Yahweh’s Servant Brings Salvation

49 Listen to me, coastlands,

and listen attentively, peoples from far away!

Yahweh called me from the womb;

from the ⌊body⌋a of my mother he made my name known.

2 And he ⌊made⌋b my mouth like a sharp sword;

he hid me in the shadow of his hand,

and he ⌊made⌋c me like a sharpened arrow;

he hid me in his quiver.

3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, in whom I will show my glory.”

4 Butd I myself said, “I have labored ine vain;

I have used up my strength for nothing and vanity!

Nevertheless, my justice is with Yahweh,

and my reward is with my God.”

5 And now Yahweh says,

who formed me from the womb as a servant for him,

to bring Jacob back to him,

and that Israel might notf be gathered,

forg I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh,

and my God has become my strength.

6 And he says, “It is trivial ⌊for you to be⌋h a servant for me,

to raise up the tribes of Jacob

and to bring back the preserved of Israel.

I will give you as a light to the nations,

to be my salvation to the end of the earth.”

7 Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one,

to the one who despisesi life,

to the one who abhors the nation,

to the slave of rulers:

“Kings shall see and stand up;

princes, and they shall bow down,

for the sake of Yahweh, who is faithful,

the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you.”

Yahweh Restores the Afflicted

8 Thus says Yahweh:

“I have answered you in a time of favor,

and helped you on a day of salvation,

and watched over you,

and given you as a covenant of the people,

to raise up the land,

to give the desolate hereditary property as an inheritance,

9 saying to the ⌊prisoners⌋,j “Come out!”

to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves!”

they shall feed ⌊along⌋k the ways,

and their pasturage shall be on all the barren heights.

10 They shall not be hungry or thirsty,

and heat and sun shall not strike them,

for he who takes pity on them will lead them,

and he will guide them to springs of water.

11 And I will ⌊make⌋l all my mountains like a road,

and my highways shall lead up.m

12 Look! These shall come from afar,

And look! These from the north and from the west

and these from the land of Sinim.”

13 Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth!

Mountains must break forth in rejoicing!

For Yahweh has comforted his people,

and he will take pity on his afflicted ones.

Yahweh Remembers Zion

14 Butn Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,

and the Lord has forgotten me!”

15 Can a woman forget her suckling,

refrain from having compassion on the child of her womb?

Indeed, these may forget,

buto I, I will not forget you!

16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are continually before me.

17 Your children hasten;

your destroyers and those who laid you waste departp from you.

18 Lift your eyes up all around and see;

all of them gather; they come to you.

⌊As surely as I live⌋,q

⌊declares⌋r Yahweh,

surely you shall put on all of them like an ornament,

and you shall bind them on like a bride.

19 Surely your sites of ruins and desolate places and land of ruins,s

surely now you will be ⌊too cramped for your⌋t inhabitants,u

and those who engulfed you will be far away.

20 Yet the children ⌊born when you were bereaved⌋v will say in your ⌊hearing⌋,w

“The place is too cramped for me;

⌊make room⌋x for me so that I can dwell.”

21 Theny you will say in your heart,

“Who has borne me these?”

And, “I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and thrust away;

soz who raised these?

Look at me! I was left alone;

⌊where have these come from⌋?”a

22 Thus says the Lord Yahweh:

“Look! I will lift my hand up to the nations,

and I will raise my signal to the peoples,

and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,

and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.b

23 And kings shall be your ⌊guardians⌋,c

and their queens your nurses.

They shall bow down, ⌊faces⌋d to the ground, to you,

and they will lick up the dust of your feet.

Thene you will know that I am Yahweh;

those who await me shall not be ashamed.

24 Can war-booty be taken from the mighty?

or can a captive of a righteousf person be rescued?

25 But thus says Yahweh:

“Indeed a captive of the mighty shall be taken,

and the war-booty of the tyrant shall be rescued,

forg I myself will dispute with your opponent,

and I myself will save your children.

26 And I will feed your oppressors their own flesh,

and they shall be drunk with their blood as with wine.

Thenh all flesh shall know that I am Yahweh,

your savior and redeemer, the strong one of Jacob.”

50 Thus says Yahweh:

“Where is this divorce document of your mother’s divorce, with which I dismissed her?

or to whom of my creditors did I sell you?

Look! you were sold because of your sin,

and your mother was dismissed because of your transgressions.

2 Why was there no man when I came,

no one who answered when I called?

⌊Do I lack the strength to save⌋?a

Or is there no power in me to deliver?

Look! by my rebuke I dry up the sea;

I ⌊make⌋b the rivers a desert;

their fish stink because there is no water,

and theyc die because of thirst.

3 I clothe the heavens with darkness,

and I ⌊make⌋d their covering sackcloth.”

The Servant’s Vindication

4 The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of a pupil,

to know how to help the weary with a word.

He awakens ⌊morning by morning⌋,e

awakens an ear for me to listen as do the pupils.

5 The Lord Yahweh has opened an ear for me,

and I, I was not rebellious.

I did not turn backwards;

6 I gave my back to those who struck me,

and my cheeks to those who pulled out my ⌊beard⌋;f

I did not hide my face from insults and spittle.

7 And the Lord Yahweh helps me,

therefore I have not been put to shame;

therefore I have set my face like flint.

And I know that I shall not be ashamed;

8 he who obtains rights for me is near.

Who will contend with me? Let us stand together.

Who is the master of my judgment? Let him approach me.

9 Look! The Lord Yahweh helps me.

Who is the one who will declare me guilty?

Look! All of them will be worn out like a garment;

the moth will eat them.

10 Who among you is in fear of Yahweh,

obeysg the voice of his servant?

Who walks in darkness

and has no light,

trusts in the name of Yahweh

and depends on his God?

11 Look! All of you are kindlers of fire,

who gird yourselves with flaming arrows.

Walk in the light of your fire,

and among the flaming arrows you have kindled!

You shall have this from my hand:

you shall lie down inh a place of torment.