Isaiah 49:18–22

Lift 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.

“Surely 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.

The children of your bereavement

will yet say in your ears:

‘The place is too narrow for me;

make room for me to dwell in.’

Then 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?’ ”

Thus 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.

Lift up your eyes and look around;

all your children gather and come to you.

As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,

“you will wear them all as ornaments;

you will put them on, like a bride.

“Though you were ruined and made desolate

and your land laid waste,

now you will be too small for your people,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

The children born during your bereavement

will yet say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us;

give us more space to live in.’

Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who bore me these?

I was bereaved and barren;

I was exiled and rejected.

Who brought these up?

I was left all alone,

but these—where have they come from?’ ”

This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,

I will lift up my banner to the peoples;

they will bring your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their hips.

Look up, and look around.

They all gather together; they come to you.

As I live”—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

“you will wear all your children as jewelry,

and put them on as a bride does.

For your waste and desolate places

and your land marked by ruins

will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,

and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

Yet as you listen, the children

that you have been deprived of will say,

‘This place is too small for me;

make room for me so that I may settle.’

Then you will say within yourself,

‘Who fathered these for me?

I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,

exiled and wandering—

but who brought them up?

See, I was left by myself—

but these, where did they come from?’ ”

This is what the Lord God says:

Look, 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 your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

Look around you and see,

for all your children will come back to you.

As surely as I live,” says the Lord,

“they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.

“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land

will soon be crowded with your people.

Your enemies who enslaved you

will be far away.

The generations born in exile will return and say,

‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’

Then you will think to yourself,

‘Who has given me all these descendants?

For most of my children were killed,

and the rest were carried away into exile.

I was left here all alone.

Where did all these people come from?

Who bore these children?

Who raised them for me?’ ”

This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.

They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;

they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.

Lift your eyes up all around and see;

all of them gather; they come to you.

As surely as I live,

declares Yahweh,

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

and you shall bind them on like a bride.

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

surely now you will be too cramped for your inhabitants,

and those who engulfed you will be far away.

Yet the children born when you were bereaved will say in your hearing,

“The place is too cramped for me;

make room for me so that I can dwell.”

Then you will say in your heart,

“Who has borne me these?”

And, “I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and thrust away;

so who raised these?

Look at me! I was left alone;

where have these come from?”

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.

Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold:

All these gather themselves together, and come to thee.

As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament,

And bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction,

Shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants,

And they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears,

The place is too strait for me:

Give place to me that I may dwell.

Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these,

Seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate,

A captive, and removing to and fro?

And who hath brought up these?

Behold, I was left alone;

These, where had they been?

Thus saith the Lord God,

Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles,

And set up my standard to the people:

And they shall bring thy sons in their arms,

And thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.