Isaiah 49:14-51:3

New American Standard Bible

Promise to Zion

¹⁴But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^(A)I will not forget you.
¹⁶Behold, I have ^(B)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^(C)walls are continually before Me.
¹⁷Your ^[a]builders hurry;
Your ^(D)destroyers and devastators
Will leave you.
¹⁸^(E)Raise your eyes and look around;
^(F)All of them gather together, ^(G)they come to you.
^(H)As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will certainly ^(I)put them all on as ^[b]jewelry and bind them on as a bride.
¹⁹For ^(J)your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land—
Now you will certainly be ^(K)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^(L)swallowed you will be far away.
²⁰The ^(M)children ^[c]you lost will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
²¹Then you will ^(N)say in your heart,
‘Who has fathered these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And ^(O)cannot conceive, and I am an ^(P)exile, and a wanderer?
And who has raised these?
Behold, I was ^(Q)left alone;
^[d]^(R)Where are these from?’”

²²This is what the Lord ^[e]God says:

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My ^(S)flag to the peoples;
And they will ^(T)bring your sons ^[f]in their arms,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
²³^(U)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^(V)bow down to you with their faces to the ground
And ^(W)lick the dust from your feet;
And you will ^(X)know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully ^(Y)wait for Me will ^(Z)not be put to shame.

²⁴“^(AA)Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
Or the captives of ^[g]a tyrant be rescued?”

²⁵Indeed, this is what the Lord says:

“Even the ^(AB)captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will ^(AC)save your sons.
²⁶I will feed your ^(AD)oppressors with their ^(AE)own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And ^[h]^(AF)humanity will know that I, the Lord, am your ^(AG)Savior
And your ^(AH)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

God Helps His Servant

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is the ^(AI)certificate of divorce
By which I have ^(AJ)sent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I ^(AK)sell you?
Behold, you were sold for your ^(AL)wrongdoings,
And for your ^(AM)wrongful acts your mother ^(AN)was sent away.
²Why was there ^(AO)no one when I came?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Is My ^(AP)hand so short that it cannot redeem?
Or do I have no power to rescue?
Behold, I ^(AQ)dry up the sea with My rebuke,
I ^(AR)turn rivers into a wilderness;
Their fish stink for lack of water,
And die of thirst.
³I ^(AS)clothe the heavens with blackness,
And make sackcloth their covering.”

⁴The Lord ^[i]God has given Me the tongue of ^(AT)disciples,
So that I may know how to ^(AU)sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me ^(AV)morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
⁵The Lord God has ^(AW)opened My ear,
And I was ^(AX)not disobedient,
Nor did I turn back.
⁶I ^(AY)gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard;
I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.
⁷For the Lord God ^(AZ)helps Me,
Therefore, I am ^(BA)not disgraced;
Therefore, I have made My face like ^(BB)flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
⁸He who ^(BC)vindicates Me is near;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us ^(BD)stand up to each other.
Who has a case against Me?
Let him approach Me.
⁹Behold, ^(BE)the Lord God helps Me;
^(BF)Who is he who condemns Me?
Behold, ^(BG)they will all wear out like a garment;
A moth will eat them.
¹⁰Who is among you who fears the Lord,
Who obeys the voice of His ^(BH)servant,
Who ^(BI)walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him ^(BJ)trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
¹¹Behold, all you who ^(BK)kindle a fire,
Who encircle yourselves with flaming arrows,
Walk in the light of your fire
And among the flaming arrows you have set ablaze.
This you will have from My hand:
You will ^(BL)lie down in torment.

Israel Exhorted

51 “^(BM)Listen to Me, you who ^(BN)pursue righteousness,
Who seek the Lord:
Look to the ^(BO)rock from which you were cut,
And to the ^[j]quarry from which you were dug.
²Look to ^(BP)Abraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
When he ^(BQ)was only one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
³Indeed, ^(BR)the Lord will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her ^(BS)ruins.
And He will make her ^(BT)wilderness like ^(BU)Eden,
And her desert like the ^(BV)garden of the Lord.
^(BW)Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the sound of a melody.