Isaiah 49
1 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.
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 [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.
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 He said to me, “You will serve my Israeli [people], and you will cause people to honor me.”
And said to me My Servant, thou art, —Israel, in whom I will get myself glory.
4 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].”
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 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.
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 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.”
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 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.”
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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].
Then will I make of all my mountains, a road, And my highways, shall be upraised.
12 My people will return from far away; some will come from the north, some from the west, some from southern Egypt.”
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 [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.
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 [The people of] Jerusalem say, “Yahweh has abandoned us; he has forgotten about us.”
But Zion had said. Yahweh hath forsaken me, —Even, My Lord, hath forgotten me!
15 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!
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 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.
Lo! on the palms of my hands, have I portrayed thee, —Thy walls are before me continually.
17 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.
In haste are thy sons, —They who have been tearing thee down and laying thee waste, out of thee, let them go forth!
18 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!
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 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.
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 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!’
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 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?'”
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 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.
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 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.”
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 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.
Shall prey, be taken from a mighty one? Or the captive of one in the right, be delivered?
25 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.
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 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.”
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.
