Isaiah 49
49 1Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye peoples, from far:
Jehovah hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he
made mention of my name:
2and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me: and he hath made me a polished
shaft; in his quiver hath he kept me close:
3and he said unto me, Thou
art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4But I said, I have
labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity; yet surely
the justice due to me is with Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.
5And now saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to
bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered unto him (for I am
honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God is become my strength);
6yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I
will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my
salvation unto the end of the earth.
7Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of
Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the
nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes,
and they shall worship; because of Jehovah that is faithful, even the
Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
8Thus saith Jehovah, In an
acceptable time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped
thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people,
to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages:
9saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness,
Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare heights shall
be their pasture.
10They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the
heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, even
by springs of water will he guide them.
11And I will make all my
mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
12Lo, these shall come
from far; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the
land of Sinim.
13Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth
into singing, O mountains: for Jehovah hath comforted his people, and will
have compassion upon his afflicted.
14But Zion said, Jehovah hath
forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.
15Can a woman forget her
sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee.
16Behold, I have
graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste
shall go forth from thee.
18Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold:
all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith
Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and
gird thyself with them, like a bride.
19For, as for thy waste and thy
desolate places, and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt thou
be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be
far away.
20The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears,
The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell.
21Then
shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been
bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro?
and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were
they?
22Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will lift up my hand to
the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring thy
sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing
mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and lick
the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; and they that
wait for me shall not be put to shame.
24Shall the prey be taken from the
mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
25But thus saith Jehovah,
Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the
terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with
thee, and I will save thy children.
26And I will feed them that oppress
thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as
with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour,
and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
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