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Isaiah 49
Lexham English Bible

Yahweh’s Servant Brings Salvation

49 Listen to me, coastlands,
    and listen attentively, peoples from far away!
Yahweh called me from the womb;
    from the body[a] of my mother he made my name known.
2 And he made[b] my mouth like a sharp sword;
    he hid me in the shadow of his hand,
and he made[c] me like an sharpened arrow;
    he hid me in his quiver.
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will show my glory.”
4 But[d] I myself said, “I have labored in[e] vain;
    I have used up my strength for nothing and vanity!
Nevertheless, my justice is with Yahweh,
    and my reward is with my God.”
5 And now Yahweh says,
    who formed me from the womb as a servant for him,
to bring Jacob back to him,
    and that Israel might not[f] be gathered,
for[g] I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh,
    and my God has become my strength.

6 And he says, “It is trivial for you to be[h] a servant for me,

to raise up the tribes of Jacob
    and to bring back the preserved of Israel.
I will give you as a light to the nations,
    to be my salvation to the end of the earth.”

7 Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one,

to the one who despises[i] life,
    to the one who abhors the nation,
    to the slave of rulers:
“Kings shall see and stand up;
    princes, and they shall bow down,
for the sake of Yahweh, who is faithful,
    the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you.”

Yahweh Restores the Afflicted

8 Thus says Yahweh:

“I have answered you in a time of favor,
    and helped you on a day of salvation,
and watched over you,
    and given you as a covenant of the people,
to raise up the land,
    to give the desolate hereditary property as an inheritance,
9 saying to the prisoners,[j] “Come out!”
    to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves!”
they shall feed along[k] the ways,
    and their pasturage shall be on all the barren heights.
10 They shall not be hungry or thirsty,
    and heat and sun shall not strike them,
for he who takes pity on them will lead them,
    and he will guide them to springs of water.
11 And I will make[l] all my mountains like a road,
    and my highways shall lead up.[m]
12 Look! These shall come from afar,
    And look! These from the north and from the west
    and these from the land of Sinim.”
13 Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth!
    Mountains must break forth in rejoicing!
For Yahweh has comforted his people,
    and he will take pity on his afflicted ones.

Yahweh Remembers Zion

14 But[n] Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
    and the Lord has forgotten me!”
15 Can a woman forget her suckling,
    refrain from having compassion on the child of her womb?
Indeed, these may forget,
    but[o] I, I will not forget you!
16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.
17 Your children hasten;
    your destroyers and those who laid you waste depart[p] from you.
18 Lift your eyes up all around and see;
    all of them gather; they come to you.
As surely as I live,[q]
    declares[r] Yahweh,
surely you shall put on all of them like an ornament,
    and you shall bind them on like a bride.

19 Surely your sites of ruins and desolate places and land of ruins,[s]

surely now you will be too cramped for your[t] inhabitants,[u]
    and those who engulfed you will be far away.

20 Yet the children born when you were bereaved[v] will say in your hearing,[w]

“The place is too cramped for me;
    make room[x] for me so that I can dwell.”

21 Then[y] you will say in your heart,

“Who has borne me these?”
    And, “I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and thrust away;
    so[z] who raised these?
Look at me! I was left alone;
    where have these come from?”[aa]

22 Thus says the Lord Yahweh:

“Look! I will lift my hand up to the nations,
    and I will raise my signal to the peoples,
and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,
    and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.[ab]
23 And kings shall be your guardians,[ac]
    and their queens your nurses.
They shall bow down, faces[ad] to the ground, to you,
    and they will lick up the dust of your feet.
Then[ae] you will know that I am Yahweh;
    those who await me shall not be ashamed.
24 Can war-booty be taken from the mighty?
    or can a captive of a righteous[af] person be rescued?

