Berean Standard Bible

Isaiah 49:6-23

6He 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.”1

7Thus 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.”

8This is what the LORD says:

“In the time of favor I will answer You,and in the day of salvation I will help You;2I will keep You and appoint Youto be a covenant for the people,to restore the land,to apportion its desolate inheritances,9to 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.10They will not hunger or thirst,nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them.3For He who has compassion on them will guide themand lead them beside springs of water.11I will turn all My mountains into roads,and My highways will be raised up.12Behold, they will come from far away,from the north and from the west,4and from the land of Aswan.5”

13Shout 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.

14But 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!16Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;your walls are ever before Me.17Your builders6 hasten back;your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.18Lift 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 jewelryand put them on like a bride.19For your ruined and desolate placesand your ravaged landwill now indeed be too small for your people,and those who devoured you will be far away.20Yet the children of your bereavementwill say in your hearing,‘This place is too small for us;make room for us to live here.’

21Then 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?’”

22This 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 arms7and carry your daughters on their shoulders.23Kings will be your foster fathers,and their queens your nursing mothers.They will bow to you facedownand 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.”

Read all of Isaiah 49

Notes

1. Isaiah 49:6 Cited in Acts 13:47 ↩
2. Isaiah 49:8 LXX In the time of favor I heard You, and in the day of salvation I helped You; cited in 2 Corinthians 6:2 ↩
3. Isaiah 49:10 Cited in Revelation 7:16 ↩
4. Isaiah 49:12 Or from the sea ↩
5. Isaiah 49:12 That is, a region in southern Egypt (from DSS); MT the land of Sinim ↩
6. Isaiah 49:17 DSS; MT Your sons ↩
7. Isaiah 49:22 Hebrew in their bosom ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Isaiah 49