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.

Hearken, O isles, unto me, And attend, O peoples, from afar, Jehovah from the womb hath called me, From the bowels of my mother He hath made mention of my name.

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;

And he maketh my mouth as a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He hath hid me, And He maketh me for a clear arrow, In His quiver He hath hid me.

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

And He saith to me, 'My servant Thou art, O Israel, In whom I beautify Myself.'

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.

And I said, 'For a vain thing I laboured, For emptiness and vanity my power I consumed, But my judgment [is] with Jehovah, And my wage with my God.

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, —

And now, said Jehovah, who is forming me from the belly for a servant to Him, To bring back Jacob unto Him, (Though Israel is not gathered, Yet I am honoured in the eyes of Jehovah, And my God hath been my strength.)

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.

And He saith, 'It hath been a light thing That thou art to Me for a servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And the preserved of Israel to bring back, And I have given thee for a light of nations, To be My salvation unto the end of the earth.'

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.

Thus said Jehovah, Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, To the despised in soul, To the abominated of a nation, To the servant of rulers: 'Kings see, and have risen, princes, and worship, For the sake of Jehovah, who is faithful, The Holy of Israel, and He chooseth thee.'

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;

Thus said Jehovah: 'In a time of good pleasure I answered thee, And in a day of salvation I helped thee, And I keep thee, and give thee, For a covenant of the people, To establish the earth, To cause to inherit desolate inheritances.

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.

To say to the bound, Go out, To those in darkness, Be uncovered. On the ways they feed, And in all high places is their pasture.

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 do not hunger, nor thirst, Nor smite them doth mirage and sun, For He who is pitying them doth lead them, And by fountains of waters doth tend them.

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

And I have made all My mountains for a way, And My highways are lifted up.

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

Lo, these from afar come in, And lo, these from the north, and from the sea, And these from the land of Sinim.

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.

Sing, O heavens, and joy, O earth, And break forth, O mountains, with singing, For comforted hath Jehovah His people, And His afflicted ones He doth pity.

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

And Zion saith, 'Jehovah hath forsaken me, And my Lord hath forgotten me.'

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.

Forget doth a woman her suckling, The loved one — the son of her womb? Yea, these forget — but I — I forget not thee.

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

Lo, on the palms of the hand I have graven thee, Thy walls [are] before Me continually.

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

Hastened have those building thee, Those destroying thee, and laying thee waste, go out from thee.

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.

Lift up round about thine eyes and see, All of them have been gathered, They have come to thee. I live, an affirmation of Jehovah! Surely all of them as an ornament thou puttest on, And thou bindest them on like a bride.

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.

Because thy wastes, and thy desolate places, And the land of thy ruins, Surely now are straitened because of inhabitants, And far off have been those consuming thee.

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.

Again do the sons of thy bereavement say in thine ears: 'The place is too strait for me, Come nigh to me — and I dwell.'

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?

And thou hast said in thy heart: 'Who hath begotten for me — these? And I bereaved and gloomy, A captive, and turned aside, And these — who hath nourished? Lo, I — I was left by myself, these — whence [are] they?

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.

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'Lo, I lift up unto nations My hand, And unto peoples I raise up Mine ensign, And they have brought thy sons in the bosom, And thy daughters on the shoulder are carried.

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.

And kings have been thy nursing fathers, And their princesses thy nursing mothers; Face to the earth — they bow down to thee, And the dust of thy feet they lick up, And thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah, That those expecting Me are not ashamed.

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

Is prey taken from the mighty? And the captive of the righteous delivered?

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.

For thus said Jehovah: Even the captive of the mighty is taken, And the prey of the terrible is delivered, And with thy striver I strive, and thy sons I save.

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 have caused thine oppressors to eat their own flesh, And as new wine they drink their own blood, And known have all flesh that I, Jehovah, Thy saviour, and thy redeemer, [Am] the Mighty One of Jacob!'