Isaiah 49–57

CHAPTER 49

I Will Give You as a Light of the Nations

¹Listen to Me, O ^acoastlands,

And pay attention, you peoples from afar.

^bYahweh called Me from the womb;

From the ¹body of My mother He made My name to be remembered.

²He has set My ^amouth like a sharp sword;

In the ^bshadow of His hand He has concealed Me;

And He has also set Me as a ¹select ^carrow;

He has hidden Me in His quiver.

³He said to Me, “^aYou are My Servant, Israel,

^bIn Whom I will ¹show forth My beautiful glory.”

⁴But I said, “I have ^atoiled in vain;

I have spent My might for ¹nothing and vanity;

Yet surely the justice due to Me is with Yahweh,

And My ^breward with My God.”

⁵So now says ^aYahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

To return Jacob back to Him, so that ^bIsrael might be gathered to Him

(For I am ^cglorified in the sight of Yahweh,

And My God is My ^dstrength),

⁶He says, “It is too ¹small a thing that You should be My Servant

To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the ^apreserved ones of Israel to return;

I will also give You as a ^blight ²of the nations

So that My salvation may ³reach to the ^cend of the earth.”

⁷Thus says Yahweh, the ^aRedeemer of Israel and its Holy One,

To the ^bdespised One,

To the One abhorred by the nation,

To the Servant of rulers,

“^cKings will see and arise,

Princes will also ^dbow down,

Because of Yahweh who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

⁸Thus says Yahweh,

“In an ^aacceptable time I have answered You,

And in a day of salvation I have helped You;

And I will ^bguard You and ^cgive You for a covenant of the people,

To ^destablish the land, to make them inherit the desolate ¹inheritance;

⁹Saying to those who are ^abound, ‘Go forth,’

To those who are in darkness, ‘¹Show yourselves.’

Along the roads they will ²feed,

And their pasture will be on all ^bbare heights.

¹⁰“They will ^anot hunger or thirst,

Nor will the scorching ^bheat or sun strike them down;

For ^cHe who has compassion on them will ^dguide them

And will lead them to ^esprings of water.

¹¹“I will set all ^aMy mountains as a road,

And My ^bhighways will be raised up.

¹²“Behold, these will come ^afrom afar;

And behold, these will come from the ^bnorth and from the west,

And these from the land of Sinim.”

^13aShout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!

Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!

For ^bYahweh has comforted His people

And will ^chave compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

¹⁴But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,

And the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her infant

And have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, but ^aI will not forget you.

¹⁶“Behold, I have ^ainscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Your ^bwalls are continually before Me.

¹⁷“Your ¹builders hurry;

Your ^adestroyers and devastators

Will depart from you.

¹⁸“^aLift up your eyes and look around;

^bAll of them gather together; ^cthey come to you.

^dAs I live,” declares Yahweh,

“You will surely ^eput on all of them as ¹jewels and bind them on as a bride.

¹⁹“For ^ayour ¹devastated and desolate places and your destroyed land—

Surely now you will be ^btoo cramped for the inhabitants,

And those who ^cswallowed you will be far away.

²⁰“The ^achildren of ¹whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me;

Make room for me that I may live here.’

²¹“Then you will ^asay in your heart,

‘Who has borne these for me?

Indeed, I have been bereaved of my children

And am ^bbarren, an ^cexile and a wanderer.

And who has reared these?

Behold, I ^dremained alone;

^1eFrom where did these come?’”

²²Thus says Lord Yahweh,

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations

And make high My ^astandard to the peoples;

And they will ^bbring your sons in their bosom,

And your daughters will be lifted up on their shoulders.

²³“^aKings will be your guardians,

And their princesses your nurses.

They will ^bbow down to you with their ¹faces to the earth

And ^click the dust of your feet;

And you will ^dknow that I am Yahweh;

Those who ^ehope in Me will ^fnot be put to shame.

²⁴“^aCan the prey be taken from the mighty man,

Or the captives of the ¹righteous be granted escape?”

²⁵Surely, thus says Yahweh,

“Even the ^acaptives of the mighty man will be taken away,

And the prey of the tyrant will be granted escape;

For I will contend with the one who contends with you,

And I will ^bsave your sons.

²⁶“I will feed ^athose who mistreat you with their ^bown flesh,

And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;

And ^call flesh will know that I, Yahweh, am your ^dSavior

And your ^eRedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

CHAPTER 50

Yahweh Helps His Servant

¹Thus says Yahweh,

“Where is the ^acertificate of divorce

By which I have ^bsent your mother away?

Or to which of My creditors did I ^csell you?

Behold, you were sold for your ^diniquities,

And for your ^etransgressions your mother ^fwas sent away.

²“Why was there ^ano man when I came?

When I called, why was there none to answer?

Is My ^bhand so short that it cannot ransom?

Or have I no power to deliver?

Behold, I ^cdry up the sea with My rebuke;

I ^dmake the rivers a wilderness;

Their fish stink for lack of water

And die of thirst.

