Isaiah 49
49
The Servant of the Lord
1Listen to me, #See ch. 11:11 O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples #ch. 33:13 from afar.
# See ch. 44:2 The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 # ch. 11:4; Hos. 6:5; [Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16] He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
# ch. 51:16 in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, #ch. 44:23in whom I will be glorified.”#49:3 Or I will display my beauty
4 # [ch. 65:23]; See ch. 50:6-8; 53:10-12 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
5 # [ch. 50:4] And now the Lord says,
he #[See ver. 1 above] 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 #[ch. 52:13]I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
6he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
# Cited Acts 13:47 I will make you #ch. 42:6 as a light for the nations,
that #[Ps. 98:3]my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7Thus says the Lord,
# ch. 48:17 the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
# ver. 1; ch. 53:3; [ch. 50:6, 7] to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
# ver. 23 “Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
The Restoration of Israel
8Thus says the Lord:
# Cited 2 Cor. 6:2 “In a #Ps. 69:13 time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you #ch. 42:6 and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
# ch. 61:4 to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 # ch. 42:7 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
# [ch. 41:18] They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 # Cited Rev. 7:16 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them #Rev. 7:17; See ch. 40:11will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 # [ch. 40:4] And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 # ch. 43:5, 6 Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, #[Ps. 107:3]these from the north and from the west,#49:12 Hebrew from the sea
and these from the land of Syene.”#49:12 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim
13 # See ch. 44:23 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord #ch. 40:1has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14But Zion said, #[ch. 40:27; 54:6; 62:4]“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 # [ch. 43:1; Ps. 27:10] “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16Behold, #Song 8:6; Rev. 13:16I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17Your builders make haste;#49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste
# See Zech. 1:18-21 your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 # ch. 60:4 Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
#
Num. 14:21; See Ezek. 5:11 As I live, declares the Lord,
# [Jer. 43:12] you shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
19“Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
# [Zech. 10:10] surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 # ch. 54:1 The children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
# [See ver. 19 above] ‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
21Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
# [See ver. 20 above] I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
from where have these come?’”
22Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
# ch. 11:12 and raise my signal to the peoples;
# ch. 14:2 and they shall bring your sons in their arms,#49:22 Hebrew in their bosom
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 # ch. 60:3, 16 Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
# ch. 60:14 With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and #Ps. 72:9; [Mic. 7:17] lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
# [ch. 40:31] those who wait for me #Ps. 25:3; Joel 2:27shall not be put to shame.”
24Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant#49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man be rescued?
25For thus says the Lord:
# [Matt. 12:29; Luke 11:21, 22] “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
26 # [ch. 9:20; Zech. 11:9] I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk #[Rev. 14:20; 16:6] with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that #ch. 43:3; See Ex. 20:2I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Isaiah 49
49
The Servant Brings Salvation
1Coasts and islands,#49:1 Or Islands listen to me;
distant peoples, pay attention.
The Lord called#Is 44:2,24; 46:3; Jr 1:5 me before I was born.
He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.#Lk 1:15
2He made my words like a sharp sword;#Is 11:4; Heb 4:12; Rv 1:16; 2:12,16
he hid me in the shadow of his hand.#Is 51:16
He made me like a sharpened arrow;
he hid me in his quiver.
3He said to me, “You are my servant,#Is 41:8–9; 42:1; 49:5–7; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11; Ezk 34:23–24; Zch 3:8; Ac 3:13
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
4But I myself said: I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and futility;
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
so 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
raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make you a light for the nations,#Is 42:6; 51:4; Lk 2:32; Ac 13:47; 26:23
to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”#Ac 13:47
7This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer#Is 41:14; 43:14 of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,#49:7 Or by the nation#Ps 22:6–8; 69:7–9; Is 53:3
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see, princes will stand up,
and they#49:7 Lit princes and they will all bow down
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel#Is 1:4 — and he has chosen you.”#Is 41:8–9; 42:1; 43:10,20; 44:1–2; 45:4; 65:9,15,22
8This is what the Lord says:
I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.#Ps 69:13; 2Co 6:2
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,#Is 42:6
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
9saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”#Is 42:7; 61:1; Lk 4:18
and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.#Is 41:18
10They will not hunger or thirst,
the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;
for their compassionate one will guide them,
and lead them to springs.#Ps 23:2; Is 40:11; Jn 4:10; Rv 7:16–17
11I will make all my mountains into a road,
and my highways will be raised up.#Is 40:4
12See, these will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,#49:12 Lit sea#Is 43:5–6
and from the land of Sinim.#49:12 DSS read of the Syenites#49:12 Perhaps modern Aswan in southern Egypt
13Shout for joy, you heavens!#Is 44:23
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted his people,#Is 40:1
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.#Is 54:7–10; Mt 11:29
Zion Remembered
14Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
the Lord has forgotten me!”
15“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;#Sg 8:6; Hg 2:23
your walls are continually before me.
17Your builders#49:17 DSS, Aq, Theod, Vg; MT, Syr, Sym read sons hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.#Is 60:4
As I live” —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
“you will wear all your children#49:18 Lit all of them as jewelry,
and put them on as a bride does.
19For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,#Is 54:1–2; Zch 10:10
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20Yet as you listen, the children
that you have been deprived of will say,
‘This place is too small for me;
make room for me so that I may settle.’#Is 54:1–3
21Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering —
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself —
but these, where did they come from?’” #49:21 Lit where are they
22This is what the Lord God says:
Look, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my banner to the peoples.#Is 11:10–12; 18:3; 62:10
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.#Is 14:2; 43:6; 60:4
23Kings will be your guardians
and their queens#49:23 Lit princesses your nursing mothers.#Is 60:3,10–11
They will bow down to you
with their faces to the ground
and lick the dust at your feet.#Is 14:1–2
Then you will know that I am the Lord;#Is 41:20; 43:10; 60:16
those who put their hope in me
will not be put to shame.#Ps 25:3; Is 45:17; Jl 2:27
24Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
or the captives of a tyrant#49:24 DSS, Syr, Vg; MT reads a righteous man be delivered?
25For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,
and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;
I will contend with the one who contends with you,
and I will save your children.
26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,#Is 9:20
and they will be drunk with their own blood
as with sweet wine.
Then all humanity will know
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,#Is 43:3
and your Redeemer,#Is 41:14 the Mighty One of Jacob.”#Gn 49:24; Ps 132:2,5; Is 60:16
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