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. |