Isaiah 49 (New American Standard)

Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth

1 Listen to Me, O ¹islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. ²The LORD called Me from the womb ; From the ^abody of My mother He named Me. 2 He has made My ³mouth like a sharp sword, In the ⁴shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a ^bselect ⁵arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver. 3 He said to Me, "⁶You are My Servant, Israel, ⁷In Whom I will ^cshow My glory." 4 But I said, "I have ⁸toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity ; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My ⁹reward with My God." 5 And now says ¹⁰the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ¹¹Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am ¹²honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My ¹³strength ), 6 He says, "It is too ^dsmall a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ¹⁴preserved ones of Israel ; I will also make You a ¹⁵light ^eof the nations So that My salvation may ^freach to the ¹⁶end of the earth." 7 Thus says the LORD, the ¹⁷Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the ¹⁸despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, "¹⁹Kings will see and arise, Princes will also ²⁰bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You." 8 Thus says the LORD, "In a ²¹favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will ²²keep You and ²³give You for a covenant of the people, To ^g24restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages ; 9 Saying to those who are ²⁵bound, 'Go forth,' To those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all ²⁶bare heights. 10 "They will ²⁷not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching ²⁸heat or sun strike them down ; For ²⁹He who has compassion on them will ³⁰lead them And will guide them to ³¹springs of water. 11 "I will make all ³²My mountains a road, And My ³³highways will be raised up. 12 "Behold, these will come ³⁴from afar ; And lo, these will come from the ³⁵north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim." 13 ³⁶Shout for joy, O heavens ! And rejoice, O earth ! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains ! For the ³⁷LORD has comforted His people And will ³⁸have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken 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 ³⁹I will not forget you. 16 "Behold, I have ⁴⁰inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your ⁴¹walls are continually before Me. 17 "Your ^hbuilders hurry ; Your ⁴²destroyers and devastators Will depart from you. 18 "⁴³Lift up your eyes and look around ; ⁴⁴All of them gather together, ⁴⁵they come to you. ⁴⁶As I live," declares the LORD, "You will surely ⁴⁷put on all of them as ⁱjewels and bind them on as a bride. 19 "For ⁴⁸your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land - Surely now you will be ⁴⁹too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who ⁵⁰swallowed you will be far away. 20 "The ⁵¹children of ^jwhom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, 'The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.' 21 "Then you will ⁵²say in your heart, 'Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am ⁵³barren, an ⁵⁴exile and a wanderer ? And who has reared these ? Behold, I was ⁵⁵left alone ; ^k56From where did these come?' " 22 Thus says the Lord ^lGOD, "Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My ⁵⁷standard to the peoples ; And they will ⁵⁸bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. 23 "⁵⁹Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will ⁶⁰bow down to you with their faces to the earth And ⁶¹lick the dust of your feet ; And you will ⁶²know that I am the LORD ; Those who hopefully ⁶³wait for Me will ⁶⁴not be put to shame. 24 "⁶⁵Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of ^ma tyrant be rescued ?" 25 Surely, thus says the LORD, "Even the ⁶⁶captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued ; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will ⁶⁷save your sons. 26 "I will feed your ⁶⁸oppressors with their ⁶⁹own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine ; And ⁷⁰all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your ⁷¹Savior And your ⁷²Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."