Isaiah 49:18-23

18Look all round you! See all your people as they return together.’ The Lord says, ‘I tell you clearly, as the God who lives, you will be happy with your people. They will make you beautiful again, like a bride with her beautiful jewels.

19Enemies have destroyed your land. Its towns have become heaps of stones. But soon your land will be too small for all your people to live in. The enemies who destroyed you will be far away from you.

20The children who were born in a foreign land will return to you. You will hear them say, “This place is too small for us. Find more room for us to live in.”

21Then you will think, “Who gave me all these children? Who is their father? I was alone, with no husband. They killed my children or they took them away to a foreign land. I could no longer give birth. So where did all these children come from?” ’

22The Almighty Lord says, ‘Look! I will lift up my hand, to call the nations. I will raise up a flag as a sign to those people. Then they will bring back your sons and your daughters. They will carry them in their arms and on their shoulders.

23The kings of those nations will take care of your children. The kings' daughters will feed them. The rulers will bend down low in front of you, so that their faces touch the ground. They will taste the dirt by your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I will not disappoint people who wait for me to help them.