Isaiah 49:1-12
Authorized (King James) Version
49 Listen, O isles, unto me;
and hearken, ye people, from far;
The Lord hath called me from the womb;
from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me,
and made me a polished shaft;
in his quiver hath he hid me;
3 and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel,
in whom I will be glorified.
4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain,
I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain:
yet surely my judgment is with the Lord,
and my work with my God.
5 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob again to him,
Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God shall be my strength.
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the preserved of Israel:
I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles,
that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
7 Thus saith the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One,
to him whom man despiseth,
to him whom the nation abhorreth,
to a servant of rulers,
Kings shall see and arise,
princes also shall worship,
because of the Lord that is faithful,
and the Holy One of Israel,
and he shall choose thee.
8 Thus saith the Lord,
In an acceptable time have I heard thee,
and in a day of salvation have I helped thee:
and I will preserve thee,
and give thee for a covenant of the people,
to establish the earth,
to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth;
to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves.
They shall feed in the ways,
and their pastures shall be in all high places.
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst;
neither shall the heat nor sun smite them:
for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them,
even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a way,
and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Behold, these shall come from far:
and, lo, these from the north and from the west;
and these from the land of Sinim.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.