Isaiah 49:15-50:11

New International Version

¹⁵“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child^(A) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!^(B)
¹⁶See, I have engraved^(C) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls^(D) are ever before me.
¹⁷Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste^(E) depart from you.
¹⁸Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather^(F) and come to you.
As surely as I live,^(G)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear^(H) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

¹⁹“Though you were ruined and made desolate^(I)
    and your land laid waste,^(J)
now you will be too small for your people,^(K)
    and those who devoured^(L) you will be far away.
²⁰The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’^(M)
²¹Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?^(N)
I was bereaved^(O) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.^(P)
    Who brought these^(Q) up?
I was left^(R) all alone,^(S)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

²²This is what the Sovereign Lord^(T) says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner^(U) to the peoples;
they will bring^(V) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.^(W)
²³Kings^(X) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.^(Y)
They will bow down^(Z) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust^(AA) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;^(AB)
    those who hope^(AC) in me will not be disappointed.^(AD)”

²⁴Can plunder be taken from warriors,^(AE)
or captives be rescued from the fierce^[a]?

²⁵But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives^(AF) will be taken from warriors,^(AG)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;^(AH)
I will contend with those who contend with you,^(AI)
    and your children I will save.^(AJ)
²⁶I will make your oppressors^(AK) eat^(AL) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,^(AM) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know^(AN)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,^(AO)
    your Redeemer,^(AP) the Mighty One of Jacob.^(AQ)”

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce^(AR)
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
    did I sell^(AS) you?
Because of your sins^(AT) you were sold;^(AU)
    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
²When I came, why was there no one?
    When I called, why was there no one to answer?^(AV)
Was my arm too short^(AW) to deliver you?
    Do I lack the strength^(AX) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke^(AY) I dry up the sea,^(AZ)
    I turn rivers into a desert;^(BA)
their fish rot for lack of water
    and die of thirst.
³I clothe the heavens with darkness^(BB)
    and make sackcloth^(BC) its covering.”

⁴The Sovereign Lord^(BD) has given me a well-instructed tongue,^(BE)
    to know the word that sustains the weary.^(BF)
He wakens me morning by morning,^(BG)
    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.^(BH)
⁵The Sovereign Lord^(BI) has opened my ears;^(BJ)
    I have not been rebellious,^(BK)
    I have not turned away.
⁶I offered my back to those who beat^(BL) me,
    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;^(BM)
I did not hide my face
    from mocking and spitting.^(BN)
⁷Because the Sovereign Lord^(BO) helps^(BP) me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,^(BQ)
    and I know I will not be put to shame.^(BR)
⁸He who vindicates^(BS) me is near.^(BT)
    Who then will bring charges against me?^(BU)
    Let us face each other!^(BV)
Who is my accuser?
    Let him confront me!
⁹It is the Sovereign Lord^(BW) who helps^(BX) me.
    Who will condemn^(BY) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
    the moths^(BZ) will eat them up.

¹⁰Who among you fears^(CA) the Lord
    and obeys^(CB) the word of his servant?^(CC)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
    who has no light,^(CD)
trust^(CE) in the name of the Lord
    and rely on their God.
¹¹But now, all you who light fires
    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,^(CF)
go, walk in the light of your fires^(CG)
    and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:^(CH)
    You will lie down in torment.^(CI)