主的仆人

49 众海岛啊,听我说!

远方的众民啊,要留心听!
我还没有出生,
耶和华就呼召我;
我还没有离开母腹,
祂就点我的名。
祂使我的口像利剑,
用祂的手护庇我;
祂使我成为磨亮的箭,
把我藏在祂的箭囊中。
祂对我说:“以色列啊,
你是我的仆人,
我要借着你彰显我的荣耀。”
但我说:“我虚耗精力,
徒劳无功。
然而,耶和华必公正地待我,
我的报酬在我的上帝那里。”

我在母腹之中,耶和华便塑造我做祂的仆人,
叫我领雅各归向祂,
把以色列人召集到祂那里。
我在耶和华眼中是尊贵的,
我的上帝是我的力量。
祂对我说:“我不仅要你做我的仆人,
去复兴雅各的众支派,
使以色列的余民重归故土,
我还要使你成为外族人的光,
好把我的救恩带到地极。”
以色列的救赎主和圣者——耶和华对受藐视、
被本国人憎恨、
遭官长奴役的那位说:
“因为拣选你的以色列的圣者耶和华是信实的,
君王必在你面前肃然起立,
首领必在你面前俯伏下拜。”

以色列的复兴

耶和华说:
“在悦纳的时候,我应允了你;
在拯救的日子,我帮助了你。
我要保护你,
使你做我跟民众立约的中保,
复兴家园,
分配荒凉的产业。
你要对被囚禁的人说,
‘出来吧!’
要对暗牢中的人说,
‘你们自由了。’
他们在路上必有吃的,
光秃的山岭必有食物。
10 他们不再饥渴,
也不再被热风和烈日灼伤,
因为怜悯他们的那位必引导他们,
领他们到泉水边。
11 我要使我的群山变为通途,
修筑我的大路。
12 看啊,他们必从远方来,
有的来自北方,有的来自西方,
还有的来自希尼[a]。”
13 诸天啊,要欢呼!
大地啊,要快乐!
群山啊,要歌唱!
因为耶和华必安慰祂的子民,
怜悯祂受苦的百姓。

14 但锡安说:“耶和华撇弃了我,
主把我忘了。”
15 耶和华说:“母亲岂能忘记自己吃奶的婴儿,
不怜悯自己亲生的孩子?
就算有母亲忘记,
我也不会忘记你。
16 看啊,我已经把你铭刻在我的手掌上,
你的墙垣在我的看顾之下。
17 你的儿女必很快回来,
毁灭和破坏你的必离你而去。
18 举目四下看看吧,
你的儿女正聚集到你这里。
我凭我的永恒起誓,
你必把他们作为饰物戴在身上,
如新娘一样用他们妆扮自己。
这是耶和华说的。

19 “你那曾经荒废、凄凉、
遭到毁坏之地现在必容不下你的居民,
那些吞灭你的人必远远地离开你。
20 你流亡期间所生的子女必在你耳边说,
‘这地方太小了,
再给我们一些地方住吧。’
21 你会在心里问,‘我丧失了儿女、
不再生育、流亡在外、漂流不定,
谁给我生了这些儿女?
谁把他们养大?
我孤身一人,
他们是从哪里来的?’”

22 主耶和华说:
“我必向列国招手,
向万民竖立我的旗帜,
他们必抱着你的儿子、
背着你的女儿回来。
23 列王必做你的养父,
王后必做你的褓姆。
他们必向你俯伏下拜,
舔你脚上的尘土。
那时你便知道我是耶和华,
信靠我的必不致失望。”

24 勇士抢去的能夺回来吗?
暴君掳走的能救回来吗?
25 但耶和华说:
“勇士掳去的必被夺回,
暴君抢去的必被救出。
我必与你的敌人争战,
拯救你的儿女。
26 我要使那些欺压你的人吞吃自己的肉,
喝自己的血喝得酩酊大醉,
好像喝酒一样。
那时候,世人都必知道我耶和华是你的救主,
是你的救赎主,
是雅各的大能者。”

Footnotes

  1. 49:12 希尼”可能指遥远的东方或南方某地。

主的僕人

49 眾海島啊,聽我說!

