Isaiah 49

1 Listen, O islands, to Me, And attend, O peoples, from afar, YHWH has called Me from the womb, From the bowels of My mother He has made mention of My Name.

Hearken, ye Coastlands, unto me, And give ear ye peoples afar off, —Yahweh, called me, from my birth, From my nativity, made he mention of my name;

2 And He makes My mouth as a sharp sword, He has hid Me in the shadow of His hand, And He makes Me for a clear arrow, He has hid Me in His quiver.

And he made my mouth, like a sharp sword, In the shadow of his hand, he concealed me, —And made of me a polished arrow, In his quiver, he hid me;

3 And He says to me, “You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I beautify Myself.”

And said to me My Servant, thou art, —Israel, in whom I will get myself glory.

4 And I said, “I labored in vain, I consumed my power for emptiness and vanity, But my judgment [is] with YHWH, And my wage with my God.”

But I, said, To no purpose, have I toiled, For waste and mist—my vigour, have I spent, —Surely, my vindication, is, with, Yahweh, And, my recompence, with my God.

5 “And now,” said YHWH, who is forming Me from the belly—His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him (Though Israel is not gathered, Yet I am honored in the eyes of YHWH, And My God has been My strength).

Now, therefore, said Yahweh—Fashioning me from birth To be Servant to him, To restore Jacob unto him, And that, Israel, unto him, might be gathered And I be honourable in the eyes of Yahweh, And, my God, be proved to have been my strength,

6 And He says, “It has been a light thing That You are My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to bring back the preserved of Israel, And I have given You for a light to the nations, To be My salvation to the end of the earth.”

Yea he said—It is too small a thing, for being my Servant, That thou shouldest raise up the tribes of Jacob, And the preserved of Israel, shouldst restore, —So I will give thee to become a light of nations, That, my salvation, may reach as far as the end of the earth.

7 Thus said YHWH, Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, To the despised in soul, To the detested of a nation, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings see, and have risen, princes, and worship, For the sake of YHWH, who is faithful, The Holy of Israel, and He chooses You.”

Thus, saith Yahweh—the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One To him that is despised of the soul, To the abhorred of the nation To the servant of rulers, Kings, shall see and arise, Princes, lo! they have bowed themselves down, —Because of Yahweh, who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel, lo! he hath chosen thee.

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

Thus, saith Yahweh—In a time of acceptance, have I answered thee, In a day of salvation, have I helped thee, —That I may preserve thee And give thee as the covenant of a people, To establish the land, To bring into possession the desolate heritages;

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

Saying To them who are bound Go forth, To them who are in darkness, Shew yourselves, —By the roads, shall they graze, And on all bare places, shall be their pasture:

10 They do not hunger, nor thirst, Nor do mirage and sun strike them, For He who is pitying them leads them, And tends them by fountains of waters.

They shall neither hunger, nor thirst, Nor shall smite them the glowing sand, or the glaring sun, —For, he that hath compassion upon them, will lead them, And unto springs of water, will he conduct them.

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

Then will I make of all my mountains, a road, And my highways, shall be upraised.

12 Behold, these come in from afar, And behold, these from the north, and from the sea, And these from the land of Sinim.”

Lo! these, from afar, shall come in, —And lo! these, from the North and from the West, And these, from the land of Sinim.

13 Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, And break forth, O mountains, with singing, For YHWH has comforted His people, And He pities His afflicted ones.

Shout in triumph—O heavens! And exult—O earth! And break forth, ye mountains, into shouts of triumph, —For Yahweh hath comforted his people, And on his humbled ones, taketh he compassion.

14 And Zion says, “YHWH has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.”

But Zion had said. Yahweh hath forsaken me, —Even, My Lord, hath forgotten me!

15 “Does a woman forget her suckling, The loved one—the son of her womb? Indeed, these forget—but I do not forget you.

Can, a woman, forget, her sucking child, Past taking compassion on the son of her womb? Even these, may forget, Yet will, I, not forget, thee:

16 Behold, I have carved you on the palms of the hand, Your walls [are] continually before Me.

Lo! on the palms of my hands, have I portrayed thee, —Thy walls are before me continually.

17 Those building you have hurried, Those destroying you, and laying you waste, go out from you.

In haste are thy sons, —They who have been tearing thee down and laying thee waste, out of thee, let them go forth!

18 Lift up your eyes, [look] around and see, All of them have been gathered, They have come to you. [As] I live,” a declaration of YHWH! “Surely you put on all of them as an ornament, And you bind them on like a bride.

Lift up, round about, thine eyes and see, All those, have gathered themselves together—have come to thee! As I live, Declareth Yahweh, —Surely all those as an ornament, shalt thou put on, And bind them about thee for a girdle as a bride.

19 Because your ruins, and your desolate places, And the land of your ruins, Are now surely restricted because of inhabitants, And those consuming you have been far off.

Surely, as for thy wastes, and thy desolations, and thy land of ruins, Surely, now, shalt thou be too strait for thine inhabitants, And, far off, shall be they who have been swallowing thee up.

20 Again the sons of your bereavement say in your ears: The place is too narrow for me, Come near to me—and I dwell.

The children of whom thou wast bereaved shall yet say in thine ears, —Too strait for me, is the place Make room for me that I may settle down.

21 And you have said in your heart: Who has begotten these for me? And I [am] bereaved and barren, A captive, and turned aside, And who has nourished these? Behold, I was left by myself, these—where [are] they from?”

Then shalt thou say in thy heart, —Who hath borne me, these, Seeing, I, have been bereaved and unfruitful, a captive and banished? These, therefore, who hath brought them up? Lo! I, was left, alone, These, where were they?

22 Thus said Lord YHWH: “Behold, I lift up My hand to nations, And I raise up My ensign to peoples, And they have brought your sons in the bosom, And your daughters are carried on the shoulder.

Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh—Lo! I will lift up, unto nations my hand, Yea unto peoples, will I raise high my banner, —And they shall bring in thy sons in their bosom, And, thy daughters, on the shoulder shall be borne;

23 And kings have been your nursing fathers, And their princesses—your nursing mothers; Face to the earth—they bow down to you, And they lick up the dust of your feet, And you have known that I [am] YHWH, That those expecting Me are not ashamed.”

And, kings, shall be, thy foster-fathers. And their queens, thy nursing mothers, With face to the ground, shall they bow down to thee, The dust of thy feet, shall they lick, —So shalt thou know that, I, am Yahweh, In that, they shall not be put to shame, Who were waiting for me.

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

Shall prey, be taken from a mighty one? Or the captive of one in the right, be delivered?

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

Surely, thus, saith Yahweh—Even the captive of the mighty one, shall be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant, be delivered; And thine opposers, I, will oppose, And thy children, I, will save;

26 And I have caused your oppressors to eat their own flesh, And they drink their own blood as new wine, And all flesh has known that I, YHWH, Your Savior, and your Redeemer, [Am] the Mighty One of Jacob!”

Then will I feed thy tormentors with their own flesh, And as with new wine—with their own blood, shall they be drunk, —So shall all flesh, know, that, I—Yahweh, am thy Saviour, And, thy Redeemer, is the Mighty One of Jacob.