Isaiah 49

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

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

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

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

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

25 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 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.