Isaiah 49
1 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.
All you people who live on islands [in the ocean] and in other distant areas, pay attention [DOU] to what I will say! Yahweh called/chose me before I was born; he chose/appointed me when I was still in my mother’s womb.
2 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;
[When I grew up], he caused my messages to be like [SIM] a sharp sword. He has protected me with his hand [SYN]. [He protects me] [MET] like someone protects sharp arrows in a quiver.
3 And said unto me, My servant art thou, O Israel, thou on whom I will be glorified.
He said to me, “You will serve my Israeli [people], and you will cause people to honor me.”
4 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.
I replied, “My work has been useless; I have used my strength, but I have accomplished nothing worthwhile; everything that I have done has been (in vain/useless). However, Yahweh can honor me as he pleases; my God is the one who will reward me [as I deserve].”
5 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, —
Yahweh formed me when I was in [my mother’s] womb in order that I would serve him; he appointed me to bring [the people of] Israel back to himself [DOU]. Yahweh has honored me, and he is the one who has caused me to be strong.
6 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.
He says to me, “It is not enough for you to serve me by bringing the descendants of Jacob back to worship me again [DOU]; I also want you to be like [MET] a light for the non-Jews; I want you to take my [my message] about how to be saved to [people] all over the world.”
7 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.
Yahweh, the one who saves us, the Holy God of us Israeli [people], says to the one who was despised and rejected by the [people of many] nations, the one who is the slave of rulers, “[Some day] kings will stand up to respect you when they see you, and princes will bow down before you because [you serve] me, Yahweh, the one who faithfully [does what I promise]. I am the Holy God to whom you Israelis belong, the one who has chosen you.”
8 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;
This is also what Yahweh says: “At a time when it pleases me, I will answer your prayers. On the day when you will be rescued [from your oppressors], I will help you. I will protect you and enable you to establish an agreement with other nations. And by what you do, I will re-establish your nation of Israel and allow you to live/settle again in your land that was abandoned.
9 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.
I will say to those who were captured [and (exiled/taken to Babylonia)], ‘Leave [Babylonia] and return to your own country!’ And I will say to those who are in dark prisons, ‘Come out into the light!’ When that happens, they will again be like [MET] sheep that eat grass in green pastures, on hills where [previously] there was no grass.
10 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.
They will not be hungry or thirsty [any more]; the hot sun will not beat upon them again [DOU]. I, Yahweh, will act mercifully toward them and lead them; I will lead them to where there are springs of cool water.
11 And I will change all my mountains into a road, and my highways shall be lifted up.
And I will cause the mountains to become [as though they were] level roads, and I will prepare good highways [for my people to travel on, to return to Jerusalem].
12 Behold, these shall come from afar; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
My people will return from far away; some will come from the north, some from the west, some from southern Egypt.”
13 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.
[Because of what Yahweh has promised to do], everything should shout joyfully— the sky and the earth and the mountains should sing, because Yahweh comforts his people, and he will pity those who are suffering.
14 Yet Zion said, the Eternal hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.
[The people of] Jerusalem say, “Yahweh has abandoned us; he has forgotten about us.”
15 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.
But [Yahweh replies], “That is not true! (Can a woman forget the infant that she is nursing?/A woman certainly cannot forget the infant that she is nursing!) [RHQ] (Can she stop being kind to the child to whom she has given birth?/She certainly cannot stop being kind to the child to whom she has given birth!) [RHQ] But even if a woman would do that, I will not forget you!
16 Behold, upon the palms of my hands have I engraved thee; thy walls are continually before me.
Note that I have written your [names] on the palms of my hands; in my mind I can always see the walls of your city.
17 Thy children come in haste; thy destroyers and they that laid thee waste shall go away from thee.
Soon your children will be returning there (OR, Those who rebuild your city will work more quickly than those who destroyed it), and all those who destroyed your city will leave.
18 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.
You will look around and see all of your children coming back to you. As surely as I live, they will be around you [for you to show to people] like [SIM] a bride shows her wedding ornaments!
19 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.
Your land has been ruined and caused to become desolate/abandoned [DOU], but [some day] it will be filled with people, and those who conquered you will be far away.
20 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.
The children who were born while you were (exiled/in Babylonia) [MET] will return [to Jerusalem] and say, ‘This city is too small for us; We need more space to live in!’
21 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?
Then you will think to yourselves [MTY], ‘It is amazing that we have [RHQ] all these children! Most of our children were dead, and the rest were exiled. We were left here alone; so we do not know [RHQ] where all these children have come from! Who raised them?'”
22 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.
This is what Yahweh our God says: “Watch! [It is as though] I will lift up my hand to signal to those who are not Israelis. And they will carry your little sons and daughters on their shoulders and bring them back to you.
23 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.
Kings will serve you and will tutor/teach your children, and their queens will take care of your young children. They will prostrate themselves in front of you and [humble themselves by] licking the dust off your feet. When that happens, you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do]; and those who trust in me will never be disappointed.”
24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or shall the captive of the victor escape?
There is no one [RHQ] who can snatch valuable things from a soldier who has captured those things [in a war]; there is no one [RHQ] who can force a (tyrant/cruel man) to free the people whom he has captured.
25 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.
But Yahweh says this: “[Some day], those who have been captured will be freed, and the valuable things that (tyrants/cruel men) have snatched from others will be returned, because I will fight against those who fight against you, and I will rescue your children.
26 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.
And I will cause your enemies to destroy themselves [MET] instead of murdering others. When that happens, everyone [in the world] will know that I, Yahweh, am the one who saves you, the one who rescues you from your enemies; everyone will know that I am the mighty God to whom [you descendants of] [MTY] Jacob belong.”
