Isaiah 49

Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth

1Listen to Me, O 1islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. 2The Lord called Me from the womb; From the 3body of My mother He named Me.2He has made My 4mouth like a sharp sword, In the 5shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a 6select 7arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.3He said to Me, “8You are My Servant, Israel, 9In Whom I will 10show My glory.”4But I said, “I have 11toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord, And My 12reward with My God.”

5And now says 13the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that 14Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am 15honored in the sight of the Lord, And My God is My 16strength),6He says, “It is too 17small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the 18preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a 19light 20of the nations So that My salvation may 21reach to the 22end of the earth.”7Thus says the Lord, the 23Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the 24despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, “25Kings will see and arise, Princes will also 26bow down, Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

8Thus says the Lord, “In a 27favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will 28keep You and 29give You for a covenant of the people, To 3031restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;9Saying to those who are 32bound, ‘Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all 33bare heights.10They will 34not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching 35heat or sun strike them down; For 36He who has compassion on them will 37lead them And will guide them to 38springs of water.11I will make all 39My mountains a road, And My 40highways will be raised up.12Behold, these will come 41from afar; And lo, these will come from the 42north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim.”1343Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the 44Lord has comforted His people And will 45have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

14But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.”15“Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but 46I will not forget you.16Behold, I have 47inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your 48walls are continually before Me.17Your 49builders hurry; Your 50destroyers and devastators Will depart from you.1851Lift up your eyes and look around; 52All of them gather together, 53they come to you. 54As I live,” declares the Lord, “You will surely 55put on all of them as 56jewels and bind them on as a bride.19For 57your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land-- Surely now you will be 58too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who 59swallowed you will be far away.20The 60children of 61whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’21Then you will 62say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am 63barren, an 64exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was 65left alone; 6667From where did these come?’”

22Thus says the Lord 68God, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My 69standard to the peoples; And they will 70bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.2371Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will 72bow down to you with their faces to the earth And 73lick the dust of your feet; And you will 74know that I am the Lord; Those who hopefully 75wait for Me will 76not be put to shame.

24“77Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of 78a tyrant be rescued?” 25Surely, thus says the Lord, “Even the 79captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will 80save your sons.26I will feed your 81oppressors with their 82own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And 83all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your 84Savior And your 85Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”