Isaiah 49

Legacy Standard Bible

49 Listen to Me, O ^(A)coastlands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
^(B)Yahweh called Me from the womb;
From the ^[a]body of My mother He made My name to be remembered.
² He has set My ^(C)mouth like a sharp sword;
In the ^(D)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also set Me as a ^[b]select ^(E)arrow;
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
³ He said to Me, “^(F)You are My Servant, Israel,
^(G)In Whom I will ^[c]show forth My beautiful glory.”
⁴ But I said, “I have ^(H)toiled in vain;
I have spent My might for ^[d]nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with Yahweh,
And My ^(I)reward with My God.”

“In an ^(U)acceptable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will ^(V)guard You and ^(W)give You for a covenant of the people,
To ^(X)establish the land, to make them inherit the desolate ^[h]inheritance;
⁹ Saying to those who are ^(Y)bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘^[i]Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will ^[j]feed,
And their pasture will be on all ^(Z)bare heights.
¹⁰ They will ^(AA)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching ^(AB)heat or sun strike them down;
For ^(AC)He who has compassion on them will ^(AD)guide them
And will lead them to ^(AE)springs of water.
¹¹ I will set all ^(AF)My mountains as a road,
And My ^(AG)highways will be raised up.
¹² Behold, these will come ^(AH)from afar;
And behold, these will come from the ^(AI)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
^13 (AJ)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For ^(AK)Yahweh has comforted His people
And will ^(AL)have compassion on His afflicted.

¹⁴ But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her infant
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^(AM)I will not forget you.
¹⁶ Behold, I have ^(AN)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^(AO)walls are continually before Me.
¹⁷ Your ^[k]builders hurry;
Your ^(AP)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
^18 (AQ)Lift up your eyes and look around;
^(AR)All of them gather together; ^(AS)they come to you.
^(AT)As I live,” declares Yahweh,
“You will surely ^(AU)put on all of them as ^[l]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
¹⁹ For ^(AV)your ^[m]devastated and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be ^(AW)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^(AX)swallowed you will be far away.
²⁰ The ^(AY)children of ^[n]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
²¹ Then you will ^(AZ)say in your heart,
‘Who has borne these for me?
Indeed, I have been bereaved of my children
And am ^(BA)barren, an ^(BB)exile and a wanderer.
And who has reared these?
Behold, I ^(BC)remained alone;
^[o](BD)From where did these come?’”

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And make high My ^(BE)standard to the peoples;
And they will ^(BF)bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be lifted up on their shoulders.
^23 (BG)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^(BH)bow down to you with their ^[p]faces to the earth
And ^(BI)lick the dust of your feet;
And you will ^(BJ)know that I am Yahweh;
Those who ^(BK)hope in Me will ^(BL)not be put to shame.

“Even the ^(BN)captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of the tyrant will be granted escape;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will ^(BO)save your sons.
²⁶ I will feed ^(BP)those who mistreat you with their ^(BQ)own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And ^(BR)all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, am your ^(BS)Savior
And your ^(BT)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”