Isaiah 49:8-16

New American Standard Bible

⁸This is what the Lord says:
“At a ^(A)favorable time I answered You,
And on a day of salvation I helped You;
And I will ^(B)watch over You and ^(C)make You a covenant of the people,
To ^[a]^(D)restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;
⁹Saying to those who are ^(E)bound, ‘^[b]Go free,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed along the roads,
And their pasture will be on all ^(F)bare heights.
¹⁰They will ^(G)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching ^(H)heat or sun strike them down;
For ^(I)He who has compassion on them will ^(J)lead them,
And He will guide them to ^(K)springs of water.
¹¹I will make all ^(L)My mountains a road,
And My ^(M)highways will be raised up.
¹²Behold, these will come ^(N)from afar;
And behold, these will come from the ^(O)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan.”
¹³^(P)Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains!
For the ^(Q)Lord has comforted His people
And will ^(R)have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

¹⁴But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^(S)I will not forget you.
¹⁶Behold, I have ^(T)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^(U)walls are continually before Me.