around, and see;
All these are gathered together, they come to thee.
As I live, saith Jehovah,
Thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament;
And bind them on thee as a bride doeth.
19For in thy waste, and in thy desolate places,
And in thy land that is destroyed,
Even now shalt thou be straitened by reason of the inhabitants;
And they that devoured thee shall be removed far away.
20Moreover, thy sons, of whom thou wast bereaved, shall say in thine ears:
This place is too strait for me; make way for me that I may dwell.
21Then shalt thou say in thine heart: Who hath begotten me these?
I was childless and barren;
An exile, and an outcast; who then hath nursed these up?
Behold, I was left alone; these then, where were they?
22Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the nations,
And set up my standard to the people;
And they shall bring thy sons in their bosom,
And thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23And kings shall be thy nourishers,
And their queens thy nurses;
They shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth,
And shall lick up the dust of thy feet;
And thou shalt know that I am Jehovah:
For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
24Shall the spoil be taken away from the mighty?
Or shall the captive seized by right of strength be rescued?
25Yea, thus saith Jehovah:
Even the captive seized by the mighty shall be retaken,
And the spoil seized by the terrible shall be rescued:
For I will contend with him that contends with thee,
And I will save thy children.
26And I will gorge thine oppressors with their own flesh;
And with their own blood, as with new wine, shall they be drunken:
And all flesh shall know
That I Jehovah am thy Saviour,
And that thy Redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.
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Isaiah 49: TEG
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 49
49
The Servant of the Lord
1People who live on the islands, listen to me.
Pay attention, you nations far away.
Before I was born the Lord chose me to serve him.
Before I was born the Lord spoke my name.
2He made my words like a sharp sword.
He hid me in the palm of his hand.
He made me into a sharpened arrow.
He took good care of me and kept me safe.
3He said to me, “You are my true servant Israel.
I will show my glory through you.”
4But I said, “In spite of my hard work,
I feel as if I haven’t accomplished anything.
I’ve used up all my strength.
It seems as if everything I’ve done is worthless.
But the Lord will give me what I should receive.
My God will reward me.”
5The Lord formed me in my mother’s body to be his servant.
He wanted me to bring the family of Jacob back to him.
He wanted me to gather the people of Israel to himself.
The Lord will honor me.
My God will give me strength.
6Here is what the Lord says to me.
“It is not enough for you as my servant
to bring the tribes of Jacob back to their land.
It is not enough for you to bring back
the people of Israel I have kept alive.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles.
Then you will make it possible for the whole world to be saved.”
7The Lord sets his people free.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
He speaks to his servant, who is looked down on and hated by the nations.
He speaks to the servant of rulers. He says to him,
“Kings will see you and stand up to honor you.
Princes will see you and bow down to show you their respect.
I am the Lord. I am faithful.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
I have chosen you.”
Israel Is Brought Back to Their Land
8The Lord says to his servant,
“When it is time to have mercy on you, I will answer your prayers.
When it is time to save you, I will help you.
I will keep you safe.
You will put into effect my covenant with the people of Israel.
Then their land will be made like new again.
Each tribe will be sent back to its territory that was left empty.
9I want you to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out.’
Tell those who are in their dark cells, ‘You are free!’
“On their way home they will eat beside the roads.
They will find plenty to eat on every bare hill.
10They will not get hungry or thirsty.
The heat from the desert sun will not beat down on them.
The God who has tender love for them will guide them.
Like a shepherd, he will lead them beside springs of water.
11I will make roads across the mountains.
I will build wide roads for my people.
12They will come from far away.
Some of them will come from the north.
Others will come from the west.
Still others will come from Aswan in the south.”
13Shout for joy, you heavens!
Be glad, you earth!
Burst into song, you mountains!
The Lord will comfort his people.
He will show his tender love to those who are suffering.
14But the city of Zion said, “The Lord has deserted me.
The Lord has forgotten me.”
15The Lord answers, “Can a mother forget the baby
who is nursing at her breast?
Can she stop having tender love
for the child who was born to her?
She might forget her child.
But I will not forget you.
16I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Your walls are never out of my sight.
17Your people will hurry back.
Those who destroyed you so completely will leave you.
18Look up. Look all around you.
All your people are getting together
to come back to you.
You can be sure that I live,”
announces the Lord.
“And you can be just as sure that your people
will be like decorations you will wear.
Like a bride, you will wear them proudly.
19“Zion, you were destroyed. Your land was left empty.
It was turned into a dry and empty desert.
But now you will be too small to hold all your people.
And those who destroyed you will be far away.
20The children born during your time of sorrow
will speak to you. They will say,
‘This city is too small for us.
Give us more space to live in.’
21Then you will say to yourself,
‘Whose children are these?
I lost my children.
And I couldn’t have any more.
My children were taken far away from me.
And no one wanted them.
Who brought these children up?
I was left all alone.
So where have these children come from?’ ”
22The Lord and King continues,
“I will call out to the nations.
I will give a signal to them.
They will bring back your sons in their arms.
They will carry your daughters on their hips.
23Their kings will become like fathers to you.
Their queens will be like mothers who nurse you.
They will bow down to you with their faces toward the ground.
They will kiss the dust at your feet to show you their respect.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Those who put their hope in me will not be ashamed.”
24Can goods that were stolen by soldiers be taken away from them?
Can prisoners be set free from the powerful Babylonians?
25“Yes, they can,” the Lord answers.
“Prisoners will be taken away from soldiers.
Stolen goods will be taken back from the powerful Babylonians.
Zion, I will fight against those who fight against you.
And I will save your people.
26I will make those who treat you badly eat the flesh of others.
They will drink blood and get drunk on it as if it were wine.
Then everyone on earth will know
that I am the one who saves you.
I am the Lord. I set you free.
I am the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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