Isaiah 49

Revised Geneva Translation

49 “Hear Me, O isles! And listen, you people from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb and made mention of My Name from My mother’s belly.

² “And He has made My Mouth like a sharp sword. Under the shadow of His Hand has He hidden Me and made Me a chosen Shaft, hidden Me in His quiver,

³ “and said to Me, ‘You are My Servant, Israel, for I will be glorious in You.’

⁴ “And I said, ‘I have labored in vain. I have spent My strength in vain and for nothing. But My judgment is with the LORD, and My work with My God.’

⁵ “‘And now,’ says the LORD (Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, so that I may bring Jacob back to him, though Israel is not gathered. I shall still be glorious in the eyes of the LORD. And My God shall be My strength),

⁶ “indeed He said, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the desolations of Israel. I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, so that You may be My Salvation to the ends of the world.’”

⁷ Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to Him Who is despised in soul, to a nation that is abhorred, to a Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise. And princes shall worship because of the LORD, Who is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, Who has chosen You.”

⁸ Thus says the LORD: “In an acceptable time have I heard You. And on a Day of Salvation have I helped You. And I will preserve You, and will give You as a Covenant to the people, so that You may raise up the Earth and obtain the inheritance of the desolate heritages,

⁹ “so that You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’ and to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They shall feed along the ways. And their pastures shall be on all the tops of the hills.

¹⁰ “They shall not be hungry, nor shall they be thirsty, nor shall the heat strike them, nor the Sun. For He Who has compassion on them, shall lead them. Even by the springs of water shall He drive them.

¹¹ “And I will make all My mountains as a way. And My paths shall be exalted.

¹² “Behold, these shall come from far away. And lo, these from the North and from the West, and these from the land of Sinim.”

¹³ Rejoice, O heavens! And be joyful, O Earth! Burst forth into praise, O mountains! For God has comforted His people and will have mercy upon His afflicted!

¹⁴ But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me. And my LORD has forgotten me.”

¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even if they should forget, yet will I not forget you.

¹⁶ “Behold, I have carved you upon the palms of My Hands. Your walls are always in My sight.

¹⁷ “Your builders hurry. Your destroyers and those who made you a wasteland, have departed from you.

¹⁸ “Lift up your eyes all around and look. All these gather themselves together and come to you, as I live,’ says the LORD. “You shall surely put them all upon you as a garment and gird yourself with them like a bride.

¹⁹ “For your desolations and your wastelands, and your destroyed land, shall surely now be too cramped for those who shall dwell in it. And those who devour you shall be far away.

²⁰ “The children of your barrenness shall say again in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me. Give me a place in which I may dwell.’

²¹ “Then shall you say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten me these, seeing I am barren and desolate, a captive and a wanderer to and fro? And who has nourished them? Behold, I was left alone. From where have these come?’”

²² Thus says the LORD God: “Behold, I will lift up My Hand to the Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people. And they shall bring your sons in their arms. And your daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

²³ “And kings shall be your nursing fathers. And queens shall be your nurses. They shall bow down to you with their faces toward the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. And you shall know that I am the LORD. For those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed.

²⁴ “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the just’s captivity delivered?”

²⁵ But thus says the LORD: “Even the captivity of the mighty shall be taken away. And the prey of the tyrant shall be delivered. For I will contend with him who contends with you. And I will save your children,

²⁶ “and will feed those who plunder you with their own flesh. And they shall be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine. And all flesh shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”