遠方的眾民啊,要留心聽!
我還沒有出生,
耶和華就呼召我;
我還沒有離開母腹,
祂就點我的名。
祂使我的口像利劍,
用祂的手護庇我;
祂使我成為磨亮的箭,
把我藏在祂的箭囊中。
祂對我說:「以色列啊,
你是我的僕人,
我要藉著你彰顯我的榮耀。」
但我說:「我虛耗精力,
徒勞無功。
然而,耶和華必公正地待我,
我的報酬在我的上帝那裡。」

我在母腹之中,耶和華便塑造我做祂的僕人,
叫我領雅各歸向祂,
把以色列人召集到祂那裡。
我在耶和華眼中是尊貴的,
我的上帝是我的力量。
祂對我說:「我不僅要你做我的僕人,
去復興雅各的眾支派,
使以色列的餘民重歸故土,
我還要使你成為外族人的光,
好把我的救恩帶到地極。」
以色列的救贖主和聖者——耶和華對受藐視、
被本國人憎恨、
遭官長奴役的那位說:
「因為揀選你的以色列的聖者耶和華是信實的,
君王必在你面前肅然起立,
首領必在你面前俯伏下拜。」

以色列的復興

耶和華說:
「在悅納的時候,我應允了你;
在拯救的日子,我幫助了你。
我要保護你,
使你做我跟民眾立約的中保,
復興家園,
分配荒涼的產業。
你要對被囚禁的人說,
『出來吧!』
要對暗牢中的人說,
『你們自由了。』
他們在路上必有吃的,
光禿的山嶺必有食物。
10 他們不再饑渴,
也不再被熱風和烈日灼傷,
因為憐憫他們的那位必引導他們,
領他們到泉水邊。
11 我要使我的群山變為通途,
修築我的大路。
12 看啊,他們必從遠方來,
有的來自北方,有的來自西方,
還有的來自希尼[a]。」
13 諸天啊,要歡呼!
大地啊,要快樂!
群山啊,要歌唱!
因為耶和華必安慰祂的子民,
憐憫祂受苦的百姓。

14 但錫安說:「耶和華撇棄了我,
主把我忘了。」
15 耶和華說:「母親豈能忘記自己吃奶的嬰兒,
不憐憫自己親生的孩子?
就算有母親忘記,
我也不會忘記你。
16 看啊,我已經把你銘刻在我的手掌上,
你的牆垣在我的看顧之下。
17 你的兒女必很快回來,
毀滅和破壞你的必離你而去。
18 舉目四下看看吧,
你的兒女正聚集到你這裡。
我憑我的永恆起誓,
你必把他們作為飾物戴在身上,
如新娘一樣用他們妝扮自己。
這是耶和華說的。

19 「你那曾經荒廢、淒涼、
遭到毀壞之地現在必容不下你的居民,
那些吞滅你的人必遠遠地離開你。
20 你流亡期間所生的子女必在你耳邊說,
『這地方太小了,
再給我們一些地方住吧。』
21 你會在心裡問,『我喪失了兒女、
不再生育、流亡在外、漂流不定,
誰給我生了這些兒女?
誰把他們養大?
我孤身一人,
他們是從哪裡來的?』」

22 主耶和華說:
「我必向列國招手,
向萬民豎立我的旗幟,
他們必抱著你的兒子、
背著你的女兒回來。
23 列王必做你的養父,
王后必做你的褓姆。
他們必向你俯伏下拜,
舔你腳上的塵土。
那時你便知道我是耶和華,
信靠我的必不致失望。」

24 勇士搶去的能奪回來嗎?
暴君擄走的能救回來嗎?
25 但耶和華說:
「勇士擄去的必被奪回,
暴君搶去的必被救出。
我必與你的敵人爭戰,
拯救你的兒女。
26 我要使那些欺壓你的人吞吃自己的肉,
喝自己的血喝得酩酊大醉,
好像喝酒一樣。
那時候,世人都必知道我耶和華是你的救主,
是你的救贖主,
是雅各的大能者。」

Footnotes

  1. 49·12 希尼」可能指遙遠的東方或南方某地。

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)
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.
He said to me, “You are my servant,(J)
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(K)
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)

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)
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)

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

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)
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)

14 But Zion(BC) said, “The Lord has forsaken(BD) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

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)

24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,(CI)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce[c]?

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

  1. Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
  2. Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
  3. Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous

49 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.

And he said, It is a light 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.

Thus saith the Lord, 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 also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard 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 establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?

25 But thus saith the Lord, 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.

26 And 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 the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.