The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen to me, (A)O coastlands,
    and give attention, you peoples (B)from afar.
(C)The Lord called me from the womb,
    from the body of my mother he named my name.
(D)He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
    (E)in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
    in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, (F)in whom I will be glorified.”[a]
(G)But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
    and my recompense with my God.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:3 Or I will display my beauty

The Servant of the Lord

49 “Listen to me, you coastlands!
    Pay[a] attention, you people[b] from far away!
The Lord called me from the womb;
    while I was still in my mother’s body,
        he pronounced my name.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
    he hid me in the shadow of his hands.[c]
He made me like a polished arrow
    and hid me away in his quivers.[d]
He said to me: ‘You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.’

“I[e] said: ‘I’ve labored for nothing.
    I’ve exhausted my strength on futility and on[f] emptiness.’
Yet surely my recompense is with the Lord,
    and my reward is with my God.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:1 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT read and pay
  2. Isaiah 49:1 Lit. peoples; i.e. non-Israelis then in the land
  3. Isaiah 49:2 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read hand
  4. Isaiah 49:2 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab 4QIsad MT LXX read quiver
  5. Isaiah 49:4 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXX read But I
  6. Isaiah 49:4 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT lack on