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
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 49
49
1Listen to Me, O coastlands, and hear, you peoples from afar! יהוה has called Me from the womb, from My mother’s belly He has caused My Name to be remembered.
2And He made My mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand He hid Me, and made Me a polished shaft. In His quiver He hid Me.”
3And He said to Me, ‘You are My servant, O Yisra’ĕl, in whom I am adorned.’
4And I said, ‘I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for emptiness, and in vain. But my right-ruling is with יהוה, and my work with my Elohim.’ ”
5And now said יהוה – who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Ya‛aqoḇ back to Him, though Yisra’ĕl is not gathered to Him, yet I am esteemed in the eyes of יהוה, and My Elohim has been My strength –
6and He says, “Shall it be a small matter for You to be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Ya‛aqoḇ, and to bring back the preserved ones of Yisra’ĕl? And I shall give You as a light to the nations, to be My deliverance to the ends of the earth!”
7Thus said יהוה, the Redeemer of Yisra’ĕl, their Set-apart One, to the despised, to the loathed One of the nation, to the Servant of rulers, “Sovereigns shall see and arise, rulers also shall bow themselves, because of יהוה who is steadfast, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl. And He has chosen You!”
8Thus said יהוה, “In a favourable time I shall answer You, and in the day of deliverance I shall help You – and I guard You and give You for a covenant of the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the ruined inheritances,
9to say to the prisoners, ‘Go out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ Let them feed on the ways, and let their pasture be on all bare hills.
10“They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither heat or sun strike them, for He who has compassion on them shall lead them, even by fountains of water guide them.
11“And I shall make all My mountains a way, and My highways raised up.
12“See, these come from far away, and see, those from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinim.”
13Sing, O heavens, rejoice, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For יהוה shall comfort His people and have compassion on His afflicted ones.
14But Tsiyon says, “יהוה has forsaken me, and יהוה has forgotten me.”
15“Would a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Though they forget, I never forget you.
16“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are always before Me.
17“Your sons shall hurry, your destroyers and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18“Lift up your eyes round about and see, all of them gather together and come to you. As I live,” declares יהוה, “you shall put on all of them as an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does.
19“For your wastes, and your deserted places, and the land of your destruction, shall soon be too narrow for the inhabitants, while those who swallowed you up are far away.
20“The sons of your bereavement shall yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too narrow for me, make room for me to live.’
21“And you shall say in your heart, ‘Who has brought forth these for me, since I am bereaved and barren, an exile, and wandering to and fro? And who reared them? See, I was left alone – from where did these come?’ ”
22Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I lift My hand up to the nations, and set up My banner for the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters carried on their shoulders;
23“And sovereigns shall be your foster fathers, and their sovereignesses your nursing mothers. They bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. And you shall know that I am יהוה – those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed.”
24Is prey taken from the mighty, and the captives of the righteous delivered?
25Yet thus said יהוה, “Even the captives of the mighty are taken away, and the prey of the ruthless is delivered; and I strive with him who strives with you, and I save your children.
26“And I shall feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and let them drink their own blood as sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, יהוה, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Ya‛aqoḇ.”
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