Isaiah 49

1 Listen to me, you people of the islands! Pay attention, you who live far away! The Lord called me before I was born; he gave me my name while I was still in my mother's womb.

Listen to me, ye distant lands! Attend, ye nations from afar! Jehovah called me at my birth; In my very childhood he called me by name.

2 The words he gave me to speak are like a sharp sword. He has protected me by covering me with his hand. He put me in his quiver like a sharp arrow, keeping me safe there.

He made my mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of his hand did he hide me. He made me a polished shaft; In his quiver did he hide me.

3 He told me, “You are my servant, Israel, and I will reveal my glory through you.”

He said to me, Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

4 But I replied, “I've worked for nothing! I've exhausted myself, and for what? Even so, I leave it with the Lord to do what's right, and my reward is with my God.”

Then I said, I have labored in vain; For naught, for vanity, have I spent my strength; Yet my cause is with Jehovah, And my reward with my God.

5 Now my Lord is going to speak, the one who formed me in the womb as his servant to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to himself. I am honored in the Lord's sight, and my God has given me strength.

And now thus saith Jehovah, Who formed me from my birth to be his servant To bring Jacob to him again, And that Israel might be gathered to him, —For I am honored in the eyes of Jehovah, And my God is my strength, —

6 He says, “It's nothing much for you to be my servant to bring back the tribes of Jacob, those people of Israel that I've preserved. I'm also going to make you a light for the foreigners so that my salvation may reach everybody.”

He said, It is a small tiling that thou shouldst be my servant, To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also make thee the light of the nations, That my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.

7 This is what the Lord says, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to the one who was despised and detested by the nation, to the one who is the servant of rulers: Kings will see you and stand up, and princes will bow down to you, because the Lord, who is trustworthy, the Holy One of Israel, has chosen you.

Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, To him that is despised by men, abhorred by the people, To the servant of tyrants; Kings shall see, and stand up, Princes, and they shall pay homage, On account of Jehovah, who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.

8 This is what the Lord says: I will answer you at the proper time; I will help you on the day of salvation. I will take care of you, and I will give you to the people as my agreement with them, to restore the land and to reassign the parts that have been abandoned.

Thus saith Jehovah; In the time of favor will I hear thee; In the day of deliverance will I help thee; I will preserve thee, and make thee a mediator for the people, To restore the land, to distribute the desolated inheritances;

9 Tell the prisoners, “Come out!” Tell those living in darkness, “Come into the light!” Like sheep they will feed along the roads and in the pastures on hills that once were barren.

To say to the prisoners, Go forth! To them that are in darkness, Come to the light! They shall feed in the ways, And on all high places shall be their pasture.

10 They won't be hungry or thirsty, and they won't get hot in the sun, for the one who loves them will lead them to springs, and guide them to water.

They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst; Neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; For he that hath compassion on them shall lead them; To springs of water shall he guide them.

11 I will turn all my mountains into a road; my highways will be really high!

And I will make all my mountains a highway; And my roads shall be prepared.

12 Look at these people coming from far away! Look at these people coming from the north, and from the west, and from Upper Egypt.

Behold! these shall come from far; And behold! these from the North and from the West, And these from the land of Sinim.

13 Heavens, shout for joy! Earth, celebrate! Mountains, sing out in happiness! The Lord has come to care for his people, and he will treat his suffering people kindly.

Sing, O ye heavens, and rejoice, O earth! Break forth into singing, ye mountains! For Jehovah comforteth his people, And hath compassion on his afflicted ones.

14 But Zion said, “The Lord has given up on me; the Lord has forgotten about me.”

Zion saith, “Jehovah hath forsaken me; The Lord hath forgotten me.”

15 Really? Can a mother forget her nursing baby? Can she forget to be kind to the child she carried in her womb? Even if she could forget, I will never forget you!

Can a woman forget her sucking child, So as not to have compassion on the son of her womb? Yet, should they forget, I will never forget thee!

16 Look at your names I've written on the palms of my hands! I'm always thinking about your walls.

Behold, I have graven thee on the palms of my hands; Thy walls are ever before my eyes.

17 Soon your children will come running back. Your destroyers, those that devastated your land, will be gone.

Thy children shall make haste; They that destroyed and laid thee waste shall depart from thee.

18 Take a look around. See all your children gathering and coming back to you. As I live, declares the Lord, you will wear them all as jewelry, proudly putting them on like a bride.

Lift up thine eyes around, and see! They all assemble themselves, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, Thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with a rich dress; Thou shalt bind them on thee, as a bride her jewels.

19 Your ruined towns and abandoned places and devastated lands will be crowded with people, while those who took over your country will be long gone.

For thy waste and desolate places, and thy land laid in ruins, Shall now be too narrow for the inhabitants; And they that devoured thee shall be far away.

20 The children born during your time of mourning in exile will say, “This place is too crowded for me! Make room so I have a place to live!”

Thou, that hast been childless, shalt yet hear thy sons exclaim: “The place is too narrow for me; make room for me that I may dwell.”

21 Then you will say to yourself, “Who gave birth to all these children for me? My children were killed and I was unable to have more; I was exiled and thrown aside—so who brought these children up? Look, I was abandoned, so where did they come from?”

And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these? I surely was childless and unfruitful, An exile, and an outcast; who then hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, then, where were they?

22 This is what the Lord God says, Watch as I give the signal to the nations, as I raise my flag to let everyone know. They will bring them back, carrying your sons in their arms, and lifting your daughters onto their shoulders.

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will lift up my hand to the nations, And set up my standard to the kingdoms; They shall bring thy sons in their arms, And thy daughters upon their shoulders.

23 Kings will be your child-minders; queens will be your nurses. They will bow low before you, and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, and that those who put their trust in me will never be ashamed.

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, And queens thy nursing mothers; Upon their faces shall they bow down before thee, And lick the dust of thy feet. Thus shalt thou know that I am Jehovah; And they who trust in me shall not be put to shame.

24 Can loot be taken from a warrior? Can prisoners be rescued from a dictator?

Shall the prey be taken away from the mighty? Or shall the spoil of the terrible be rescued?

25 But this is what the Lord says: Even the prisoners of warriors will be won back; even loot will be recovered from a dictator. I will fight with your enemies, and I will rescue your children.

Yea, thus saith Jehovah, The prey shall be taken away from the mighty, And the spoil of the terrible shall be rescued; For with him that contendeth with thee will I contend, And I will save thy children.

26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh and drink their own blood like wine. Then everyone will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.

And I will cause thine oppressors to eat their own flesh; With their own blood shall they be drunk, as with new wine; And all flesh shall know that I Jehovah am thy saviour; That thy redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.