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Isaiah 49
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Isaiah 49
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
B. Expiation of Sin, Spiritual Liberation of Israel
Chapter 49
The Servant of the Lord[a]
1 Hear me, coastlands,
listen, distant peoples.(A)
Before birth the Lord called me,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.[b]
2 He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword,
concealed me, shielded by his hand.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
3 He said to me, You are my servant,
in you, Israel,[c] I show my glory.
4 Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
for nothing and for naught spent my strength,
Yet my right is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.(B)
5 For now the Lord has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
6 It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;(C)
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.[d]
7 Thus says the Lord,
the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
To the one despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers:
When kings see you, they shall stand up,
and princes shall bow down
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.(D)
The Liberation and Restoration of Zion
8 Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I answer you,[e]
on the day of salvation I help you;
I form you and set you
as a covenant for the people,
To restore the land
and allot the devastated heritages,(E)
9 To say to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the roadways they shall find pasture,
on every barren height shall their pastures be.(F)
10 They shall not hunger or thirst;
nor shall scorching wind or sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.(G)
11 I will turn all my mountains into roadway,
and make my highways level.(H)
12 See, these shall come from afar:
some from the north and the west,
others from the land of Syene.[f]
13 Sing out, heavens, and rejoice, earth,
break forth into song, you mountains,
For the Lord comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”(I)
15 Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.(J)
16 See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you;[g]
your walls are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten—
your levelers, your destroyers
go forth from you;
18 Look about and see,
they are all gathering and coming to you.
As I live—oracle of the Lord—
you shall don them as jewels,
bedeck yourself like a bride.
19 Though you were waste and desolate,
a land of ruins,
Now you shall be too narrow for your inhabitants,
while those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 The children of whom you were bereft
shall yet say in your hearing,
“This place is too narrow for me,
make room for me to live in.”
21 You shall ask yourself:
“Who has borne me these,
when I was bereft and barren?
Exiled and repudiated,
who has reared them?
I was left all alone;
where then do these come from?”(K)
22 Thus says the Lord God:
See, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and to the peoples raise my signal;
They shall bring your sons in their arms,
your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.(L)
23 Kings shall be your guardians,
their princesses your nursemaids;
Face to the ground, they shall bow down before you
and lick the dust at your feet.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord,
none who hope in me shall be ashamed.
24 Can plunder be taken from a warrior,
or captives rescued from a tyrant?
25 Thus says the Lord:
Yes, captives can be taken from a warrior,
and plunder rescued from a tyrant;
Those who oppose you I will oppose,
and your sons I will save.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk with their own blood
as though with new wine.
All flesh shall know
that I, the Lord, am your savior,
your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.(M)
Footnotes
- 49:1–7 The second of the four “servant of the Lord” oracles (cf. note on 42:1–4).
- 49:1 Gave me my name: designated me for a special task or mission (cf. Jer 1:5).
- 49:3 Israel: the servant is identified with the people of Israel as their ideal representative; however, vv. 5–6 seem to distinguish the servant from Israel.
- 49:6 The servant’s vocation extends beyond the restoration of Israel in order to bring the knowledge of Israel’s God to the rest of the earth; cf. Lk 2:32.
- 49:8 You: the individual is not named; perhaps Cyrus or the prophet.
- 49:12 Syene: now called Aswan, at the first cataract of the Nile in southern Egypt.
- 49:16 Upon the palms…you: for continual remembrance; cf. Ex 13:9, 16; Dt 6:6–9.
Isaiah 49
EasyEnglish Bible
Isaiah 49
EasyEnglish Bible
The Lord's Servant
49 Listen to me, you islands.
Listen carefully, you people who live far away.
The Lord called me to serve him
before I was born.
Before my mother gave birth,
he used my name to speak to me.
2 The message that he gave me to speak
was like a sharp sword.
He kept me safe in his hand.
He made me like a sharp arrow
that he keeps safe and ready to use.
3 He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel.
Because of you, I will cause people to know that I am great.’
4 I said, ‘My work has been useless.
I have worked hard with no results.’
But the Lord will do what is right for me.
He will give me what I deserve for my work.
5 The Lord chose me to be his servant, even before I was born. He chose me to bring Jacob's descendants back to himself. He chose me to bring Israel's people together to serve him. As a result, the Lord will honour me. He is the one who makes me strong. The Lord, my God, says,
6 ‘As my servant, I have a greater job for you to do.
It will not only be to make Jacob's tribes strong again.
It will not only be to bring back Israel's people that I have kept safe.
It will also be your job
to bring light to the other nations.
You will show people all over the world
that I have the power to save them.’
7 The Lord is Israel's Redeemer, their Holy God. Nations refuse to accept his servant. Their people hate him and their rulers have made him their slave. The Lord says to his servant,
‘Kings will see you and they will rise up to respect you.
Princes will bend down low in front of you.
They will see that the Lord is faithful.
He is Israel's Holy God,
who has chosen you to serve him.’
8 This is what the Lord says:
‘I will answer your prayers
at the time that I have chosen to help you.
Yes, I will come to save you on that day.
I will keep you safe,
so that I can make a covenant with people through you.
You will make the land safe again.
People will return to live there,
in places that had become empty.
9 You will say to the prisoners,
“Come out!”
You will say to people who are in dark prisons,
“Come outside!”
