Isaiah 49:8–21

⁸Thus says the Lord,

“In a ^afavorable time I have answered You,

And in a day of salvation I have helped You;

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

To ^1drestore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;

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

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

Along the roads they will feed,

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 ^dlead them

And will guide them to ^esprings of water.

¹¹“I will make all ^aMy mountains a road,

And My ^bhighways will be raised up.

¹²“Behold, these will come ^afrom afar;

And lo, 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 the ^bLord has comforted His people

And will ^chave compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

¹⁴But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,

And the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child

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 the Lord,

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

¹⁹“For ^ayour waste 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 begotten these for me,

Since I have been bereaved of my children

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

And who has reared these?

Behold, I was ^dleft alone;

^1eFrom where did these come?’ ”