Isaiah 49

¹Listen to me, O coastlands , and give attention , you peoples from afar . The Lord called me from the womb , from the body of my mother he named my name .

²He made my mouth like a sharp sword ; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow ; in his quiver he hid me away.

³And he said to me, You are my servant , Israel , in whom I will be glorified .

⁴But I said , I have labored in vain ; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity ; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God .

⁵And now the Lord says , he who formed me from the womb to be his servant , to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength —

⁶he says : It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel ; I will make you as a light for the nations , that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth .

⁷Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One , to one deeply despised , abhorred by the nation , the servant of rulers : Kings shall see and arise ; princes , and they shall prostrate themselves ; because of the Lord, who is faithful , the Holy One of Israel , who has chosen you.

⁸Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people , to establish the land , to apportion the desolate heritages ,

⁹saying to the prisoners , Come out , to those who are in darkness , Appear . They shall feed along the ways ; on all bare heights shall be their pasture ;

¹⁰they shall not hunger or thirst , neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.

¹¹And I will make all my mountains a road , and my highways shall be raised up .

¹²Behold , these shall come from afar , and behold , these from the north and from the west , and these from the land of Syene .

¹³Sing for joy , O heavens , and exult , O earth ; break forth , O mountains , into singing ! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted .

¹⁴But Zion said , The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.

¹⁵Can a woman forget her nursing child , that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb ? Even these may forget , yet I will not forget you.

¹⁶Behold , I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

¹⁷Your builders make haste ; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.

¹⁸Lift up your eyes around and see ; they all gather , they come to you. As I live , declares the Lord, you shall put them all on as an ornament ; you shall bind them on as a bride does.

¹⁹Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land — surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants , and those who swallowed you up will be far away .

²⁰The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears : The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.

²¹Then you will say in your heart : Who has borne me these ? I was bereaved and barren , exiled and put away , but who has brought up these ? Behold , I was left alone ; from where have these come?

²²Thus says the Lord God: Behold , I will lift up my hand to the nations , and raise my signal to the peoples ; and they shall bring your sons in their arms , and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders .

²³Kings shall be your foster fathers , and their queens your nursing mothers . With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet . Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame .

²⁴Can the prey be taken from the mighty , or the captives of a tyrant be rescued ?

²⁵For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken , and the prey of the tyrant be rescued , for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children .

²⁶I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh , and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine . Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior , and your Redeemer , the Mighty One of Jacob .