³“I ^aclothe the heavens with blackness

And make sackcloth their covering.”

⁴Lord Yahweh has given Me the tongue of ^adisciples,

That I may know how to ^bsustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens Me ^cmorning by morning;

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

⁵Lord Yahweh has ^aopened My ear;

And I did ^bnot rebel

Nor did I turn back.

⁶I ^agave My back to those who strike Me,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not hide My face from dishonor and spitting.

⁷Even now Lord Yahweh ^ahelps Me,

Therefore, I am ^bnot dishonored;

Therefore, I have set My face like ^cflint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

⁸He who ^1avindicates Me is near;

Who will contend with Me?

Let us ^bstand up to each other;

Who has a judgment against Me?

Let him approach Me.

⁹Behold, ^aLord Yahweh helps Me;

^bWho is he who condemns Me?

Behold, ^cthey will all wear out like a garment;

The moth will eat them.

¹⁰Who is among you that fears Yahweh,

That listens to the voice of His ^aServant,

That ^bwalks in darkness and has no light?

Let him ^ctrust in the name of Yahweh and rely on his God.

¹¹Behold, all you who ^akindle a fire,

Who gird yourselves with firebrands,

Walk in the light of your fire

And among the brands you have set ablaze.

This you will have from My hand:

You will ^blie down in torment.

CHAPTER 51

Yahweh’s Righteousness is Forever

¹“^aListen to Me, you who ^bpursue righteousness,

Who seek Yahweh:

Look to the ^crock from which you were hewn

And to the ¹quarry from which you were dug.

²“Look to ^aAbraham your father

And to Sarah who brought you forth through labor pains;

When he ^bwas but one I called him,

Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”

³Indeed, ^aYahweh will comfort Zion;

He will comfort all her ^bwaste places.

And her ^cwilderness He will make like ^dEden,

And her desert like the ^egarden of Yahweh;

^fJoy and gladness will be found in her,

Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

⁴“^aPay attention to Me, O My people,

And give ear to Me, O My ¹nation;

For a ^blaw will go forth from Me,

And I will ²set My ^cjustice for a ^dlight of the peoples.

⁵“My ^arighteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,

And My ^barms will judge the peoples;

The ^ccoastlands will hope in Me,

And for My ^darm they will wait expectantly.

⁶“^aLift up your eyes to the sky,

Then look to the earth beneath;

For the ^bsky will vanish like smoke,

And the ^cearth will wear out like a garment,

And its inhabitants will die ¹in like manner;

But My ^dsalvation will be forever,

And My righteousness will not be dismayed.

⁷“^aListen to Me, you who know righteousness,

A people in whose ^bheart is My law;

Do not fear the ^creproach of man,

Nor be dismayed at their revilings.

⁸“For the ^amoth will eat them like a garment,

And the ^bgrub will eat them like wool.

But My ^crighteousness will be forever,

And My salvation to all generations.”

^9aAwake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Yahweh;

Awake as in the ^bdays of old, the generations of long ago.

^cWas it not You who chopped Rahab in pieces,

Who pierced the ^ddragon?

¹⁰Was it not You who ^adried up the sea,

The waters of the great deep,

Who made the depths of the sea a pathway

For the ^bredeemed to cross over?

¹¹So the ^aransomed of Yahweh will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

And ^beverlasting gladness will be on their heads.

They will obtain joy and gladness,

And ^csorrow and sighing will flee away.

¹²“I, even I, am He who ^acomforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of ^bman who dies

And of the son of man who is made ^clike grass,

¹³That you have ^aforgotten Yahweh your Maker,

Who ^bstretched out the heavens

And laid the foundations of the earth,

That you ^ctremble in dread continually all day long because of the wrath of the one who brings distress,

As he makes ready to bring ruin?

But where is the wrath of the ^done who brings distress?

¹⁴“The ^aone in chains will soon be set free and will not die in the pit, ^bnor will his bread be lacking.

¹⁵“For I am Yahweh your God, who ^astirs up the sea, and its waves roar—Yahweh of hosts is His name.

¹⁶“I have ^aput My words in your mouth and have ^bcovered you with the shadow of My hand, to ^1cestablish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

^17aAwaken yourself! Awaken yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem,

You who have ^bdrunk from the hand of Yahweh the cup of His wrath;

The ¹chalice of reeling you have ²drained to the dregs.

¹⁸There is ^anone to guide her among all the sons she has borne,

Nor is there one to take hold of her by the hand among all the sons she has reared.

¹⁹These two things have befallen you;

Who will console you?

The ^adevastation and destruction, famine and sword;

How shall I comfort you?

²⁰Your sons have fainted;

They ^alie helpless at the head of every street,

Like an ^bantelope in a net,

Full of the wrath of Yahweh,

The ^crebuke of your God.

²¹Therefore, now, listen to this, you ^aafflicted,

Who are ^bdrunk, but not with wine:

²²Thus…