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
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
- Isaiah 49:1 Literally “intestines”
- Isaiah 49:2 Literally “put”
- Isaiah 49:2 Literally “put”
- Isaiah 49:4 Or “And”
- Isaiah 49:4 Or “for”
- Isaiah 49:5 The reading tradition (Qere) has “to him”
- Isaiah 49:5 Or “and”
- Isaiah 49:6 Literally “from being you”
- Isaiah 49:7 A Dead Sea Scroll reads “is despised with respect to”
- Isaiah 49:9 Literally “captured ones”
- Isaiah 49:9 Literally “on”
- Isaiah 49:11 Literally “put”
- Isaiah 49:11 Or “be high”
- Isaiah 49:14 Or “And”
- Isaiah 49:15 Or “and”
- Isaiah 49:17 Or “move away”
- Isaiah 49:18 Literally “Life I”
- Isaiah 49:18 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 49:19 Hebrew “ruin”
- Isaiah 49:19 Literally “cramped by”
- Isaiah 49:19 Hebrew “inhabitant”
- Isaiah 49:20 Literally “of your bereavement”
- Isaiah 49:20 Literally “ears”
- Isaiah 49:20 Literally “approach”
- Isaiah 49:21 Or “And”
- Isaiah 49:21 Or “and”
- Isaiah 49:21 Literally “these where they”
- Isaiah 49:22 Hebrew “shoulder”
- Isaiah 49:23 Literally “those who nurture”
- Isaiah 49:23 Literally “noses”
- Isaiah 49:23 Or “And”
- Isaiah 49:24 The Dead Sea Scroll has “violent”
- Isaiah 49:25 Or “and”
- Isaiah 49:26 Or “And”
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