Isaiah 49
1 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.
2 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;
3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will
be glorified.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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;
9 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.
|