Isaiah 49
English Standard Version
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen to me, (A)O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples (B)from afar.
(C)The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 (D)He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
(E)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, (F)in whom I will be glorified.”[a]
4 (G)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 (H)And now the Lord says,
he (I)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 (J)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;
(K)I will make you (L)as a light for the nations,
that (M)my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord,
(N)the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
(O)to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
(P)“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:
(Q)“In a (R)time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you (S)and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
(T)to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 (U)saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
(V)They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 (W)they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them (X)will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 (Y)And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 (Z)Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, (AA)these from the north and from the west,[b]
and these from the land of Syene.”[c]
13 (AB)Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord (AC)has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, (AD)“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 (AE)“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, (AF)I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders make haste;[d]
(AG)your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 (AH)Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
(AI)As I live, declares the Lord,
(AJ)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—
(AK)surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 (AL)The children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
(AM)‘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?
(AN)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,
(AO)and raise my signal to the peoples;
(AP)and they shall bring your sons in their arms,[e]
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 (AQ)Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
(AR)With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and (AS)lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
(AT)those who wait for me (AU)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:
(AV)“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 (AW)I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk (AX)with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that (AY)I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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 49
Common English Bible
The servant speaks up
49 Listen to me, coastlands;
pay attention, peoples far away.
The Lord called me before my birth,
called my name when I was in my mother’s womb.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
and hid me in the shadow of God’s own hand.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
and concealed me in God’s quiver,
3 saying to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I show my glory.”
4 But I said, “I have wearied myself in vain.
I have used up my strength for nothing.”
Nevertheless, the Lord will grant me justice;
my reward is with my God.
5 And now the Lord has decided—
the one who formed me from the womb as his servant—
to restore Jacob to God,
so that Israel might return to him.
Moreover, I’m honored in the Lord’s eyes;
my God has become my strength.
6 He said: It is not enough, since you are my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the survivors of Israel.
Hence, I will also appoint you as light to the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
7 The Lord, redeemer of Israel and its holy one,
says to one despised,
rejected by nations,
to the slave of rulers:
Kings will see and stand up;
commanders will bow down
on account of the Lord, who is faithful,
the holy one of Israel,
who has chosen you.
8 The Lord said:
At the right time, I answered you;
on a day of salvation, I helped you.
I have guarded you,
and given you as a covenant to the people, to restore the land,
and to reassign deserted properties,
9 saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”
and to those in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
Along the roads animals[a] will graze;
their pasture will be on every treeless hilltop.
10 They won’t hunger or thirst;
the burning heat and sun won’t strike them,
because one who has compassion for them will lead them
and will guide them by springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads;
my highways will be built up.
12 Look! These will come from far away.
Look! These from the north and west,
and these from the southland.[b]
13 Sing, heavens! Rejoice, earth!
Break out, mountains, with a song.
The Lord has comforted his people,
and taken pity on those who suffer.
Compassion for Zion
14 But Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child,
fail to pity the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
but I won’t forget you.
16 Look, on my palms I’ve inscribed you;
your walls are before me continually.
17 Your builders[c] come quickly;
those who destroy and demolish you will depart from you.
18 Look up all around and see:
they are all gathered;
they come to you.
As surely as I live, says the Lord,
you will put them all on like ornaments,
bind them on like a bride.
19 As for your ruins and desolate places
and destroyed land—
you will soon be crowded with settlers,
and those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 You will again hear the children who were born bereaved say,
“The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.”
21 And you will think to yourself,
Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and desolate, exiled and sent off.
So who raised these?
I was left behind, I was alone;
where were these?
22 The Lord God says:
Look, I will raise my hand to the nations,
and to the peoples I will lift up my signal.
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and will carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your attendants,
and their queens your nursemaids.
With faces to the ground they will bow down to you;
they will lick the dust from your feet.
You will know that I am the Lord;
the one who hopes in me won’t be ashamed.
24 Can loot be taken from warriors?
Can a tyrant’s captives escape?
25 The Lord says:
Even the captives of warriors will be taken,
and the tyrant’s loot will escape.
I myself will oppose those who oppose you,
and I myself will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
and as with wine, with their own blood they will be drunk,
so that all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your savior,
and the mighty one of Jacob is your redeemer.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:9 Heb lacks animals.
- Isaiah 49:12 Heb Sinim
- Isaiah 49:17 Or children
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible