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Isaiah 48:17-51:7
English Standard Version
Isaiah 48:17-51:7
English Standard Version
17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 (A)Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
(B)Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 (C)your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
20 (D)Go out from Babylon, flee from (E)Chaldea,
declare this (F)with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, (G)“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 (H)They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
(I)he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 (J)“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen to me, (K)O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples (L)from afar.
(M)The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 (N)He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
(O)in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, (P)in whom I will be glorified.”[a]
4 (Q)But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
5 (R)And now the Lord says,
he (S)who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for (T)I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
(U)I will make you (V)as a light for the nations,
that (W)my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord,
(X)the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
(Y)to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
(Z)“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
The Restoration of Israel
8 Thus says the Lord:
(AA)“In a (AB)time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you (AC)and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
(AD)to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 (AE)saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
(AF)They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 (AG)they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them (AH)will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 (AI)And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 (AJ)Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, (AK)these from the north and from the west,[b]
and these from the land of Syene.”[c]
13 (AL)Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord (AM)has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, (AN)“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 (AO)“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, (AP)I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders make haste;[d]
(AQ)your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 (AR)Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
(AS)As I live, declares the Lord,
(AT)you shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
19 “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
(AU)surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 (AV)The children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
(AW)‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
21 Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
(AX)I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
from where have these come?’”
22 Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
(AY)and raise my signal to the peoples;
(AZ)and they shall bring your sons in their arms,[e]
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 (BA)Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
(BB)With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and (BC)lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
(BD)those who wait for me (BE)shall not be put to shame.”
24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant[f] be rescued?
25 For thus says the Lord:
(BF)“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
26 (BG)I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk (BH)with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that (BI)I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
50 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is (BJ)your mother's certificate of divorce,
with which (BK)I sent her away?
Or (BL)which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
(BM)Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 (BN)Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
(BO)Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
(BP)Behold, by my rebuke (BQ)I dry up the sea,
(BR)I make the rivers a desert;
(BS)their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 (BT)I clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering.”
4 The Lord God has given (BU)me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that (BV)I may know how to sustain with a word
(BW)him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 (BX)The Lord God has opened my ear,
(BY)and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 (BZ)I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
(CA)therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 (CB)He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 (CC)Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys (CD)the voice of his servant?
(CE)Let him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
(CF)This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
The Lord's Comfort for Zion
51 (CG)“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for (CH)he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the Lord (CI)comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like (CJ)Eden,
her desert like (CK)the garden of the Lord;
(CL)joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 (CM)“Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
(CN)for a law[g] will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 (CO)My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
(CP)the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 (CQ)Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
(CR)for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;[h]
(CS)but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
7 (CT)“Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people (CU)in whose heart is my law;
(CV)fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:3 Or I will display my beauty
- Isaiah 49:12 Hebrew from the sea
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim
- Isaiah 49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste
- Isaiah 49:22 Hebrew in their bosom
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man
- Isaiah 51:4 Or for teaching; also verse 7
- Isaiah 51:6 Or will die like gnats
Isaiah 48:17-51:7
New International Version
Isaiah 48:17-51:7
New International Version
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(A) the Holy One(B) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(C) you what is best for you,
who directs(D) you in the way(E) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(F) to my commands,
your peace(G) would have been like a river,(H)
your well-being(I) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(J) would have been like the sand,(K)
your children like its numberless grains;(L)
their name would never be blotted out(M)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(N) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(O)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(P)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(Q) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(R) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(S) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(T)
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen(W) to me, you islands;(X)
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(Y) the Lord called(Z) me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(AA)
2 He made my mouth(AB) like a sharpened sword,(AC)
in the shadow of his hand(AD) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(AE)
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,(AF)
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(AG)”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;(AH)
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(AI)
and my reward(AJ) is with my God.”(AK)
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb(AL) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel(AM) to himself,
for I am[a] honored(AN) in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength(AO)—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(AP)
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(AQ)
I will also make you a light(AR) for the Gentiles,(AS)
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(AT)
7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(AU)—
to him who was despised(AV) and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(AW) will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,(AX)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(AY)
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(AZ) you.”
