Ἠσαΐας 49
1 ἀκούσατέ μου νῆσοι καὶ προσέχετε ἔθνη διὰ χρόνου πολλοῦ στήσεται λέγει κύριος ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομά μου
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.
2 καὶ ἔθηκεν τὸ στόμα μου ὡσεὶ μάχαιραν ὀξεῖαν καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ ἔκρυψέν με ἔθηκέν με ὡς βέλος ἐκλεκτὸν καὶ ἐν τῇ φαρέτρᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐσκέπασέν με
[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.
3 καὶ εἶπέν μοι δοῦλός μου εἶ σύ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐν σοὶ δοξασθήσομαι
He said to me, “You will serve my Israeli [people], and you will cause people to honor me.”
4 καὶ ἐγὼ εἶπα κενῶς ἐκοπίασα καὶ εἰς μάταιον καὶ εἰς οὐδὲν ἔδωκα τὴν ἰσχύν μου διὰ τοῦτο ἡ κρίσις μου παρὰ κυρίῳ καὶ ὁ πόνος μου ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ μου
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].”
5 καὶ νῦν οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ πλάσας με ἐκ κοιλίας δοῦλον ἑαυτῷ τοῦ συναγαγεῖν τὸν Ιακωβ καὶ Ισραηλ πρὸς αὐτόν συναχθήσομαι καὶ δοξασθήσομαι ἐναντίον κυρίου καὶ ὁ θεός μου ἔσται μου ἰσχύς
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.
6 καὶ εἶπέν μοι μέγα σοί ἐστιν τοῦ κληθῆναί σε παῖδά μου τοῦ στῆσαι τὰς φυλὰς Ιακωβ καὶ τὴν διασπορὰν τοῦ Ισραηλ ἐπιστρέψαι ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς
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.”
7 οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ ῥυσάμενός σε ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ἁγιάσατε τὸν φαυλίζοντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τὸν βδελυσσόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν τῶν δούλων τῶν ἀρχόντων βασιλεῖς ὄψονται αὐτὸν καὶ ἀναστήσονται ἄρχοντες καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ ἕνεκεν κυρίου ὅτι πιστός ἐστιν ὁ ἅγιος Ισραηλ καὶ ἐξελεξάμην σε
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.”
8 οὕτως λέγει κύριος καιρῷ δεκτῷ ἐπήκουσά σου καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ σωτηρίας ἐβοήθησά σοι καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην ἐθνῶν τοῦ καταστῆσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ κληρονομῆσαι κληρονομίαν ἐρήμου
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.
9 λέγοντα τοῖς ἐν δεσμοῖς ἐξέλθατε καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ σκότει ἀνακαλυφθῆναι καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν βοσκηθήσονται καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς τρίβοις ἡ νομὴ αὐτῶν
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.
10 οὐ πεινάσουσιν οὐδὲ διψήσουσιν οὐδὲ πατάξει αὐτοὺς καύσων οὐδὲ ὁ ἥλιος ἀλλὰ ὁ ἐλεῶν αὐτοὺς παρακαλέσει καὶ διὰ πηγῶν ὑδάτων ἄξει αὐτούς
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.
11 καὶ θήσω πᾶν ὄρος εἰς ὁδὸν καὶ πᾶσαν τρίβον εἰς βόσκημα αὐτοῖς
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].
12 ἰδοὺ οὗτοι πόρρωθεν ἔρχονται οὗτοι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ καὶ οὗτοι ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἄλλοι δὲ ἐκ γῆς Περσῶν
My people will return from far away; some will come from the north, some from the west, some from southern Egypt.”
13 εὐφραίνεσθε οὐρανοί καὶ ἀγαλλιάσθω ἡ γῆ ῥηξάτωσαν τὰ ὄρη εὐφροσύνην καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ δικαιοσύνην ὅτι ἠλέησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς ταπεινοὺς τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ παρεκάλεσεν
[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.
14 εἶπεν δὲ Σιων ἐγκατέλιπέν με κύριος καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐπελάθετό μου
[The people of] Jerusalem say, “Yahweh has abandoned us; he has forgotten about us.”
15 μὴ ἐπιλήσεται γυνὴ τοῦ παιδίου αὐτῆς τοῦ μὴ ἐλεῆσαι τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας αὐτῆς εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιλάθοιτο ταῦτα γυνή ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ οὐκ ἐπιλήσομαί σου εἶπεν κύριος
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!
16 ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τῶν χειρῶν μου ἐζωγράφησά σου τὰ τείχη καὶ ἐνώπιόν μου εἶ διὰ παντός
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.
17 καὶ ταχὺ οἰκοδομηθήσῃ ὑφ’ ὧν καθῃρέθης καὶ οἱ ἐρημώσαντές σε ἐκ σοῦ ἐξελεύσονται
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.
18 ἆρον κύκλῳ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου καὶ ἰδὲ πάντας ἰδοὺ συνήχθησαν καὶ ἤλθοσαν πρὸς σέ ζῶ ἐγώ λέγει κύριος ὅτι πάντας αὐτοὺς ἐνδύσῃ καὶ περιθήσῃ αὐτοὺς ὡς κόσμον νύμφης
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!
19 ὅτι τὰ ἔρημά σου καὶ τὰ διεφθαρμένα καὶ τὰ πεπτωκότα νῦν στενοχωρήσει ἀπὸ τῶν κατοικούντων καὶ μακρυνθήσονται ἀπὸ σοῦ οἱ καταπίνοντές σε
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.
20 ἐροῦσιν γὰρ εἰς τὰ ὦτά σου οἱ υἱοί σου οὓς ἀπολώλεκας στενός μοι ὁ τόπος ποίησόν μοι τόπον ἵνα κατοικήσω
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!’
21 καὶ ἐρεῖς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου τίς ἐγέννησέν μοι τούτους ἐγὼ δὲ ἄτεκνος καὶ χήρα τούτους δὲ τίς ἐξέθρεψέν μοι ἐγὼ δὲ κατελείφθην μόνη οὗτοι δέ μοι ποῦ ἦσαν
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?'”
22 οὕτως λέγει κύριος ἰδοὺ αἴρω εἰς τὰ ἔθνη τὴν χεῖρά μου καὶ εἰς τὰς νήσους ἀρῶ σύσσημόν μου καὶ ἄξουσιν τοὺς υἱούς σου ἐν κόλπῳ τὰς δὲ θυγατέρας σου ἐπ’ ὤμων ἀροῦσιν
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.
23 καὶ ἔσονται βασιλεῖς τιθηνοί σου αἱ δὲ ἄρχουσαι τροφοί σου ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς προσκυνήσουσίν σοι καὶ τὸν χοῦν τῶν ποδῶν σου λείξουσιν καὶ γνώσῃ ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος καὶ οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσῃ
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.”
24 μὴ λήμψεταί τις παρὰ γίγαντος σκῦλα καὶ ἐὰν αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ τις ἀδίκως σωθήσεται
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.
25 οὕτως λέγει κύριος ἐάν τις αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ γίγαντα λήμψεται σκῦλα λαμβάνων δὲ παρὰ ἰσχύοντος σωθήσεται ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν κρίσιν σου κρινῶ καὶ ἐγὼ τοὺς υἱούς σου ῥύσομαι
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.
26 καὶ φάγονται οἱ θλίψαντές σε τὰς σάρκας αὐτῶν καὶ πίονται ὡς οἶνον νέον τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν καὶ μεθυσθήσονται καὶ αἰσθανθήσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ ῥυσάμενός σε καὶ ἀντιλαμβανόμενος ἰσχύος Ιακωβ
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.”
