Isaiah 49:8-13

Contemporary English Version

The Lord Will Lead His People Home

⁸^(A) This is what the Lord says:
    I will answer your prayers
because I have set a time
when I will help
    by coming to save you.
I have chosen you
to take my promise of hope
    to other nations.^[a]
You will rebuild the country
    from its ruins,
then people will come
    and settle there.
⁹You will set prisoners free
from dark dungeons
    to see the light of day.

On their way home,
they will find plenty to eat,
    even on barren hills.
¹⁰^(B) They won't go hungry
    or get thirsty;
they won't be bothered
by the scorching sun
    or hot desert winds.
I will be merciful
while leading them along
    to streams of water.
¹¹I will level the mountains
    and make roads.
¹²Then my people will return
    from distant lands
in the north and the west
    and from the city of Syene.^[b]

The Lord's Mercy

¹³Tell the heavens and the earth
    to celebrate and sing;
command every mountain
    to join in the song.
The Lord's people have suffered,
but he has shown mercy
    and given them comfort.

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Footnotes

49.8 my … nations: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
49.12 Syene: The Dead Sea Scrolls; the Standard Hebrew Text “Sinim.” This city was located at the first cataract of the Nile near the site of modern-day Aswan.