Isaiah 49
1 Ilis, here ye, and puplis afer, perseyue ye; the Lord clepide me fro the wombe, he thouyte on my name fro the wombe of my modir.
Listen, to me O isles; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the body of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
2 And he hath set my mouth as a scharp swerd, he defendide me in the schadewe of his hond, and settide me as a chosun arowe; he hidde me in his arowe caas,
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
3 and seide to me, Israel, thou art my seruaunt, for Y schal haue glorie in thee.
And said to me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4 And Y seide, Y trauelide in veyn, Y wastide my strengthe with out cause, and veynli; therfor my doom is with the Lord, and my werk is with my God.
Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
5 And now the Lord, formynge me a seruaunt to hym silf fro the wombe, seith these thingis, that Y brynge ayen Jacob to hym. And Israel schal not be gaderid togidere; and Y am glorified in the iyen of the Lord, and my God is maad my strengthe.
And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
6 And he seyde, It is litil, that thou be a seruaunt to me, to reise the lynages of Jacob, and to conuerte the drastis of Israel; Y yaf thee in to the liyt of hethene men, that thou be myn helthe `til to the laste part of erthe.
And he said, It is a light 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 to the end of the earth.
7 The Lord, ayenbiere of Israel, the hooli therof, seith these thingis to a dispisable soule, and to a folk had in abhomynacioun, to the seruaunt of lordis, Kyngis schulen se, and princes schulen rise togidere, and schulen worschipe, for the Lord, for he is feithful, and for the hooli of Israel, that chees thee.
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 also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
8 The Lord seith these thingis, In a plesaunt tyme Y herde thee, and in the dai of helthe Y helpide thee; and Y kepte thee, and yaf thee in to a bonde of pees of the puple, that thou schuldist reise the erthe, and haue in possessioun eritagis, `that ben distried;
Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard 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 establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 that thou schuldist seie to hem that ben boundun, Go ye out, and to hem that ben in derknessis, Be ye schewid. Thei schulen be fed on weies, and the lesewis of hem schulen be in alle pleyn thingis.
That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
10 Thei schulen not hungre, and thei schulen no more thirste, and heete, and the sunne schal not smyte hem; for the merciful doere of hem schal gouerne hem, and schal yyue drynk to hem at the wellis of watris.
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.
11 And Y schal sette alle myn hillis in to weie, and my pathis schulen be enhaunsid.
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Lo! these men schulen come fro fer, and lo! thei schulen come fro the north, and see, and these fro the south lond.
Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
13 Heuenes, herie ye, and, thou erthe, make ful out ioie; hillis, synge ye hertli heriyng; for the Lord coumfortide his puple, and schal haue merci on hise pore men.
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 mercy upon his afflicted.
14 And Syon seide, The Lord hath forsake me, and the Lord hath foryete me.
But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Whether a womman may foryete hir yonge child, that sche haue not merci on the sone of hir wombe? thouy sche foryetith, netheles Y schal not foryete thee.
Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee.
16 Lo! Y haue write thee in myn hondis; thi wallis ben euer bifore myn iyen.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 The bilderis ben comun; thei that distrien thee, and scateren, schulen go awei fro thee.
Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee.
18 Reise thin iyen in cumpas, and se; alle these men ben gaderid togidere, thei ben comun to thee. Y lyue, seith the Lord, for thou schalt be clothid with alle these as with an ournement, and thou as a spousesse schalt bynde hem to thee.
Lift up thy eyes all around, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
19 For whi thi desertis, and thi wildirnessis, and the lond of thi fallyng now schulen be streit for enhabiteris; and thei schulen be dryuun awei fer, that swolewiden thee.
For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too small by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20 Yit the sones of thi bareynesse schulen seie in thin eeris, The place is streit to me, make thou a space to me for to dwelle.
The children who thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thy ears, The place is too small for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
21 And thou schalt seie in thin herte, Who gendride these sones to me? Y am bareyn, not berynge child; Y am led ouer, and prisoner; and who nurschide these sones? Y am destitute, and aloone; and where weren these?
Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten these for me, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and moving to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where have they been?
22 The Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y reise myn hond to hethene men, and Y schal enhaunce my signe to puplis; and thei schulen brynge thi sones in armes, and thei schulen bere thi douytris on shuldris.
Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23 And kingis shulen be thi nurseris, and quenys shulen be thi nursis; with cheer cast doun in to erthe thei schulen worschipe thee, and thei schulen licke the dust of thi feet; and thou schalt wite, that Y am the Lord, on whom thei schulen not be schent, that abiden hym.
And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
24 Whether prey schal be takun awei fro a strong man? ether that that is takun of a stalworthe man, mai be saaf?
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
25 For the Lord seith these thingis, Sotheli and caitifte schal be takun awey fro the stronge man, and that that is takun awei of a stalworthe man, schal be saued. Forsothe Y schal deme hem, that demyden thee, and Y schal saue thi sones.
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.
26 And Y schal fede thin enemyes with her fleischis, and thei schulen be greetli fillid with her blood as with must; and eche man schal wite, that Y am the Lord, sauynge thee, and thin ayenbiere, the strong of Jacob.
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunk 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.
