Isaiah 49:14-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”(A)
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these might forget,
yet I will not forget you.(B)
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.(C)
17 Your builders outdo your destroyers,[a]
and those who laid you waste go away from you.(D)
18 Lift up your eyes all around and see;
they all gather; they come to you.
As I live, says the Lord,
you shall put all of them on like an ornament,
and like a bride you shall bind them on.(E)
19 For your wastelands, your desolate places,
and your devastated land—
now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.(F)
20 The children born in the time of your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing:
“The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.”(G)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
“Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away—
so who has reared these?
I was left all alone—
where, then, have these come from?”(H)
Footnotes
- 49.17 Or Your children come swiftly; your destroyers
Isaiah 49:14-21
Common English Bible
Compassion for Zion
14 But Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 Can a woman forget her nursing child,
fail to pity the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
but I won’t forget you.
16 Look, on my palms I’ve inscribed you;
your walls are before me continually.
17 Your builders[a] come quickly;
those who destroy and demolish you will depart from you.
18 Look up all around and see:
they are all gathered;
they come to you.
As surely as I live, says the Lord,
you will put them all on like ornaments,
bind them on like a bride.
19 As for your ruins and desolate places
and destroyed land—
you will soon be crowded with settlers,
and those who swallowed you will be far away.
20 You will again hear the children who were born bereaved say,
“The place is too crowded for me;
make room for me to settle.”
21 And you will think to yourself,
Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and desolate, exiled and sent off.
So who raised these?
I was left behind, I was alone;
where were these?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:17 Or children
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible