Isa 49
1
Listen, O isles, to me; and hearken, you peoples, from far: YHWH has called me from
the womb; from the bowels of my mother has he made mention of my name:
2
and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid
me: and he has made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he kept me close:
3
and he said to me, You are my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4
But I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely the justice [due] to me is with YHWH, and my recompense with my God.
5
And now says YHWH that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again
to him, and that Israel be gathered to him (for I am honorable in the eyes of YHWH,
and my God is become my strength);
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yea, 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 for
a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.
7
Thus says YHWH, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despises,
to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall worship; because of YHWH that is faithful, [even] the Holy
One of Israel, who has chosen you.
8
Thus says YHWH, In an acceptable time have I answered you, and in a day of salvation
have I helped you; and I will preserve you, and give you for a covenant of the people,
to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages:
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saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves.
They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare heights shall be their pasture.
10
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he
who has mercy on them will lead them, even by springs of water will 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, behold, 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 YHWH has comforted his people, and will have compassion upon his afflicted.
14
But Zion said, YHWH has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.
15
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb? yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget you.
16
Behold, I have graven you upon the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before
me.
17
Your children make haste; your destroyers and they that made you waste shall go forth
from you.
18
Lift up your eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and
come to you. As I live, says YHWH, you shall surely clothe you with them all as with
an ornament, and gird yourself with them, like a bride.
19
For, as for your waste and your desolate places, and your land that has been destroyed,
surely now shall you be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed you
up shall be far away.
20
The children of your bereavement shall yet say in your ears, The place is too strait
for me; give place to me that I may dwell.
21
Then shall you say in your heart, Who has engendered me these, seeing I have been
bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and
who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?
22
Thus says the Lord YHWH, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up
my ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your
daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23
And kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers: they
shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your feet;
and you shall know that I am YHWH; and they that wait for me shall not be put to shame.
24
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
25
But thus says YHWH, 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 whom contends with
you, and I will save your children.
26
And I will feed them that oppress you with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken
with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, YHWH, am
your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.