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favor(BA) I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;(BB)
I will keep(BC) you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,(BD)
to restore the land(BE)
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(BF)
9 to say to the captives,(BG) ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness,(BH) ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.(BI)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(BJ)
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(BK)
He who has compassion(BL) on them will guide(BM) them
and lead them beside springs(BN) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways(BO) will be raised up.(BP)
12 See, they will come from afar(BQ)—
some from the north, some from the west,(BR)
some from the region of Aswan.[b]”
13 Shout for joy,(BS) you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;(BT)
burst into song, you mountains!(BU)
For the Lord comforts(BV) his people
and will have compassion(BW) on his afflicted ones.(BX)
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child(CA) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!(CB)
16 See, I have engraved(CC) you on the palms of my hands;
your walls(CD) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste(CE) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather(CF) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(CG)” declares the Lord,
“you will wear(CH) them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(CI)
and your land laid waste,(CJ)
now you will be too small for your people,(CK)
and those who devoured(CL) you will be far away.
20 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.’(CM)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?(CN)
I was bereaved(CO) and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.(CP)
Who brought these(CQ) up?
I was left(CR) all alone,(CS)
but these—where have they come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(CT) says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations,
I will lift up my banner(CU) to the peoples;
they will bring(CV) your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their hips.(CW)
23 Kings(CX) will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.(CY)
They will bow down(CZ) before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust(DA) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(DB)
those who hope(DC) in me will not be disappointed.(DD)”
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives(DF) will be taken from warriors,(DG)
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(DH)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(DI)
and your children I will save.(DJ)
26 I will make your oppressors(DK) eat(DL) their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood,(DM) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(DN)
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(DO)
your Redeemer,(DP) the Mighty One of Jacob.(DQ)”
Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(DR)
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
did I sell(DS) you?
Because of your sins(DT) you were sold;(DU)
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?(DV)
Was my arm too short(DW) to deliver you?
Do I lack the strength(DX) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(DY) I dry up the sea,(DZ)
I turn rivers into a desert;(EA)
their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness(EB)
and make sackcloth(EC) its covering.”
4 The Sovereign Lord(ED) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(EE)
to know the word that sustains the weary.(EF)
He wakens me morning by morning,(EG)
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(EH)
5 The Sovereign Lord(EI) has opened my ears;(EJ)
I have not been rebellious,(EK)
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat(EL) me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(EM)
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.(EN)
7 Because the Sovereign Lord(EO) helps(EP) me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(EQ)
and I know I will not be put to shame.(ER)
8 He who vindicates(ES) me is near.(ET)
Who then will bring charges against me?(EU)
Let us face each other!(EV)
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord(EW) who helps(EX) me.
Who will condemn(EY) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths(EZ) will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears(FA) the Lord
and obeys(FB) the word of his servant?(FC)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,(FD)
trust(FE) in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(FF)
go, walk in the light of your fires(FG)
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(FH)
You will lie down in torment.(FI)
Everlasting Salvation for Zion
51 “Listen(FJ) to me, you who pursue righteousness(FK)
and who seek(FL) the Lord:
Look to the rock(FM) from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham,(FN) your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.(FO)
3 The Lord will surely comfort(FP) Zion(FQ)
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(FR)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(FS)
her wastelands(FT) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(FU) will be found in her,
thanksgiving(FV) and the sound of singing.
4 “Listen to me, my people;(FW)
hear me,(FX) my nation:
Instruction(FY) will go out from me;
my justice(FZ) will become a light to the nations.(GA)
5 My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation(GB) is on the way,(GC)
and my arm(GD) will bring justice to the nations.
The islands(GE) will look to me
and wait in hope(GF) for my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,(GG)
the earth will wear out like a garment(GH)
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation(GI) will last forever,(GJ)
my righteousness will never fail.(GK)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.