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;(A)
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders[a] hurry;
those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18 Look up, and look around.
They all gather together; they come to you.(B)
As I live”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“you will wear all your children[b] 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,(C)
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.’(D)
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?’” [c]

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Footnotes

  1. 49:17 DSS, Aq, Theod, Vg; MT, Syr, Sym read sons
  2. 49:18 Lit all of them
  3. 49:21 Lit where are they

14 But Zion said, (A)“The Lord has forsaken me;
    my Lord has forgotten me.”

15 (B)“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, (C)I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders make haste;[a]
    (D)your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 (E)Lift up your eyes around and see;
    they all gather, they come to you.
(F)As I live, declares the Lord,
    (G)you shall put them all on as an ornament;
    you shall bind them on as a bride does.

19 “Surely your waste and your desolate places
    and your devastated land—
(H)surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
    and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 (I)The children of your bereavement
    will yet say in your ears:
(J)‘The place is too narrow for me;
    make room for me to dwell in.’
21 Then you will say in your heart:
    ‘Who has borne me these?
(K)I was bereaved and barren,
    exiled and put away,
    but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
    from where have these come?’”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste