Isaiah 49

Salvation Reaches to the Ends of the Earth

1Listen to Me, you 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 sharpened 6arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.3He said to Me, “7You are My Servant, Israel, 8In whom I will show My glory.”4But I said, “I have 9labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and futility; Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the Lord, And My 10reward is with My God.”

5And now says 11the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that 12Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am 13honored in the sight of the Lord, And My God is My 14strength),6He says, “It is too 15small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the 16protected ones of Israel; I will also make You a 17light 18of the nations So that My salvation may 19reach to the 20end of the earth.”7This is what the Lord, the 21Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, Says to the 2223despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers: “24Kings will see and arise, Princes will also 25bow down, Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

8This is what the Lord says: “At a 26favorable time I answered You, And on a day of salvation I helped You; And I will 27watch over You and 28make You a covenant of the people, To 2930restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;9Saying to those who are 31bound, ‘32Go free,’ To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the roads, 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 He 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 behold, these will come from the 42north and from the west, And these from the land of Aswan.”1343Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains! For the 44Lord has comforted His people And will 45have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

14But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned 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 leave you.1851Raise your eyes and look around; 52All of them gather together, 53they come to you. 54As I live,” declares the Lord, “You will certainly 55put them all on as 56jewelry and bind them on as a bride.19For 57your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land-- Now you will certainly be 58too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who 59swallowed you will be far away.20The 60children 61you lost 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 fathered these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And 63cannot conceive, and I am an 64exile, and a wanderer? And who has raised these? Behold, I was 65left alone; 6667Where are these from?’”

22This is what the Lord 68God says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My 69flag to the peoples; And they will 70bring your sons 71in their arms, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.2372Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will 73bow down to you with their faces to the ground And 74lick the dust from your feet; And you will 75know that I am the Lord; Those who hopefully 76wait for Me will 77not be put to shame.

24“78Can the prey be taken from a mighty man, Or the captives of 79a tyrant be rescued?” 25Indeed, this is what the Lord says: “Even the 80captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will 81save your sons.26I will feed your 82oppressors with their 83own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And 8485humanity will know that I, the Lord, am your 86Savior And your 87Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”