Isa 49 | NASB1995 | STEP | Listen to Me, O islands , And pay attention , you peoples from afar . The Lord called Me from the womb ; From the body of My mother He named Me.

Isaiah 49

Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth

1 Listen to Me, O ^aislands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
^bThe Lord called Me from the womb;
From the ^{▼▼ Lit inward parts}body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My ^dmouth like a sharp sword,
In the ^eshadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a ^{▼▼ Or sharpened}select ^garrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, ^h“You are My Servant, Israel,
ⁱIn Whom I will ^{▼▼ Or glorify Myself}show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have ^ktoiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My ^lreward with My God.”

5 And now says ^mthe Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ⁿIsrael might be gathered to Him
(For I am ^ohonored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My ^pstrength),
6 He says, “It is too ^{▼▼ Lit light}small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ^rpreserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a ^slight ^{▼▼ Or to}of the nations
So that My salvation may ^{▼▼ Lit be}reach to the ^vend of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord, the ^wRedeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the ^xdespised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
^y“Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also ^zbow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

8 Thus says the Lord,
“In a ^aafavorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will ^abkeep You and ^acgive You for a covenant of the people,
To ^{▼▼ Lit establish
,} ^aerestore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;
9 Saying to those who are ^afbound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all ^agbare heights.
10 “They will ^ahnot hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching ^aiheat or sun strike them down;
For ^ajHe who has compassion on them will ^aklead them
And will guide them to ^alsprings of water.
11 “I will make all ^amMy mountains a road,
And My ^anhighways will be raised up.
12 “Behold, these will come ^aofrom afar;
And lo, these will come from the ^apnorth and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
13 ^aqShout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the ^arLord has comforted His people
And will ^ashave 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 ^atI will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have ^auinscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^avwalls are continually before Me.
17 “Your ^{▼▼ So ancient versions and DSS; M.T. reads sons}builders hurry;
Your ^axdestroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
18 ^ay“Lift up your eyes and look around;
^azAll of them gather together, ^bathey come to you.
^bbAs I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will surely ^bcput on all of them as ^{▼▼ Lit an ornament}jewels and bind them on as a bride.
19 “For ^beyour waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be ^bftoo cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^bgswallowed you will be far away.
20 “The ^bhchildren of ^{▼▼ Lit your bereavement}whom 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 ^bjsay in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am ^bkbarren, an ^blexile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Behold, I was ^bmleft alone;
^{▼▼ Lit These, where are they?
,} ^boFrom where did these come?’”

22 Thus says the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My ^bqstandard to the peoples;
And they will ^brbring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 ^bs“Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^btbow down to you with their faces to the earth
And ^bulick the dust of your feet;
And you will ^bvknow that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully ^bwwait for Me will ^bxnot be put to shame.

24 ^by“Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of ^{▼▼ So ancient versions and DSS; M.T. reads the righteous, cf v 25}a tyrant be rescued?”

25 Surely, thus says the Lord, “Even the ^cacaptives 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 ^cbsave your sons.
26 “I will feed your ^ccoppressors with their ^cdown flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And ^ceall flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your ^cfSavior
And your ^cgRedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”