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
1Listen, islands, to me.
Listen, you peoples, from afar:
Yahweh has called me from the womb;
from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name.
2He has made my mouth like a sharp sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
He has made me a polished shaft.
He has kept me close in his quiver.
3He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
4But I said, “I have labored in vain.
I have spent my strength in vain for nothing;
yet surely the justice due to me is with Yahweh,
and my reward with my God.”
5Now Yahweh, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
says to bring Jacob again to him,
and to gather Israel to him,
for I am honorable in Yahweh’s eyes,
and my God has become my strength.
6Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the preserved of Israel.
I will also give you as a light to the nations,
that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”
7Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One,
says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and rise up,
princes, and they shall worship,
because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
8Yahweh says, “I have answered you in an acceptable time.
I have helped you in a day of salvation.
I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people,
to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage,
9saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’;
to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’
“They shall feed along the paths,
and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.
10They shall not hunger nor thirst;
neither shall the heat nor sun strike them,
for he who has mercy on them will lead them.
He will guide them by springs of water.
11I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be exalted.
12Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Sinim.”
13Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth!
Break out into singing, mountains!
For Yahweh has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
and the Lord has forgotten me.”
15“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yes, these may forget,
yet I will not forget you!
16Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Your walls are continually before me.
17Your children hurry.
Your destroyers and those who devastated you will leave you.
18Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
all these gather themselves together, and come to you.
As I live,” says Yahweh, “you shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament,
and dress yourself with them, like a bride.
19“For, as for your waste and your desolate places,
and your land that has been destroyed,
surely now that land will be too small for the inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20The children of your bereavement will say in your ears,
‘This place is too small for me.
Give me a place to live in.’
21Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children
and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth?
Who has brought these up?
Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’”
22The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and lift up my banner to the peoples.
They shall bring your sons in their bosom,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
and lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh;
and those who wait for me won’t be disappointed.”
24Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty,
or the lawful captives be delivered?
25But Yahweh says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
and the plunder retrieved from the fierce,
for I will contend with him who contends with you
and I will save your children.
26I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh;
and they will be drunk on their own blood, as with sweet wine.
Then all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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