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.
49:2 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;
49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be
glorified.
49:4 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.
49:5 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.
49:6 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.
49:7 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.
49:8 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;
49:9 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.
49:10 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.
49:11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be
exalted.
49:12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and
from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
49:13 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.
49:14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
49:15 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.
49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are
continually before me.
49:17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee
waste shall go forth of thee.
49:18 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.
49:19 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.
49:20 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.
49:21 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?
49:22 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.
49:23 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.
49:24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive
delivered?
49:25 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.
49:26 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.