25 But thus says Yahweh:

“Indeed a captive of the mighty shall be taken,
    and the war-booty of the tyrant shall be rescued,
for[ag] I myself will dispute with your opponent,
    and I myself will save your children.
26 And I will feed your oppressors their own flesh,
    and they shall be drunk with their blood as with wine.
Then[ah] all flesh shall know that I am Yahweh,
    your savior and redeemer, the strong one of Jacob.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:1 Literally “intestines”
  2. Isaiah 49:2 Literally “put”
  3. Isaiah 49:2 Literally “put”
  4. Isaiah 49:4 Or “And”
  5. Isaiah 49:4 Or “for”
  6. Isaiah 49:5 The reading tradition (Qere) has “to him”
  7. Isaiah 49:5 Or “and”
  8. Isaiah 49:6 Literally “from being you”
  9. Isaiah 49:7 A Dead Sea Scroll reads “is despised with respect to”
  10. Isaiah 49:9 Literally “captured ones”
  11. Isaiah 49:9 Literally “on”
  12. Isaiah 49:11 Literally “put”
  13. Isaiah 49:11 Or “be high”
  14. Isaiah 49:14 Or “And”
  15. Isaiah 49:15 Or “and”
  16. Isaiah 49:17 Or “move away”
  17. Isaiah 49:18 Literally “Life I”
  18. Isaiah 49:18 Literally “declaration of”
  19. Isaiah 49:19 Hebrew “ruin”
  20. Isaiah 49:19 Literally “cramped by”
  21. Isaiah 49:19 Hebrew “inhabitant”
  22. Isaiah 49:20 Literally “of your bereavement”
  23. Isaiah 49:20 Literally “ears”
  24. Isaiah 49:20 Literally “approach”
  25. Isaiah 49:21 Or “And”
  26. Isaiah 49:21 Or “and”
  27. Isaiah 49:21 Literally “these where they”
  28. Isaiah 49:22 Hebrew “shoulder”
  29. Isaiah 49:23 Literally “those who nurture”
  30. Isaiah 49:23 Literally “noses”
  31. Isaiah 49:23 Or “And”
  32. Isaiah 49:24 The Dead Sea Scroll has “violent”
  33. Isaiah 49:25 Or “and”
  34. Isaiah 49:26 Or “And”
Listen to Isaiah 49
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Isaiah 49
Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Servant Brings Salvation

49 Coastlands,[a] listen to me;
distant peoples, pay attention.
The Lord called(A) me before I was born.
He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.(B)
2 He made my words like a sharp sword;(C)
He hid me in the shadow of His hand.(D)
He made me like a sharpened arrow;
He hid me in His quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel;(E)
I will be glorified in him.”
4 But I myself said: I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and futility;
yet my vindication is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.
5 And now, says the Lord,
who formed me from the womb to be His Servant,
to bring Jacob back to Him
so that Israel might be gathered to Him;
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is my strength—
6 He says,
“It is not enough for you to be My Servant
raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make you a light for the nations,(F)
to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”(G)
7 This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer(H) of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,[b](I)
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and stand up,
and princes[c] will bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel(J)—and He has chosen you.”(K)

8 This is what the Lord says:

I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.(L)
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,(M)
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
9 saying to the prisoners: Come out,(N)
and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves.
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.(O)
10 They will not hunger or thirst,
the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;
for their compassionate One will guide them,
and lead them to springs of water.(P)
11 I will make all My mountains into a road,
and My highways will be raised up.(Q)
12 See, these will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,[d](R)
and from the land of Sinim.[e][f]

13 Shout for joy, you heavens!(S)
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted His people,(T)
and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.(U)

Zion Remembered

14 Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
The Lord has forgotten me!”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;(V)
your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your builders[g] hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18 Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.(W)
As I live”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“you will wear all your children[h] as jewelry,
and put them on as a bride does.
19 For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins—
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,(X)
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Yet as you listen, the children
that you have been deprived of will say,
‘This place is too small for me;
make room for me so that I may settle.’(Y)
21 Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering—
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself—
but these, where did they come from?’”[i]

22 This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,
and raise My banner to the peoples.(Z)
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.(AA)
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens[j] your nursing mothers.(AB)
They will bow down to you
with their faces to the ground,
and lick the dust at your feet.(AC)
Then you will know that I am Yahweh;(AD)
those who put their hope in Me
will not be put to shame.(AE)

24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of the righteous[k] be delivered?
25 For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,
and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;
I will contend with the one who contends with you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,(AF)
and they will be drunk with their own blood
as with sweet wine.
Then all flesh will know
that I, Yahweh, am your Savior,(AG)
and your Redeemer,(AH) the Mighty One of Jacob.”(AI)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:1 Or Islands
  2. Isaiah 49:7 Or by the nation
  3. Isaiah 49:7 Lit princes and they
  4. Isaiah 49:12 Lit sea
  5. Isaiah 49:12 DSS read of the Syenites
  6. Isaiah 49:12 Perhaps modern Aswan in southern Egypt
  7. Isaiah 49:17 DSS, Aq, Theod, Vg; MT, Syr, Sym read sons
  8. Isaiah 49:18 Lit all of them
  9. Isaiah 49:21 Lit where are they
  10. Isaiah 49:23 Lit princesses
  11. Isaiah 49:24 DSS, Syr, Vg read fearsome one, or tyrant
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