Isaiah 49:1–13

The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles

49“Listen, ^aO coastlands, to Me,

And take heed, you peoples from afar!

^bThe Lord has called Me from the womb;

From the ¹matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

²And He has made ^cMy mouth like a sharp sword;

^dIn the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,

And made Me ^ea polished shaft;

In His quiver He has hidden Me.”

³“And He said to me,

^f‘You are My servant, O Israel,

^gIn whom I will be glorified.’

^4hThen I said, ‘I have labored in vain,

I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;

Yet surely my ²just reward is with the Lord,

And my ³work with my God.’ ”

⁵“And now the Lord says,

Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

To bring Jacob back to Him,

So that Israel ⁱis ⁴gathered to Him

(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,

And My God shall be My strength),

⁶Indeed He says,

‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant

To raise up the tribes of Jacob,

And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;

I will also give You as a ^jlight to the Gentiles,

That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

⁷Thus says the Lord,

The Redeemer of Israel, ⁵their Holy One,

^kTo Him ⁶whom man despises,

To Him whom the nation abhors,

To the Servant of rulers:

^l“Kings shall see and arise,

Princes also shall worship,

Because of the Lord who is faithful,

The Holy One of Israel;

And He has chosen You.”

⁸Thus says the Lord:

“In an ^macceptable ⁷time I have heard You,

And in the day of salvation I have helped You;

I will ⁸preserve You ⁿand give You

As a covenant to the people,

To restore the earth,

To cause them to inherit the desolate ⁹heritages;

⁹That You may say ^oto the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’

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

“They shall feed along the roads,

And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.

¹⁰They shall neither ^phunger nor thirst,

^qNeither heat nor sun shall strike them;

For He who has mercy on them ^rwill lead them,

Even by the springs of water He will guide them.

^11sI will make each of My mountains a road,

And My highways shall be elevated.

¹²Surely ^tthese shall come from afar;

Look! Those from the north and the west,

And these from the land of Sinim.”

^13uSing, O heavens!

Be joyful, O earth!

And break out in singing, O mountains!

For the Lord has comforted His people,

And will have mercy on His afflicted.