Isaiah 49

1 Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

2 He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”

4 But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”

5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—

6 He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”

8 This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances,

9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.

10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

11 I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up.

12 Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”

13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!”

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!

16 Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.

17 Your builders hasten back; your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.

18 Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.

19 For your ruined and desolate places and your ravaged land will now indeed be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.

20 Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; make room for us to live here.’

21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. So who has reared them? Look, I was left all alone, so where did they come from?’”

22 This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

24 Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?

25 Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

1 ¶ Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

2 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 said unto me, Thou [art] my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: [yet] surely my judgment [is] with the LORD, and my work with my God.

5 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 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 unto the end of the earth.

7 ¶ 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 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 mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that [are] in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures [shall be] in all high places.

10 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 I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 ¶ 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 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

18 ¶ Lift up thine eyes round about, 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 thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place [is] too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where [had] they [been]?

22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine 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 kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down 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 ¶ Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?

25 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 I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken 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.

1 Hearken unto me, ye isles, and ye nations afar off, take heed. The LORD hath called unto me from my mother's womb: he hath remembered my name, while I was yet in my mother's womb,

2 And hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; with the shadow of his hand hath he covered me. He hath made me a pure arrow; he hath put me in his quiver.

3 And saith unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, by whom I will be glorified.

4 But I thought that I labored in vain, and that I spent my strength in vain, though my cause was the Lord's, and my ministry my God's.

5 And now thus saith the LORD, which hath prepared me from my mother's womb to be his servant, that I should turn Jacob unto him, that Israel should not be taken away: therefore am I glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is my strength.

6 Saying, It is a small thing that thou art my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to bring again that which was desolate in Israel: but I have made thee also the light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be my salvation unto the end of the world.

7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, unto the despised soul, unto the people that are abominable, unto the servant that is among tyrants; Kings shall see and arise, and princes shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, because of the Holy One that is in Israel, who hath chosen thee.

8 Thus saith the LORD; I have heard thee in a good time, and have helped thee in the day of salvation; and have kept thee, and have set thee for a covenant among the people, to raise up the land, and to take the inheritance that was spoiled,

9 To say unto the captives: Come forth; and to them that are in darkness, Come forth; that they may feed by the way, and have their pasture upon every hill.

10 They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun sting them: for their Beneficent God shall lead them, and shall guide them unto the springs of waters.

11 I will make all my mountains paths, and my ways shall be made plain.

12 Behold, these shall come from afar, and, lo, that midnight, and that from the sea, and that from the land of Sinnig.

13 Rejoice, ye heavens; be glad, O earth: praise ye mountains with singing. For the LORD hath comforted his people, and hath had mercy upon his afflicted.

14 And Zion saith, The LORD hath forsaken me, the LORD hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her child, that she have not compassion on the son of her womb? Though she forget him, yet will I not forget thee;

16 Behold, in my hands have I drawn thee. Thy walls are before me for ever.

17 Thy builders shall haste, but thy breakers and thy destroyers shall depart.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold! All these come gathered unto thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt be clothed with all these as with an ornament, and shalt put them about thee as a bride.

19 For thy land, which is desolate, and broken down, shall be too strait for thee to dwell in, when thy destroyers are come far from thee,

20 That the children of thy barrenness may continue to say in thine ears: The space is too narrow for me; move, that I may dwell with thee.

21 But thou shalt say in thine heart, Who begat me these? I am barren, solitary, driven out, and cast down. Who brought up these unto me? Behold, I was left alone; where then were these?

22 Thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I will lift up mine hand unto the heathen, and will cast up my banner unto the nations; and they shall bring thy sons in thine arms, and carry thy daughters in their shoulders.

23 And the kings shall be thy nurses, and their princesses thy nurses. They shall fall to the ground before thee, and lick the dust of thy feet. Then shalt thou know that I am the LORD, in whom they that wait upon me shall not be put to shame.

24 Can a robbery be taken from a giant, or can the righteous be loosed from his captives?

25 For thus saith the LORD; Now shall the captives be taken from the giant, and the spoil of the strong be loosed: and I will contend with thy strife, and will save thy children.

26 And I will feed thy oppressors with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I am the LORD thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One in Jacob.