Isaiah 49

1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye peoples, from far: the LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he 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 hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me; and he hath made me a polished shaft, in his quiver hath he kept me close:

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 said unto me, Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

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

4 But I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my recompence 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 saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered unto him: (for I am honourable in the eyes of the LORD, and my God is become 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 yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest 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 mayest be my salvation unto 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 saith the LORD, the redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of the LORD that is faithful, [even] the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.

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 saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have I 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;

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 saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare heights shall be their pasture.

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 shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

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 will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

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

12 Lo, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; 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 be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have compassion upon his afflicted.

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 But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

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

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee.

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 graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

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

17 Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

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 thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I l live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, 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 For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

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 The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may 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 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?

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 saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine 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 he carried upon their shoulders.

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 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 shalt know that I am the LORD, and they that wait for me shall not be 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 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?

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

25 But thus saith the LORD, 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 that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

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 will feed them that 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 the LORD am thy saviour, and thy redeemer, 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.