Isaiah 49

1 Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

Hearken, O isles, unto me; and listen, ye people, from afar: The Lord hath called me from my birth; from my mother's womb hath he made mention of my name.

2 He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

And he hath rendered my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hidden me: and he hath rendered me as a polished arrow; in his quiver hath he concealed me;

3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”

And said unto me, My servant art thou, O Israel, thou on whom I will be glorified.

4 But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”

But I had indeed said, For no purpose have I labored, for naught and vanity have I spent my strength; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and the recompense of my work with my God.

5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him— for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—

And now hath said the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, that Israel may be gathered unto him, that I should be honored in the eyes of the Lord, while my God was my strength, —

6 He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

And he said, It is too light a thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back the preserved of Israel! but I will [also] appoint thee for a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach as far as the end of the earth.

7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”

Thus hath said the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him who is despised by men, to him who is abhorred by nations, to the servant of rulers, Kings shall see it and rise up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, for the sake of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath made choice of thee.

8 This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances,

Thus hath said the Lord, In the time of favor have I answered thee, and on the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and I will appoint thee as a people of my covenant to raise up the land, to divide out desolate heritages;

9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.

When I say to the prisoners, Go forth; to those that are in darkness, Show yourselves. On the roads shall they feed, and on all mountain-peaks shall be their pasture.

10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

They shall not be hungry nor thirsty, and neither heat nor sun shall smite them; for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water will he guide them.

11 I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up.

And I will change all my mountains into a road, and my highways shall be lifted up.

12 Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”

Behold, these shall come from afar; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth, O mountains, into song; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and upon his oppressed will he have mercy.

14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!”

Yet Zion said, the Eternal hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!

Can a woman forget her sucking child, not to have mercy on the son of her body? yea, should these even forget, yet would I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.

Behold, upon the palms of my hands have I engraved thee; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Your builders hasten back; your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.

Thy children come in haste; thy destroyers and they that laid thee waste shall go away from thee.

18 Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.

Lift up thy eyes round about, and see; they all are assembled together, they come to thee: as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thyself with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride.

19 For your ruined and desolate places and your ravaged land will now indeed be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.

For thy ruins and thy desolate places, and thy wasted land, —yea, now shall it be too narrow for thee by reason of the inhabitants, and thy destroyers shall be far away.

20 Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; make room for us to live here.’

Yet again will say before thy ears the children of whom thou wast deprived, The place is too narrow for me; make room for me that I may dwell.

21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. So who has reared them? Look, I was left all alone, so where did they come from?’”

And thou wilt say in thy heart, Who hath born me these, seeing I was bereft of my children, and was solitary, an exile, and outcast? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left entirely alone; these, where have they been?

22 This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will lift up to the nations my hand, and to the people will I raise up high my standard; and they shall bring thy sons in [their] arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon shoulders.

23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their princesses thy nursing-mothers; with the face toward the earth shall they bow down to thee, and the dust of thy feet shall they lick up: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, who will not suffer those who hope in me to be ashamed.

24 Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or shall the captive of the victor escape?

25 Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

For thus hath said the Lord, Also the captive of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the powerful shall escape; and with those who contend against thee will I contend, and thy children will I indeed save.

26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

And I will feed thy oppressors with their own flesh; and as with new wine shall they be made drunken with their own blood: and all flesh shall know that I the Eternal am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer the Mighty One of Jacob.