Isaiah 49:14-51:3
Names of God Bible
The Lord Has Not Forgotten Israel
14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has abandoned me.
My Adonay has forgotten me.”
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child?
Will she have no compassion on the child from her womb?
Although mothers may forget,
I will not forget you.
16 I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Your walls are always in my presence.
17 Your children will hurry back.
Those who destroyed you and laid waste to you will leave you.
18 Look up, look around, and watch!
All of your children are gathering together and returning to you.
“I solemnly swear as I live,” declares Yahweh,
“you will wear all of them like jewels
and display them on yourself as a bride would.”
19 Though you are destroyed and demolished and your land is in ruins,
you will be too crowded for your people now.
Those who devoured you will be long gone.
20 The children taken from you will say to you,
“This place is too crowded for me.
Make room for me to live here.”
21 Then you will ask yourself,
“Who has fathered these children for me?
I was childless and unable to have children.
I was exiled and rejected.
Who raised these children for me?
I was left alone.
Where have they come from?”
22 This is what Adonay Yahweh says:
I will lift my hand to signal the nations.
I will raise my flag for the people.
They will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Then kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens will nurse you.
They will bow in front of you
with their faces touching the ground.
They will lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh.
Those who wait with hope for me will not be put to shame.
24 Can loot be taken away from mighty men
or prisoners be freed from conquerors?
25 This is what Yahweh says:
Prisoners will be freed from mighty men.
Loot will be taken away from tyrants.
I will fight your enemies,
and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they will become drunk on their own blood
as though it were new wine.
Then all humanity will know that I am Yahweh, who saves you,
the Mighty One of Jacob, who reclaims you.
The Lord’s People Were Sold because of Their Sin
50 This is what Yahweh says:
Where are your mother’s divorce papers?
Did I give her any to get rid of her?
To which of my creditors did I sell you?
You were sold because of your sins.
I got rid of your mother because of your rebellion.
2 Why was no one here when I came?
Why was no one here to answer when I called?
Am I too weak to reclaim you?
Don’t I have the power to rescue you?
I dry up the sea with my command,
and I turn rivers into deserts.
Their fish stink because there is no water,
and people die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens in darkness
and cover them with sackcloth.
The Lord’s Servant Trusts in the Lord’s Help
4 Adonay Yahweh will teach me what to say,
so I will know how to encourage weary people.
Morning after morning he will wake me
to listen like a student.
5 Adonay Yahweh will open my ears.
I will not rebel, nor will I turn away from him.
6 I will offer my back to those who whip me
and my cheeks to those who pluck hairs out of my beard.
I will not turn my face away from those who humiliate me
and spit on me.
7 Adonay Yahweh helps me.
That is why I will not be ashamed.
I have set my face like a flint.
I know that I will not be put to shame.
8 The one who pronounces me innocent is near.
Who will bring a case against me?
Let us confront each other!
Who accuses me?
Let him confront me!
9 Adonay Yahweh helps me.
Who will find me guilty?
They will all wear out like a garment.
Moths will eat them.
10 Who among you fears Yahweh
and obeys his Ebed?
Let those who walk in darkness and have no light
trust the name of Yahweh
and depend upon their Elohim.
11 But all of you light fires
and arm yourselves with flaming torches.
So walk in your own light
and among the torches you have lit.
This is what you will receive from me:
You will be tormented.
The Lord Will Save His People
51 Listen to me, you people who pursue what is right and seek Yahweh.
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham, your ancestor,
and to Sarah, from whom you are descended.
When I called Abraham, he was childless.
I blessed him and gave him many descendants.
3 So Yahweh will comfort Zion.
He will comfort all those who live among its ruins.
He will make its desert like Eden.
He will make its wilderness like the garden of Yahweh.
Joy and gladness will be found in it,
thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
