Isaiah 49
49
God Calls His Special Servant
1Hear me, people by the sea.
Listen to me, you faraway nations.
The Lord called me before I was born.
He called my name while I was still in my mother’s womb.
2He used me to speak for him.
He used me like a sharp sword,
but he also held me in his hand to protect me.
He used me like a sharp arrow,
but he also kept me safe in his arrow bag.
3He told me, “Israel, you are my servant.
I will do wonderful things with you.”
4I said, “I worked hard for nothing.
I wore myself out, but I did nothing useful.
I used all my power,
but I did not really do anything.
So the Lord must decide what to do with me.
He must decide my reward.”
5The Lord is the one who made me in my mother’s womb,
so that I could be his servant.
He wanted me to lead Jacob and Israel back to him.
The Lord gives me honor.
I get my strength from my God.
6And now he says, “You are a very important servant to me.
You must bring back to me the tribes of Jacob.
You must bring back the people of Israel who are still alive.
But I have something else for you to do that is even more important:
I will make you a light for the other nations.
You will show people all over the world the way to be saved.”
7The Lord, the Holy Protector of Israel, speaks to his servant.
People hate that servant.
Nations despise him.
He is now a slave to rulers.
The Lord says to him,
“Kings will see you and stand to honor you.
Great leaders will bow down to you.”
This will happen for the Lord. The Holy One of Israel is the one who chose you, and he can be trusted.
The Day of Salvation
8This is what the Lord says:
“There will be a special time when I show my kindness.
Then I will answer your prayers.
There will be a special day when I will save you.
Then I will help you and protect you.
And you will be the proof of my agreement with the people.
The country is destroyed now,
but you will give the land back to the people who own it.
9You will tell the prisoners,
‘Come out of your prison!’
You will tell those who are in darkness,
‘Come out of the dark!’
The people will eat along the road,
and they will have food even on empty hills.
10They will not be hungry or thirsty.
The hot sun and wind will not hurt them.
Their Comforter will lead them.
He will lead them by springs of water.
11I will make a road for my people.
The mountains will be made flat,
and the low roads will be raised.
12“Look! People are coming to me from faraway places.
They are coming to me from the north and from the west.
They are coming to me from Aswan in Egypt.”
13Heavens and earth, be happy!
Mountains, shout with joy!
The Lord comforts his people.
He is good to his poor people.
14But now Zion says, “The Lord has left me;
the Lord has forgotten me.”
15But the Lord says,
“Can a woman forget her baby?
Can she forget the child who came from her body?
Even if she can forget her children,
I cannot forget you.
16I drew a picture of you on my hand.
You are always before my eyes.#49:16 I … eyes Or “I see your figure before me always.” This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word “figure” also means “walls.”
17Your children will come back to you,
and those who destroyed you will leave.
18Look up! Look all around you!
All of your children are gathering together and coming to you.”
The Lord says, “On my life, I promise you this:
Your children will be like jewels that you tie around your neck.
Your children will be like the necklace that a bride wears.
19“You are destroyed and defeated now.
Your land is useless.
But after a short time, you will have many people in your land.
And those who destroyed you will be far, far away.
20You were sad for the children you lost, but they will tell you,
‘This place is too small!
Give us a bigger place to live!’
21Then you will say to yourself,
‘Who gave me all these children?
I was sad and lonely.
My children were taken away.
They were gone.
So who gave me these children?
Look, I was the only one left.
Where did all these children come from?’”
22This is what the Lord GOD says:
“Look, I will wave my hand to the nations.
I will raise my flag for everyone to see.
Then they will bring your children to you.
They will carry your children on their shoulders,
and they will hold them in their arms.
23Kings will be their teachers.
The daughters of kings will care for them.
The kings and their daughters will bow down to you.
They will kiss the dirt at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
and anyone who trusts in me will not be disappointed.”
24If a strong soldier takes a prisoner,
can you set him free?
If a powerful soldier guards someone,
can the prisoner escape?
25Here is the Lord’s answer:
“The prisoners will escape.
Those captured by the strong soldier will be set free.
That’s because I will fight your battles,
and I will save your children.
26Those people hurt you,
but I will force them to eat their own bodies.
Their own blood will be the wine that makes them drunk.
Then everyone will know that the Lord saved you.
Everyone will know that the Powerful One of Jacob saved you.”
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Isaiah 49: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Isaiah 49
49
The Servant and Light to the Gentiles
(Acts 13:42–52)
1Listen to Me, O islands;#49:1 Or coastlands
pay attention, O distant peoples:
The Lord called Me from the womb;
from the body of My mother He named Me.
2He made My mouth like a sharp sword;
He hid Me in the shadow of His hand.
He made Me like a polished arrow;
He hid Me in His quiver.
3He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,
in whom I will display My glory.”
4But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent My strength in futility and vanity;
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,
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,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make You a light for the nations,
to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”#49:6 Cited in Acts 13:47
7Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel,
to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the Servant of rulers:
“Kings will see You and rise,
and princes will 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 the time of favor I will answer You,
and in the day of salvation I will help You;#49:8 LXX In the time of favor I heard You, and in the day of salvation I helped You; cited in 2 Corinthians 6:2
I will keep You and appoint You
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land,
to apportion its desolate inheritances,
9to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed along the pathways,
and find pasture on every barren hill.
10They will not hunger or thirst,
nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them.#49:10 Cited in Revelation 7:16
For He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.
11I will turn all My mountains into roads,
and My highways will be raised up.
12Behold, they will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,#49:12 Or from the sea
and from the land of Aswan.#49:12 That is, a region in southern Egypt (from DSS); MT the land of Sinim”
13Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth;
break forth in song, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
14But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
the Lord has forgotten me!”
15“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the son of her womb?
Even if she could forget,
I will not forget you!
16Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
your walls are ever before Me.
17Your builders #49:17 DSS; MT Your sons hasten back;
your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.
18Lift up your eyes and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
“you will wear them all as jewelry
and put them on like a bride.
19For your ruined and desolate places
and your ravaged land
will now indeed be too small for your people,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
20Yet the children of your bereavement
will say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
make room for us to live here.’
21Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me?
I was bereaved and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.
So who has reared them?
Look, I was left all alone,
so where did they come from?’”
22This is what the Lord GOD says:
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations,
and raise My banner to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms #49:22 Hebrew in their bosom
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow to you facedown
and lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”
24Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant #49:24 DSS, Syriac, and Vulgate (see also verse 25); MT of the righteous be delivered?
25Indeed, this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away,
and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.
Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.