Isaiah 49
1 Listen to me, you people of the islands! Pay attention, you who live far away! The Lord called me before I was born; he gave me my name while I was still in my mother's womb.
Listen, O isles, to me, and hearken, ye peoples from far. Jehovah has called me from the womb. From the bowels of my mother he has made mention of my name.
2 The words he gave me to speak are like a sharp sword. He has protected me by covering me with his hand. He put me in his quiver like a sharp arrow, keeping me safe there.
And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword. He has hid me in the shadow of his hand, and he has made me a polished shaft. He has kept me close in his quiver.
3 He told me, “You are my servant, Israel, and I will reveal my glory through you.”
And he said to me, Thou are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4 But I replied, “I've worked for nothing! I've exhausted myself, and for what? Even so, I leave it with the Lord to do what's right, and my reward is with my God.”
But I said, I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity. Yet surely the justice due to me is with Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.
5 Now my Lord is going to speak, the one who formed me in the womb as his servant to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to himself. I am honored in the Lord's sight, and my God has given me strength.
And now says Jehovah who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered to him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God has become my strength),
6 He says, “It's nothing much for you to be my servant to bring back the tribes of Jacob, those people of Israel that I've preserved. I'm also going to make you a light for the foreigners so that my salvation may reach everybody.”
yea, he says, It is too light a thing that thou should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou may be my salvation to the end of the earth.
7 This is what the Lord says, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to the one who was despised and detested by the nation, to the one who is the servant of rulers: Kings will see you and stand up, and princes will bow down to you, because the Lord, who is trustworthy, the Holy One of Israel, has chosen you.
Thus says Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers. Kings shall see and arise, rulers, and they shall worship, because of Jehovah who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen thee.
8 This is what the Lord says: I will answer you at the proper time; I will help you on the day of salvation. I will take care of you, and I will give you to the people as my agreement with them, to restore the land and to reassign the parts that have been abandoned.
Thus says Jehovah, In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in a day of salvation I have helped thee. And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages,
9 Tell the prisoners, “Come out!” Tell those living in darkness, “Come into the light!” Like sheep they will feed along the roads and in the pastures on hills that once were barren.
saying to those who are bound, Go forth; to those who are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pasture shall be on all bare heights.
10 They won't be hungry or thirsty, and they won't get hot in the sun, for the one who loves them will lead them to springs, and guide them to water.
They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them. For he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them even by springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into a road; my highways will be really high!
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Look at these people coming from far away! Look at these people coming from the north, and from the west, and from Upper Egypt.
Lo, these shall come from far, and, lo, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.
13 Heavens, shout for joy! Earth, celebrate! Mountains, sing out in happiness! The Lord has come to care for his people, and he will treat his suffering people kindly.
Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains. For Jehovah has comforted his people, and will have compassion upon his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has given up on me; the Lord has forgotten about me.”
But Zion said, Jehovah has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.
15 Really? Can a mother forget her nursing baby? Can she forget to be kind to the child she carried in her womb? Even if she could forget, I will never forget you!
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, these may forget, yet I will not forget thee.
16 Look at your names I've written on the palms of my hands! I'm always thinking about your walls.
Behold, I have engraved thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me.
17 Soon your children will come running back. Your destroyers, those that devastated your land, will be gone.
Thy sons make haste. Thy destroyers and those who made thee waste shall go forth from thee.
18 Take a look around. See all your children gathering and coming back to you. As I live, declares the Lord, you will wear them all as jewelry, proudly putting them on like a bride.
Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold. All these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, says Jehovah, thou shall surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.
19 Your ruined towns and abandoned places and devastated lands will be crowded with people, while those who took over your country will be long gone.
For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy land that has been destroyed, surely now thou shall be too narrow for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20 The children born during your time of mourning in exile will say, “This place is too crowded for me! Make room so I have a place to live!”
The sons of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me. Give a place to me that I may dwell.
21 Then you will say to yourself, “Who gave birth to all these children for me? My children were killed and I was unable to have more; I was exiled and thrown aside—so who brought these children up? Look, I was abandoned, so where did they come from?”
Then thou shall say in thy heart, Who has begotten these for me, seeing I have been bereaved of my sons, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone, these, where were they?
22 This is what the Lord God says, Watch as I give the signal to the nations, as I raise my flag to let everyone know. They will bring them back, carrying your sons in their arms, and lifting your daughters onto their shoulders.
Thus says the lord Jehovah: Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples. And they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your child-minders; queens will be your nurses. They will bow low before you, and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, and that those who put their trust in me will never be ashamed.
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers. They shall bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of thy feet. And thou shall know that I am Jehovah, and those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.
24 Can loot be taken from a warrior? Can prisoners be rescued from a dictator?
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
25 But this is what the Lord says: Even the prisoners of warriors will be won back; even loot will be recovered from a dictator. I will fight with your enemies, and I will rescue your children.
But thus says Jehovah, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered. For I will contend with him who contends with thee, and I will save thy sons.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh and drink their own blood like wine. Then everyone will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.
And I will feed those who oppress thee with their own flesh. And they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine. And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
