The Servant Brings Salvation

49 Coasts and islands,[a] listen to me;
distant peoples, pay attention.
The Lord called(A) me before I was born.
He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.(B)
He made my words like a sharp sword;(C)
he hid me in the shadow of his hand.(D)
He made me like a sharpened arrow;
he hid me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant,(E)
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
But I myself said: I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and futility;
yet my vindication is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.
And now, says the Lord,
who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is my strength—
he says,
“It is not enough for you to be my servant
raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel.
I will also make you a light for the nations,(F)
to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”(G)
This is what the Lord,
the Redeemer(H) of Israel, his Holy One, says
to one who is despised,
to one abhorred by people,[b](I)
to a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see, princes will stand up,
and they[c] will all bow down
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel(J)—and he has chosen you.”(K)

This is what the Lord says:

I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.(L)
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,(M)
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”(N)
and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.(O)
10 They will not hunger or thirst,
the scorching heat or sun will not strike them;
for their compassionate one will guide them,
and lead them to springs.(P)
11 I will make all my mountains into a road,
and my highways will be raised up.(Q)
12 See, these will come from far away,
from the north and from the west,[d](R)
and from the land of Sinim.[e][f]

13 Shout for joy, you heavens!(S)
Earth, rejoice!
Mountains break into joyful shouts!
For the Lord has comforted his people,(T)
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.(U)

Zion Remembered

14 Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
the Lord has forgotten me!”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;(V)
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders[g] hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18 Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.(W)
As I live”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“you will wear all your children[h] as jewelry,
and put them on as a bride does.
19 For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,(X)
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Yet as you listen, the children
that you have been deprived of will say,
‘This place is too small for me;
make room for me so that I may settle.’(Y)
21 Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering—
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself—
but these, where did they come from?’” [i]

22 This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my banner to the peoples.(Z)
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.(AA)
23 Kings will be your guardians
and their queens[j] your nursing mothers.(AB)
They will bow down to you
with their faces to the ground
and lick the dust at your feet.(AC)
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(AD)
those who put their hope in me
will not be put to shame.(AE)

24 Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
or the captives of a tyrant[k] be delivered?
25 For this is what the Lord says:
“Even the captives of a mighty man will be taken,
and the prey of a tyrant will be delivered;
I will contend with the one who contends with you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,(AF)
and they will be drunk with their own blood
as with sweet wine.
Then all humanity will know
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(AG)
and your Redeemer,(AH) the Mighty One of Jacob.”(AI)

Footnotes

  1. 49:1 Or Islands
  2. 49:7 Or by the nation
  3. 49:7 Lit princes and they
  4. 49:12 Lit sea
  5. 49:12 DSS read of the Syenites
  6. 49:12 Perhaps modern Aswan in southern Egypt
  7. 49:17 DSS, Aq, Theod, Vg; MT, Syr, Sym read sons
  8. 49:18 Lit all of them
  9. 49:21 Lit where are they
  10. 49:23 Lit princesses
  11. 49:24 DSS, Syr, Vg; MT reads a righteous man

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)
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.
He said to me, “You are my servant,(J)
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(K)
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)

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)
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)

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

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)
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)

14 But Zion(BC) said, “The Lord has forsaken(BD) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

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)

24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,(CI)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce[c]?

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

  1. Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
  2. Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
  3. Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous