Isaiah 49

The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles

1 Listen, O coastlands, to Me, Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.3 And He said to me, You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.4 Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.5 And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength),6 Indeed He says, It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.7 Thus says the Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the Lord who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.8 Thus says the Lord: In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;9 That You may say to the prisoners, Go forth, To those who are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.10 They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them.11 I will make each of My mountains a road, And My highways shall be elevated.12 Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.13 Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted.

God Will Remember Zion

14 But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.15 Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.17 Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you.18 Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live, says the Lord, You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on you as a bride does. 19 For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, Will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away.20 The children you will have, After you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.21 Then you will say in your heart, Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?22 Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered?25 But thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children.26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the Lord, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isaiah 49

Ideal Israel Delivers the Exiles

1 Listen to me, you coastlands!ts
Pay attention, you people who live far away!
The Lord summoned me from birth;t
he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world.t

2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
he hid me in the hollow of his hand;
he made me like a sharpenedt arrow,
he hid me in his quiver.s

3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.”s

4 But I thought,t “I have worked in vain;
I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.”t
But the Lord will vindicate me;
my God will reward me.t

5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birtht to be his servant –
he did thist to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honoredt in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strengtht –

6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnantt of Israel?s
I will make you a light to the nations,t
so you can bringt my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

7 This is what the Lord,
the protectort of Israel, their Holy One,s says
to the one who is despiseds and rejectedt by nations,t
a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and rise in respect,t
princes will bow down,
because of the faithful Lord,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”

8 This is what the Lord says:
“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;
in the day of deliverance I will help you;
I will protect yout and make you a covenant mediator for people,t
to rebuildt the landt
and to reassign the desolate property.

9 You will sayt to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
and to those who are in dark dungeons,t ‘Emerge.’t
They will graze beside the roads;
on all the slopes they will find pasture.

10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;
the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them,t
for one who has compassion on them will guide them;
he will lead them to springs of water.

11 I will make all my mountains into a road;
I will construct my roadways.”

12 Look, they come from far away!
Look, some come from the north and west,
and others from the land of Sinim!ss

13 Shout for joy, O sky!t
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to thet oppressed.

The Lord Remembers Zion

14 “Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me,
the sovereign mastert has forgotten me.’

15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast?t
Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne?t
Even if motherst were to forget,
I could never forget you!s

16 Look, I have inscribed your namet on my palms;
your walls are constantly before me.

17 Your children hurry back,
while those who destroyed and devastated you depart.

18 Look all around you!t
All of them gather to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry;
you will put them on as if you were a bride.

19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;
it is desolate and devastated.t
But now you will be too small to hold your residents,
and those who devoured you will be far away.

20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement
will say within your hearing,
‘This place is too cramped for us,t
make room for us so we can live here.’t

21 Then you will think to yourself,t
‘Who bore these children for me?
I was bereaved and barren,
dismissed and divorced.t
Who raised these children?
Look, I was left all alone;
where did these children come from?’”

22 This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“Look I will raise my hand to the nations;
I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

23 Kings will be your children’st guardians;
their princesses will nurse your children.t
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt ont your feet.
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,
or captives be rescued from a conqueror?s

25 Indeed,” says the Lord,
“captives will be taken from a warrior;
spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.
I will oppose your adversary
and I will rescue your children.

26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine.s
Then all humankindt will recognize that
I am the Lord, your deliverer,
your protector,t the powerful ruler of Jacob.”t