Isaiah 49
49
The Servant of the Lord#The second of the four “servant of the Lord” oracles (cf. note on 42:1–4).
1Hear me, coastlands,
listen, distant peoples.#Is 41:9; 43:1; 44:2, 24; 46:3.
Before birth the Lord called me,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.#Gave me my name: designated me for a special task or mission (cf. Jer 1:5).
2He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword,
concealed me, shielded by his hand.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
3He said to me, You are my servant,
in you, Israel,#Israel: the servant is identified with the people of Israel as their ideal representative; however, vv. 5–6 seem to distinguish the servant from Israel. I show my glory.
4Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
for nothing and for naught spent my strength,
Yet my right is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.#Is 40:27.
5For now the Lord has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
6It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;#Is 42:1–6; 44:5; 45:14; Lk 2:32; Acts 13:46–47.
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.#The servant’s vocation extends beyond the restoration of Israel in order to bring the knowledge of Israel’s God to the rest of the earth; cf. Lk 2:32.
7Thus says the Lord,
the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
To the one despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers:
When kings see you, they shall stand up,
and princes shall bow down
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.#Is 49:23; 55:5.
The Liberation and Restoration of Zion
8Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I answer you,#You: the individual is not named; perhaps Cyrus or the prophet.
on the day of salvation I help you;
I form you and set you
as a covenant for the people,
To restore the land
and allot the devastated heritages,#2 Cor 6:2.
9To say to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the roadways they shall find pasture,
on every barren height shall their pastures be.#Is 42:7, 18–20.
10They shall not hunger or thirst;
nor shall scorching wind or sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.#Is 51:14; Rev 7:16.
11I will turn all my mountains into roadway,
and make my highways level.#Is 40:3–4.
12See, these shall come from afar:
some from the north and the west,
others from the land of Syene.#Syene: now called Aswan, at the first cataract of the Nile in southern Egypt.
13Sing out, heavens, and rejoice, earth,
break forth into song, you mountains,
For the Lord comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.
14But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”#Is 40:27.
15Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.#Is 43:4; 44:21; 46:3–4.
16See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you;#Upon the palms…you: for continual remembrance; cf. Ex 13:9, 16; Dt 6:6–9.
your walls are ever before me.
17Your children hasten—
your levelers, your destroyers
go forth from you;
18Look about and see,
they are all gathering and coming to you.
As I live—oracle of the Lord—
you shall don them as jewels,
bedeck yourself like a bride.
19Though you were waste and desolate,
a land of ruins,
Now you shall be too narrow for your inhabitants,
while those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20The children of whom you were bereft
shall yet say in your hearing,
“This place is too narrow for me,
make room for me to live in.”
21You shall ask yourself:
“Who has borne me these,
when I was bereft and barren?
Exiled and repudiated,
who has reared them?
I was left all alone;
where then do these come from?”#Is 54:1–3.
22Thus says the Lord God:
See, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and to the peoples raise my signal;
They shall bring your sons in their arms,
your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.#Is 5:26; 13:2.
23Kings shall be your guardians,
their princesses your nursemaids;
Face to the ground, they shall bow down before you
and lick the dust at your feet.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord,
none who hope in me shall be ashamed.
24Can plunder be taken from a warrior,
or captives rescued from a tyrant?
25Thus says the Lord:
Yes, captives can be taken from a warrior,
and plunder rescued from a tyrant;
Those who oppose you I will oppose,
and your sons I will save.
26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk with their own blood
as though with new wine.
All flesh shall know
that I, the Lord, am your savior,
your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.#Is 19:2; Ez 38:21; Zec 14:13.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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