Isaiah 49

1 Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

Hear yee me, O yles, and hearken, yee people from farre. The Lord hath called me from the wombe, and made mention of my name from my mothers bellie.

2 He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.

And hee hath made my mouth like a sharpe sworde: vnder the shadowe of his hande hath he hid mee, and made me a chosen shafte, and hid me in his quiuer,

3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”

And sayd vnto me, Thou art my seruaunt, Israel, for I will be glorious in thee.

4 But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”

And I said, I haue labored in vaine: I haue spent my strength in vaine and for nothing: but my iudgement is with the Lord, and my woorke with my God.

5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him— for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—

And now sayeth the Lord, that formed me from the wombe to be his seruaunt, that I may bring Iaakob againe to him (though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I bee glorious in the eyes of the Lord: and my God shall be my strength)

6 He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

And hee sayde, It is a small thing that thou shouldest be my seruaunt, to raise vp the tribes of Iaakob, and to restore the desolations of Israel: I will also giue thee for a light of the Gentiles, that thou maiest bee my saluation vnto the ende of the worlde.

7 Thus says the LORD, 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 rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”

Thus sayeth the Lord the redeemer of Israel, and his Holie one, to him that is despised in soule, to a nation that is abhorred, to a seruaunt of rulers, Kinges shall see, and arise, and princes shall worship, because of the Lord, that is faithfull: and ye Holy one of Israel, which hath chosen thee.

8 This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances,

Thus sayeth the Lord, In an acceptable time haue I heard thee, and in a day of saluation haue I helped thee: and I will preserue thee, and wil giue thee for a couenant of ye people, that thou maiest raise vp the earth, and obtaine the inheritance of the desolate heritages:

9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.

That thou maiest say to the prisoners, Goe foorth: and to them that are in darkenesse, Shewe your selues: they shall feede in the waies, and their pastures shall bee in all the toppes of the hilles.

10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

They shall not be hungrie, neither shall they be thirstie, neither shall the heat smite them, nor the sunne: for he that hath compassion on them, shall leade them: euen to the springs of waters shall he driue them.

11 I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up.

And I will make all my mountaines, as a way, and my paths shalbe exalted.

12 Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”

Beholde, these shall come from farre: and loe, these from the North and from the West, and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

Reioyce, O heauens: and bee ioyfull, O earth: brast foorth into praise, O mountaines: for God hath comforted his people, and will haue mercie vpon his afflicted.

14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!”

But Zion saide, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!

Can a woman forget her childe, and not haue compassion on the sonne of her wombe? though they should forget, yet wil I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.

Behold, I haue grauen thee vpon the palme of mine hands: thy walles are euer in my sight.

17 Your builders hasten back; your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.

Thy builders make haste: thy destroiers and they that made thee waste, are departed from thee.

18 Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.

Lift vp thine eies round about and behold: all these gather themselues together and come to thee: as I liue, sayeth the Lord, thou shalt surely put them all vpon thee as a garment, and girde thy selfe with them like a bride.

19 For your ruined and desolate places and your ravaged land will now indeed be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.

For thy desolations, and thy waste places, and thy land destroied, shall surely be now narow for them that shall dwell in it, and they that did deuoure thee, shalbe farre away.

20 Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; make room for us to live here.’

The children of thy barennesse shall say againe in thine eares, The place is straict for mee: giue place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. So who has reared them? Look, I was left all alone, so where did they come from?’”

Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten mee these, seeing I am baren and desolate, a captiue and a wanderer to and from? and who hath nourished them? beholde, I was left alone: whence are these?

22 This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Thus sayeth the Lord God, Beholde, I will lift vp mine hande to the Gentiles and set vp my stadart to the people, and they shall bring thy sonnes in their armes: and thy daughters shall be caried vpon their shoulders.

23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

And Kings shalbe thy nourcing fathers, and Queenes shalbe thy nources: they shall worship thee with their faces towarde the earth, and licke vp the dust of thy feete: and thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that waite for me.

24 Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?

Shall the pray be taken from the mightie? or the iust captiuitie deliuered?

25 Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

But thus sayeth the Lord, euen the captiuitie of the mightie shall be taken away: and the pray of the tyrant shall be deliuered: for I wil contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will saue thy children,

26 I 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 and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

And will feede them that spoile thee, with their owne flesh, and they shall be drunken with their owne bloode, as with sweete wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy sauiour and thy redeemer, the mighty one of Iaakob.