Isaiah49
New International Version
1Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.
3He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
4But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”
5And now the Lord says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength—
6he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
7This is what the Lord says— 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 stand up, princes will see and 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 my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.
10They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
11I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up.
12See, they will come from afar— some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.”
13Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
15“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
16See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
17Your children hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18Lift up your eyes and look around; all your children gather and come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.
19“Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.
20The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’
21Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?’”
22This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips.
23Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
24Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives be rescued from the fierce?
25But this is what the Lord says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.
26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 49.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The unbelief and rejection of the Jews. (1-6). Gracious promise to the Gentiles. (7-12). God's love to the church. (13-17). Its increase. (18-23). And deliverance. (24-26).
vv1-6
The great Author of redemption shows the authority for his work. The sword of his word slays the lusts of his people, and all at enmity with them. His sharp arrows wound the conscience; but all these wounds will be healed, when the sinner prays to him for mercy. But even the Redeemer, who spake as never man spake in his personal ministry, often seemed to labour in vain. And if Jacob will not be brought back to God, and Israel will not be gathered, still Christ will be glorious. This promise is in part fulfilled in the calling of the Gentiles. Men perish in darkness. But Christ enlightens men, and so makes them holy and happy.
vv7-12
The Father is the Lord, the Redeemer, and Holy One of Israel, as sending the Son to be the Redeemer. Man, whom he came to save, put contempt upon him. To this he submitted for our salvation. He is a pledge for all the blessings of the covenant; in him God was reconciling the world to himself. Pardoning mercy is a release from the curse of the law; renewing grace is a release from the dominion of sin: both are from Christ. He saith to those in darkness, Show yourselves. Not only see, but be seen, to the glory of God, and your own comforts. Though there are difficulties in the way to heaven, yet the grace of God will carry us over them, and make even the mountains a way. This denotes the free invitations and the encouraging promises of the gospel, and the outpouring of the Spirit.
vv13-17
Let there be universal joy, for God will have mercy upon the afflicted, because of his compassion; upon his afflicted, because of his covenant. We have no more reason to question his promise and grace, than we have to question his providence and justice. Be assured that God has a tender affection for his church and people; he would not have them to be discouraged. Some mothers do neglect their children; but God's compassions to his people, infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents toward their children. His setting them as a mark on his hand, or a seal upon his arm, denotes his being ever mindful of them. As far as we have scriptural evidence that we belong to his ransomed flock, we may be sure that he will never forsake us. Let us then give diligence to make our calling and election sure, and rejoice in the hope and glory of God.
Key Words
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
אִי: properly, a habitable spot (as desirable); dry land, a coast, an island
קָשַׁב: to prick up the ears, i.e. hearken
לְאֹם: a community
מִן: properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses
רָחוֹק: remote, literally or figuratively, of place or time; specifically, precious; often used adverbially (with preposition)
קָרָא: to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
בֶּטֶן: the belly, especially the womb; also the bosom or body of anything
מֵעֶה: used only in plural the intestines, or (collectively) the abdomen, figuratively, sympathy; by implication, a vest; by extension the stomach, the uterus (or of men, the seat of generation), the heart (figuratively)
אֵם: a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively (like father))
Cross References
Isaiah 49Explicitly quotes Isaiah 49:6 as the divine commission to preach salvation to the Gentiles.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The sword-like mouth of the Servant corresponds to the piercing, two-edged Word of God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel description of the Messiah as despised, abhorred, and rejected of men.
Supported by JFB
Direct textual fulfillment: the redeemed in heaven shall neither hunger, thirst, nor have heat smite them.
Supported by JFB
Fulfills the calling from the womb and the naming of Jesus before his birth.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul uses identical womb-calling terminology, showing the apostolic continuation of the Servant's mission.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Simeon echoes the language of the Servant as a light to lighten the Gentiles.
Supported by JFB
Messianic parallel detailing the deep contempt, mocking, and abhorrence the Servant endures from men.
Supported by JFB
Verbal echo of being covered in the shadow of God's hand.
Supported by JFB
Depicts Christ returning with a sharp sword proceeding from his mouth to smite the nations.
Supported by JFB
Jesus declares on earth that He has glorified the Father, fulfilling the Servant's mandate.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Illustrates Christ's initial personal ministry directed specifically to gather the lost sheep of Israel.
Supported by JFB
Matches the exact phrasing of the Servant being given for a covenant of the people.
Supported by JFB
Zion's complaint of being forgotten matches Jacob's identical despairing claim in Isaiah 40.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The custom of signs upon the hand as a perpetual memorial of God's covenant loyalty.
Supported by Matthew Poole