Isaiah 49
Legacy Standard Bible
I Will Give You as a Light of the Nations
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.”
5 So now says (J)Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To return Jacob back to Him, so that (K)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (L)glorified in the sight of Yahweh,
And My God is My (M)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [e]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the (N)preserved ones of Israel to return;
I will also give You as a (O)light [f]of the nations
So that My salvation may [g]reach to the (P)end of the earth.”
7 Thus says Yahweh, the (Q)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the (R)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“(S)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also (T)bow down,
Because of Yahweh who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8 Thus says Yahweh,
“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.
Promise to Zion
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?’”
22 Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“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.
24 “(BM)Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of the [q]righteous be granted escape?”
25 Surely, thus says Yahweh,
“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.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:1 Lit inward parts
- Isaiah 49:2 Or sharpened
- Isaiah 49:3 Or glorify Myself
- Isaiah 49:4 Lit formlessness
- Isaiah 49:6 Lit light
- Isaiah 49:6 Or to
- Isaiah 49:6 Lit be
- Isaiah 49:8 Lit inheritances
- Isaiah 49:9 Lit Reveal
- Isaiah 49:9 Or be shepherded
- Isaiah 49:17 As in DSS and ancient versions; M.T. sons
- Isaiah 49:18 Lit an ornament
- Isaiah 49:19 Or waste
- Isaiah 49:20 Lit your bereavement
- Isaiah 49:21 Lit These, where are they?
- Isaiah 49:23 Lit noses
- Isaiah 49:24 DSS and ancient versions tyrant, cf. 49:25
Isaiah 49
Christian Standard Bible
The Servant Brings Salvation
49 Coasts and islands,[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,(E)
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
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, princes will stand up,
and they[c] will all 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.(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 guardians
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 the Lord;(AD)
those who put their hope in me
will not be put to shame.(AE)
24 Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
or the captives of a tyrant[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 humanity will know
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(AG)
and your Redeemer,(AH) the Mighty One of Jacob.”(AI)
Footnotes
- 49:1 Or Islands
- 49:7 Or by the nation
- 49:7 Lit princes and they
- 49:12 Lit sea
- 49:12 DSS read of the Syenites
- 49:12 Perhaps modern Aswan in southern Egypt
- 49:17 DSS, Aq, Theod, Vg; MT, Syr, Sym read sons
- 49:18 Lit all of them
- 49:21 Lit where are they
- 49:23 Lit princesses
- 49:24 DSS, Syr, Vg; MT reads a righteous man
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