49:1  LISTEN TO me, O isles {and} coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb; from the body of my mother He has named my name.

49:2  And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand has He hid me and made me a polished arrow; in His quiver has He kept me close {and} concealed me.

49:3  And [the Lord] said to me, You are My servant, Israel [you who strive with God and with men and prevail], in whom I will be glorified.

49:4  Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in empty futility; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense is with my God.

49:5  And now, says the Lord--Who formed me from the womb to be His servant to bring Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him {and} not be swept away, for I am honorable in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength--

49:6  He says, It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors [of the judgments] of Israel; I will also give you for a light to the nations, that My salvation may extend to the end of the earth.

49:7  Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel's Holy One, to him whom man rejects {and} despises, to him whom the nations abhor, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see you and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, Who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, Who has chosen you.

49:8  Thus says the Lord, In an acceptable {and} favorable time I have heard {and} answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; and I will preserve you and give you for a covenant to the people, to raise up {and} establish the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportion {and} cause them to inherit the desolate [moral wastes of heathenism, their] heritages,

49:9  Saying to those who are bound, Come forth, and to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, Show yourselves [come into the light of the Sun of righteousness]. They shall feed in all the ways [in which they go], and their pastures shall be [not in deserts, but] on all the bare [grass-covered] hills.

49:10  They will not hunger or thirst, neither will mirage [mislead] or scorching wind or sun smite them; for He Who has mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water will He guide them.

49:11  And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways will be raised up.

49:12  Behold, these shall come from afar--and, behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim (China).

49:13  Sing for joy, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion upon His afflicted.

49:14  But Zion [Jerusalem, her people as seen in captivity] said, The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.

49:15  [And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.

49:16  Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.

49:17  Your children {and} your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go forth from you.

49:18  Lift up your eyes round about and see [the returning exiles, ready to rebuild Jerusalem]; all these gather together and come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you [Zion] shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament and bind them on you as a bride does.

49:19  For your waste and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction surely now [in coming years] will be too narrow to accommodate the population, and those who once swallowed you up will be far away.

49:20  The children of your bereavement [born during your captivity] shall yet say in your ears, The place is too narrow for me; make room for me, that I may live.

49:21  Then [Zion], you will say in your heart, Who has borne me all these children, seeing that I lost my offspring and am alone {and} barren {and} unfruitful, an exile put away and wandering hither and thither? And who brought them up? Behold, I was left alone [put away by the Lord, my Husband]; from where then did all these children come?

49:22  Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up My hand to the Gentile nations and set up My standard {and} raise high My signal banner to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in the bosom of their garments, and your daughters will be carried upon their shoulders.

49:23  And kings shall be your foster fathers {and} guardians, and their queens your nursing mothers. They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick up the dust of your feet; and you shall know [with an acquaintance and understanding based on and grounded in personal experience] that I am the Lord; for they shall not be put to shame who wait for, look for, hope for, {and} expect Me.

49:24  Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives of the just be delivered?

49:25  For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will give safety to your children {and} ease them.

49:26  And I will make those who oppress you consume themselves [in mutually destructive wars], thus eating their own flesh; and they will be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.