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Isaiah 49
Revised Geneva Translation
Isaiah 49
Revised Geneva Translation
49 “Hear Me, O isles! And listen, you people from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb and made mention of My Name from My mother’s belly.
2 “And He has made My Mouth like a sharp sword. Under the shadow of His Hand has He hidden Me and made Me a chosen Shaft, hidden Me in His quiver,
3 “and said to Me, ‘You are My Servant, Israel, for I will be glorious in You.’
4 “And I said, ‘I have labored in vain. I have spent My strength in vain and for nothing. But My judgment is with the LORD, and My work with My God.’
5 “‘And now,’ says the LORD (Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, so that I may bring Jacob back to him, though Israel is not gathered. I shall still be glorious in the eyes of the LORD. And My God shall be My strength),
6 “indeed He said, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the desolations of Israel. I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, so that You may be My Salvation to the ends of the world.’”
7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to Him Who is despised in soul, to a nation that is abhorred, to a Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise. And princes shall worship because of the LORD, Who is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, Who has chosen You.”
8 Thus says the LORD: “In an acceptable time have I heard You. And on a Day of Salvation have I helped You. And I will preserve You, and will give You as a Covenant to the people, so that You may raise up the Earth and obtain the inheritance of the desolate heritages,
9 “so that You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’ and to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They shall feed along the ways. And their pastures shall be on all the tops of the hills.
10 “They shall not be hungry, nor shall they be thirsty, nor shall the heat strike them, nor the Sun. For He Who has compassion on them, shall lead them. Even by the springs of water shall He drive them.
11 “And I will make all My mountains as a way. And My paths shall be exalted.
12 “Behold, these shall come from far away. And lo, these from the North and from the West, and these from the land of Sinim.”
13 Rejoice, O heavens! And be joyful, O Earth! Burst forth into praise, O mountains! For God has comforted His people and will have mercy upon His afflicted!
14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me. And my LORD has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even if they should forget, yet will I not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have carved you upon the palms of My Hands. Your walls are always in My sight.
17 “Your builders hurry. Your destroyers and those who made you a wasteland, have departed from you.
18 “Lift up your eyes all around and look. All these gather themselves together and come to you, as I live,’ says the LORD. “You shall surely put them all upon you as a garment and gird yourself with them like a bride.
19 “For your desolations and your wastelands, and your destroyed land, shall surely now be too cramped for those who shall dwell in it. And those who devour you shall be far away.
20 “The children of your barrenness shall say again in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me. Give me a place in which I may dwell.’
21 “Then shall you say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten me these, seeing I am barren and desolate, a captive and a wanderer to and fro? And who has nourished them? Behold, I was left alone. From where have these come?’”
22 Thus says the LORD God: “Behold, I will lift up My Hand to the Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people. And they shall bring your sons in their arms. And your daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23 “And kings shall be your nursing fathers. And queens shall be your nurses. They shall bow down to you with their faces toward the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. And you shall know that I am the LORD. For those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed.
24 “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the just’s captivity delivered?”
25 But thus says the LORD: “Even the captivity of the mighty shall be taken away. And the prey of the tyrant shall be delivered. For I will contend with him who contends with you. And I will save your children,
26 “and will feed those who plunder you with their own flesh. And they shall be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine. And all flesh shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, 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
Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)
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