1 And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
The LORD called Me from the womb;
From thea Lit inward partsbody of My mother He named Me. | |
2 Listen to Me, O islands, | |
2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me ab Or sharpenedselect arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver. | |
3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,
In Whom I willc Or glorify Myselfshow My glory.” | |
4 But I said, “I have toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD,
And My reward with My God.” | |
5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
And My God is My strength), | |
6 He says, “It is tood Lit lightsmall a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a lighte Or toof the nations
So that My salvation mayf Lit bereach to the end of the earth.” | |
7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also bow down,
Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.” | |
8 Thus says the LORD,
“In a favorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people,
Tog Lit establishrestore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; | |
9 Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights. | |
10 “They will not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them
And will guide them to springs of water. | |
11 “I will make all My mountains a road,
And My highways will be raised up. | |
12 “Behold, these will come from afar;
And lo, these will come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.” | |
13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the LORD has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted. | |
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 I will not forget you. | |
16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me. | |
17 “Yourh So ancient versions and DSS; M.T. reads sonsbuilders hurry;
Your destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you. | |
18 “Lift up your eyes and look around;
All of them gather together, they come to you.
As I live,” declares the LORD,
“You will surely put on all of them asi Lit an ornamentjewels and bind them on as a bride. | |
19 “For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who swallowed you will be far away. | |
20 “The children ofj Lit your bereavementwhom 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 say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Behold, I was left alone;
k Lit These, where are they?From where did these come?’” | |
22 Thus says the Lordl Heb YHWH, usually rendered LordGOD,
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My standard to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. | |
23 “Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And lick the dust of your feet;
And you will know that I am the LORD;
Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame. | |
24 “Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives ofm So ancient versions and DSS; M.T. reads the righteous, cf v 25a tyrant be rescued?” | |
25 Surely, thus says the LORD,
“Even the captives 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 save your sons. | |
26 “I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” | |