Then they will be free to find food for themselves.
They will eat along the road and on the tops of the hills.
10 They will not be hungry or thirsty.
The strong heat of the sun will not hurt them.
The one who loves them will be their guide.
He will lead them to drink from springs of water.
11 I will make all my mountains become roads.
I will build good roads for my people to travel on.
12 Look! People will return to the land
from places that are far away.
Yes, some of them will come from the north and from the west.
And some will come from the land of Sinim.’[a]
13 Shout with joy, everything in the sky!
Be happy, everything on the earth!
Sing loudly, you mountains!
Be happy, because the Lord comforts his people.
He will be kind to his people who have trouble and pain.
14 But Zion's people said,
‘The Lord has left us alone.
The Lord God has forgotten about us.’
15 The Lord replies,
‘Can a mother forget the baby
who drinks milk at her breast?
Can she refuse to be kind to the child
that she has given birth to?
Perhaps those mothers might forget their children.
But I would not ever forget you, Zion.[b]
16 Look! I have written your name on my own hand.
I always see the walls of your city in my mind.
17 Your children will hurry back to you,
to build you again.
The enemies who destroyed you will go away.
18 Look all round you!
See all your people as they return together.’
The Lord says, ‘I tell you clearly, as the God who lives,
you will be happy with your people.
They will make you beautiful again,
like a bride with her beautiful jewels.
19 Enemies have destroyed your land.
Its towns have become heaps of stones.
But soon your land will be too small for all your people to live in.
The enemies who destroyed you will be far away from you.
20 The children who were born in a foreign land
will return to you.
You will hear them say,
“This place is too small for us.
Find more room for us to live in.”
21 Then you will think, “Who gave me all these children?
Who is their father?
I was alone, with no husband.
They killed my children
or they took them away to a foreign land.
I could no longer give birth.
So where did all these children come from?” ’
22 The Almighty Lord says,
‘Look! I will lift up my hand,
to call the nations.
I will raise up a flag
as a sign to those people.
Then they will bring back your sons and your daughters.
They will carry them in their arms and on their shoulders.
23 The kings of those nations will take care of your children.
The kings' daughters will feed them.
The rulers will bend down low in front of you,
so that their faces touch the ground.
They will taste the dirt by your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
I will not disappoint people who wait for me to help them.
24 Can anyone rob a brave soldier?
Can anyone rescue prisoners from a cruel ruler?’
25 But the Lord says,
‘Yes! One day the brave soldier's prisoners will be free.
One day the cruel ruler will lose the valuable things that he has taken for himself.
I myself will fight against your enemies.
I will rescue your children.
26 I will cause your cruel enemies to destroy themselves.
There will be so much blood that it will seem like wine.
They will seem like people who have become drunk.
Then people everywhere will recognize that I am the Lord.
They will know that I am your Saviour and your Redeemer,
and I am the Mighty One of Jacob.’
Isaiah 49
New International Version
Isaiah 49
New International Version
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen(A) to me, you islands;(B)
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(C) the Lord called(D) me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(E)
2 He made my mouth(F) like a sharpened sword,(G)
in the shadow of his hand(H) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(I)
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,(J)
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(K)”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;(L)
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(M)
and my reward(N) is with my God.”(O)
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb(P) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel(Q) to himself,
for I am[a] honored(R) in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength(S)—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(T)
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(U)
I will also make you a light(V) for the Gentiles,(W)
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(X)
7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(Y)—
to him who was despised(Z) and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(AA) will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,(AB)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(AC)
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(AD) you.”
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favor(AE) I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;(AF)
I will keep(AG) you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,(AH)
to restore the land(AI)
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(AJ)
9 to say to the captives,(AK) ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness,(AL) ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.(AM)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(AN)
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(AO)
He who has compassion(AP) on them will guide(AQ) them
and lead them beside springs(AR) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways(AS) will be raised up.(AT)
12 See, they will come from afar(AU)—
some from the north, some from the west,(AV)
some from the region of Aswan.[b]”
13 Shout for joy,(AW) you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;(AX)
burst into song, you mountains!(AY)
For the Lord comforts(AZ) his people
and will have compassion(BA) on his afflicted ones.(BB)
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child(BE) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!(BF)
16 See, I have engraved(BG) you on the palms of my hands;
your walls(BH) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste(BI) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather(BJ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(BK)” declares the Lord,
“you will wear(BL) them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(BM)
and your land laid waste,(BN)
now you will be too small for your people,(BO)
and those who devoured(BP) you will be far away.
20 The 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.’(BQ)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?(BR)
I was bereaved(BS) and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.(BT)
Who brought these(BU) up?
I was left(BV) all alone,(BW)
but these—where have they come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(BX) says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations,
I will lift up my banner(BY) to the peoples;
they will bring(BZ) your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their hips.(CA)
23 Kings(CB) will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.(CC)
They will bow down(CD) before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust(CE) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(CF)
those who hope(CG) in me will not be disappointed.(CH)”
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives(CJ) will be taken from warriors,(CK)
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(CL)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(CM)
and your children I will save.(CN)
26 I will make your oppressors(CO) eat(CP) their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood,(CQ) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(CR)
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(CS)
your Redeemer,(CT) the Mighty One of Jacob.(CU)”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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