Isa 49:14-23, 54:5-7, 60:1-4, Hos 2:19-20, Joh 3:29, 2Cor 11:2 | ESV | STEP | But Zion said , The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.

14 But Zion said, ^a“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 ^b“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, ^cI have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders make haste; ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste}
^eyour destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 ^fLift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
^gAs I live, declares the Lord,
^hyou shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
19 “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
ⁱsurely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 ^jThe children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
^k‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
21 Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
^lI was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
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 nations,
^mand raise my signal to the peoples;
ⁿand they shall bring your sons in their arms, ^{▼▼Hebrew in their bosom}
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 ^pKings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
^qWith their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and ^rlick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
^sthose who wait for me ^tshall not be put to shame.”

Isaiah 54:5-7

5 ^uFor your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
^vand the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
^wthe God of the whole earth he is called.
6 ^xFor the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 ^yFor a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.

Isaiah 60:1-4

The Future Glory of Israel

1 ^zArise, shine, for your light has come,
and ^aathe glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 ^abAnd nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 ^acLift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
^adyour sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.

Hosea 2:19-20

19 And I will betroth you to me ^aeforever. ^afI will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 ^agI will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And ^ahyou shall know the Lord.

John 3:29

29 ^aiThe one who has the bride is the bridegroom. ^ajThe friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, ^akrejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

2 Corinthians 11:2

2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since ^alI betrothed you to one husband, ^amto present you ^anas a pure virgin to Christ.