Isaiah 49:14–21

¹⁴But Zion^u said, “The Lord has forsaken^v me,

the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast

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

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!^x

¹⁶See, I have engraved^y you on the palms of my hands;

your walls^z are ever before me.

¹⁷Your children hasten back,

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

¹⁸Lift up your eyes and look around;

all your children gather^b and come to you.

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

“you will wear^d them all as ornaments;

you will put them on, like a bride.

¹⁹“Though you were ruined and made desolate^e

and your land laid waste,^f

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

and those who devoured^h you will be far away.

²⁰The 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.’ⁱ

²¹Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who bore me these?^j

I was bereaved^k and barren;

I was exiled and rejected.^l

Who brought these^m up?

I was leftⁿ all alone,^o

but these—where have they come from?’ ”