CHAPTER 49
Listen
to me,
O islands,
and pay attention,
O distant
peoples:
The LORD
called me
from the womb;
from the body
of my mother
He named me.
He made
my mouth
like a sharp
sword;
He hid me
in the shadow
of His hand.
He made me
like a polished
arrow;
He hid
me in His quiver.
But I
said,
“I have labored
in vain,
I have spent
my strength
in futility
and vanity;
yet
my vindication
is with
the LORD,
and my reward
is with
my God.”
And now
says
the LORD,
who formed me
from the womb
to be His Servant,
to bring Jacob
back
to Him,
that Israel
might be gathered to Him—
for I am honored
in the sight
of the LORD,
and my God
is
my strength—
He says,
“It is not enough
for you to be
My Servant,
to raise up
the tribes
of Jacob,
and to restore
the protected
ones of Israel.
I will also make
you a light
for the nations,
that you may bring
My salvation
to
the ends
of the earth.”
Thus
says
the LORD,
the Redeemer
and Holy One
of Israel,
to him who
was despised
and abhorred
by the nation,
to the servant
of rulers:
“Kings
will see you
and rise,
and princes
will bow down,
because of
the LORD,
who
is faithful,
the Holy
One of Israel,
who has chosen you."
This is what
the LORD
says:
“In the time
of favor
I will answer you,
and in the day
of salvation
I will help you;
I will keep you
and appoint you
to be a covenant
for the people,
to restore
the land,
to apportion
its desolate
inheritances,
to say
to the prisoners,
‘Come out,’
and to those
in darkness,
‘Show yourselves.’
They will feed
along
the pathways,
and find pasture
on every
barren hill.
They will not
hunger
or thirst,
nor will
the scorching heat
or sun
strike them.
For
He who has compassion on them
will guide them
and lead them
beside
springs
of water.
Behold,
they
will come
from far away,
from the north
and from the west,
and from
the land
of Aswan.”
Shout for joy,
O heavens;
rejoice,
O earth;
break
into joyful song,
O mountains!
For
the LORD
has comforted
His people,
and He will have compassion
on His afflicted ones.
“Can a woman
forget
her nursing child,
or lack compassion
for the son
of her womb?
Though
she
may forget,
I will
not
forget you!
Lift up
your eyes
and look
around.
They all
gather together;
they come
to you.
As surely as I
live,
declares
the LORD,
you will wear
them all
as jewelry
and put them on
like a bride.
For
your ruined
and desolate places
and your ravaged land
will now
indeed
be too small
for your people,
and those who devoured you
will be far away.
Yet
the children
of your bereavement
will say
in your hearing,
‘This place
is too small for us;
make room
for us to live here.’
Then you will say
in your heart,
‘Who
has begotten
these for me?
I
was bereaved
and barren;
I was exiled
and rejected.
So who
has reared them?
Look,
I
was left
all alone,
so
where
did they come from?’”
This is what
the Lord
GOD
says:
“Behold,
I will lift up
My hand
to
the nations,
and raise
My banner
to
the peoples.
They will bring
your sons
in their arms
and carry
your daughters
on
their shoulders.
Kings
will be
your foster fathers,
and their queens
your nursing mothers.
They will bow to you
facedown
and lick
the dust
at your feet.
Then you will know
that
I
am the LORD;
those who
hope in Me
will never
be put to shame.”
For
this is what
the LORD
says:
“Even
the captives
of the mighty
will be taken away,
and the plunder
of a tyrant
will be retrieved;
I
will contend
with
those who contend with you,
and I
will save
your children.
I will make your oppressors
eat
their own flesh,
and they will be drunk
on their own blood,
as with sweet wine.
Then all
mankind
will know
that
I,
the LORD,
am your Savior
and your Redeemer,
the Mighty
One of Jacob.”