Isaiah 49

The Servant of the Lord

Listen^a to me, you islands;^b

hear this, you distant nations:

Before I was born^c the Lord called^d me;

from my birth he has made mention of my name.^e

He made my mouth^f like a sharpened sword,^g

in the shadow of his hand^h he hid me;

he made me into a polished arrowⁱ

and concealed me in his quiver.

He said to me, “You are my servant,^j

Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.^k”

But I said, “I have labored in vain;^l

I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,^m

and my rewardⁿ is with my God.”^o

And now the Lord says—

he who formed me in the womb^p to be his servant

to bring Jacob back to him

and gather Israel^q to himself,

for I am honored^r in the eyes of the Lord

and my God has been my strength^s—

he says:

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant^t

to restore the tribes of Jacob

and bring back those of Israel I have kept.^u

I will also make you a light^v for the Gentiles,^w

that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”^x

This is what the Lord says—

the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel^y—

to him who was despised^z and abhorred by the nation,

to the servant of rulers:

“Kings^a will see you and stand up,

princes will see and bow down,^b

because of the Lord, who is faithful,^c

the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen^d you.”

Restoration of Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favor^a I will answer you,

and in the day of salvation I will help you;^b

I will keep^c you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people,^d

to restore the land^e

and to reassign its desolate inheritances,^f

to say to the captives,^g ‘Come out,’

and to those in darkness,^h ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads

and find pasture on every barren hill.ⁱ

They will neither hunger nor thirst,^j

nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.^k

He who has compassion^l on them will guide^m them

and lead them beside springsⁿ of water.

I will turn all my mountains into roads,

and my highways^o will be raised up.^p

See, they will come from afar^q—

some from the north, some from the west,^r

some from the region of Aswan.”

Shout for joy,^s you heavens;

rejoice, you earth;^t

burst into song, you mountains!^u

For the Lord comforts^v his people

and will have compassion^w on his afflicted ones.^x

But Zion^y said, “The Lord has forsaken^z me,

the Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child^a she has borne?

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!^b

See, I have engraved^c you on the palms of my hands;

your walls^d are ever before me.

Your children hasten back,

and those who laid you waste^e depart from you.

Lift up your eyes and look around;

all your children gather^f and come to you.

As surely as I live,^g” declares the Lord,

“you will wear^h them all as ornaments;

you will put them on, like a bride.

“Though you were ruined and made desolateⁱ

and your land laid waste,^j

now you will be too small for your people,^k

and those who devoured^l 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.’^m

Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who bore me these?ⁿ

I was bereaved^o and barren;

I was exiled and rejected.^p

Who brought these^q up?

I was left^r all alone,^s

but these—where have they come from?’ ”

This is what the Sovereign Lord^t says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,

I will lift up my banner^u to the peoples;

they will bring^v your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their hips.^w

Kings^x will be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.^y

They will bow down^z before you with their faces to the ground;

they will lick the dust^a at your feet.

Then you will know that I am the Lord;^b

those who hope^c in me will not be disappointed.^d”

Can plunder be taken from warriors,^e

or captives be rescued from the fierce?

But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives^f will be taken from warriors,^g

and plunder retrieved from the fierce;^h

I will contend with those who contend with you,^ij

and your children I will save.^k

I will make your oppressors^l eat^m their own flesh;

they will be drunk on their own blood,ⁿ as with wine.

Then the whole human race will know^o

that I, the Lord, am your Savior,^p

your Redeemer,^q the Mighty One of Jacob.^r”