Isaiah 49:14-21

14Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”

15“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

16See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

17Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.

18Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.

19“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land will soon be crowded with your people. Your enemies who enslaved you will be far away.

20The generations born in exile will return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’

21Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these descendants? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile. I was left here all alone. Where did all these people come from? Who bore these children? Who raised them for me?’”