Isaiæ 49
1 Audite, insulæ, et attendite, populi de longe: Dominus ab utero vocavit me; de ventre matris meæ recordatus est nominis mei.
Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: the LORD has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name.
2 Et posuit os meum quasi gladium acutum, in umbra manus suæ protexit me, et posuit me sicut sagittam electam: in pharetra sua abscondit me.
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. He has made me a polished shaft. He has kept me close in his quiver.
3 Et dixit mihi: Servus meus es tu Israël, quia in te gloriabor.
He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
4 Et ego dixi: In vacuum laboravi; sine causa et vane fortitudinem meam consumpsi: ergo judicium meum cum Domino, et opus meum cum Deo meo.
But I said, “I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength in vain for nothing; yet surely the justice due to me is with the LORD, and my reward with my God.”
5 Et nunc dicit Dominus, formans me ex utero servum sibi, ut reducam Jacob ad eum, et Israël non congregabitur; et glorificatus sum in oculis Domini, et Deus meus factus est fortitudo mea.
Now the LORD, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, says to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in the LORD’s eyes, and my God has become my strength.
6 Et dixit: Parum est ut sis mihi servus ad suscitandas tribus Jacob, et fæces Israël convertendas: ecce dedi te in lucem gentium, ut sis salus mea usque ad extremum terræ.
Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”
7 Hæc dicit Dominus, redemptor Israël, Sanctus ejus, ad contemptibilem animam, ad abominatam gentem, ad servum dominorum: Reges videbunt, et consurgent principes, et adorabunt propter Dominum, quia fidelis est, et Sanctum Israël qui elegit te.
The LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up, princes, and they shall worship, because of the LORD who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
8 Hæc dicit Dominus: In tempore placito exaudivi te, et in die salutis auxiliatus sum tui: et servavi te, et dedi te in fœdus populi, ut suscitares terram, et possideres hæreditates dissipatas;
The LORD says, “I have answered you in an acceptable time. I have helped you in a day of salvation. I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage,
9 ut diceres his qui vincti sunt: Exite, et his qui in tenebris: Revelamini. Super vias pascentur, et in omnibus planis pascua eorum.
saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.
10 Non esurient neque sitient, et non percutiet eos æstus et sol, quia miserator eorum reget eos, et ad fontes aquarum potabit eos.
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them, for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.
11 Et ponam omnes montes meos in viam, et semitæ meæ exaltabuntur.
I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Ecce isti de longe venient, et ecce illi ab aquilone et mari, et isti de terra australi.
Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.”
13 Laudate, cæli, et exsulta, terra; jubilate, montes, laudem, quia consolatus est Dominus populum suum, et pauperum suorum miserebitur.
Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth! Break out into singing, mountains! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 Et dixit Sion: Dereliquit me Dominus, et Dominus oblitus est mei.
But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 Numquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misereatur filio uteri sui? Etsi illa oblita fuerit, ego tamen non obliviscar tui.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!
16 Ecce in manibus meis descripsi te; muri tui coram oculis meis semper.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are continually before me.
17 Venerunt structores tui; destruentes te et dissipantes a te exibunt.
Your children hurry. Your destroyers and those who devastated you will leave you.
18 Leva in circuitu oculos tuos, et vide: omnes isti congregati sunt, venerunt tibi. Vivo ego, dicit Dominus, quia omnibus his velut ornamento vestieris, et circumdabis tibi eos quasi sponsa;
Lift up your eyes all around, and see: all these gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live,” says the LORD, “you shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament, and dress yourself with them, like a bride.
19 quia deserta tua, et solitudines tuæ, et terra ruinæ tuæ, nunc angusta erunt præ habitatoribus; et longe fugabuntur qui absorbebant te.
“For, as for your waste and your desolate places, and your land that has been destroyed, surely now that land will be too small for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Adhuc dicent in auribus tuis filii sterilitatis tuæ: Angustus est mihi locus; fac spatium mihi ut habitem.
The children of your bereavement will say in your ears, ‘This place is too small for me. Give me a place to live in.’
21 Et dices in corde tuo: Quis genuit mihi istos? ego sterilis et non pariens, transmigrata, et captiva; et istos quis enutrivit? ego destituta et sola; et isti ubi erant?
Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth? Who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’”
22 Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce levabo ad gentes manum meam, et ad populos exaltabo signum meum: et afferent filios tuos in ulnis, et filias tuas super humeros portabunt.
The Lord GOD says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and lift up my banner to the peoples. They shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 Et erunt reges nutritii tui, et reginæ nutrices tuæ; vultu in terram demisso adorabunt te, et pulverem pedum tuorum lingent. Et scies quia ego Dominus, super quo non confundentur qui exspectant eum.
Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; and those who wait for me won’t be disappointed.”
24 Numquid tolletur a forti præda? aut quod captum fuerit a robusto, salvum esse poterit?
Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
25 Quia hæc dicit Dominus: Equidem, et captivitas a forti tolletur, et quod ablatum fuerit a robusto, salvabitur. Eos vero qui judicaverunt te, ego judicabo, et filios tuos ego salvabo.
But the LORD says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the plunder retrieved from the fierce, for I will contend with him who contends with you and I will save your children.
26 Et cibabo hostes tuos carnibus suis, et quasi musto, sanguine suo inebriabuntur, et sciet omnis caro quia ego Dominus salvans te, et redemptor tuus fortis Jacob.
I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; and they will be drunk on their own blood, as with sweet wine. Then all flesh shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
