Isaiah 49

Chapter 49

The LORD’s Servant Commissioned

1 Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The LORD called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name.2 He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory.”4 I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand;
I will trust God for my reward.”5 And now the LORD speaks—
the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The LORD has honored me,
and my God has given me strength.6 He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”7 The LORD, the Redeemer
and Holy One of Israel,
says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,
to the one who is the servant of rulers:
“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.
Princes will also bow low
because of the LORD, the faithful one,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Promises of Israel’s Restoration

8 This is what the LORD says:
“At just the right time, I will respond to you.t
On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you and give you to the people
as my covenant with them.
Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel
and assign it to its own people again.9 I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’
They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures
and on hills that were previously bare.10 They will neither hunger nor thirst.
The searing sun will not reach them anymore.
For the LORD in his mercy will lead them;
he will lead them beside cool waters.11 And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.
The highways will be raised above the valleys.12 See, my people will return from far away,
from lands to the north and west,
and from as far south as Egypt.t”13 Sing for joy, O heavens!
Rejoice, O earth!
Burst into song, O mountains!
For the LORD has comforted his people
and will have compassion on them in their suffering.14 Yet Jerusalemt says, “The LORD has deserted us;
the Lord has forgotten us.”15 “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.17 Soon your descendants will come back,
and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.18 Look around you and see,
for all your children will come back to you.
As surely as I live,” says the LORD,
“they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.19 “Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land
will soon be crowded with your people.
Your enemies who enslaved you
will be far away.20 The generations born in exile will return and say,
‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’21 Then you will think to yourself,
‘Who has given me all these descendants?
For most of my children were killed,
and the rest were carried away into exile.
I was left here all alone.
Where did all these people come from?
Who bore these children?
Who raised them for me?’”22 This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.
They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;
they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.23 Kings and queens will serve you
and care for all your needs.
They will bow to the earth before you
and lick the dust from your feet.
Then you will know that I am the LORD.
Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”24 Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior?
Who can demand that a tyrantt let his captives go?25 But the LORD says,
“The captives of warriors will be released,
and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.
For I will fight those who fight you,
and I will save your children.26 I will feed your enemies with their own flesh.
They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood.
All the world will know that I, the LORD,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.t”

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