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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Isaiah 49: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 49
49
The Lord’s Servant Commissioned
1Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The Lord called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name.
2He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
3He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory.”
4I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;
I will trust God for my reward.”
5And now the Lord speaks—
the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me,
and my God has given me strength.
6He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
7The Lord, the Redeemer
and Holy One of Israel,
says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,
to the one who is the servant of rulers:
“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.
Princes will also bow low
because of the Lord, the faithful one,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Promises of Israel’s Restoration
8This is what the Lord says:
“At just the right time, I will respond to you.#49:8 Greek version reads I heard you. Compare 2 Cor 6:2.
On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you and give you to the people
as my covenant with them.
Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel
and assign it to its own people again.
9I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’
They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures
and on hills that were previously bare.
10They will neither hunger nor thirst.
The searing sun will not reach them anymore.
For the Lord in his mercy will lead them;
he will lead them beside cool waters.
11And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.
The highways will be raised above the valleys.
12See, my people will return from far away,
from lands to the north and west,
and from as far south as Egypt.#49:12 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, which read from the region of Aswan, which is in southern Egypt. Masoretic Text reads from the region of Sinim.”
13Sing for joy, O heavens!
Rejoice, O earth!
Burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted his people
and will have compassion on them in their suffering.
14Yet Jerusalem#49:14 Hebrew Zion. says, “The Lord has deserted us;
the Lord has forgotten us.”
15“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
16See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
17Soon your descendants will come back,
and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
18Look around you and see,
for all your children will come back to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.
19“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land
will soon be crowded with your people.
Your enemies who enslaved you
will be far away.
20The generations born in exile will return and say,
‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’
21Then you will think to yourself,
‘Who has given me all these descendants?
For most of my children were killed,
and the rest were carried away into exile.
I was left here all alone.
Where did all these people come from?
Who bore these children?
Who raised them for me?’”
22This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.
They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;
they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.
23Kings and queens will serve you
and care for all your needs.
They will bow to the earth before you
and lick the dust from your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”
24Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior?
Who can demand that a tyrant#49:24 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, Syriac version, and Latin Vulgate (also see 49:25); Masoretic Text reads a righteous person. let his captives go?
25But the Lord says,
“The captives of warriors will be released,
and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.
For I will fight those who fight you,
and I will save your children.
26I will feed your enemies with their own flesh.
They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood.
All the world will know that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.#49:26 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.”
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