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ULT ISA Chapter 49

◄ ISA 49 ► ║ ©

49 Listen to me, coastlands,

and listen closely, distant peoples.

Yahweh has called me from the womb,

from the belly of my mother he invoked my name.

2 And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword;

in the shadow of his hand he hid me,

and he has made me into a polished arrow;

in his quiver he has concealed me.

3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,

in whom I glory.”

4 And I said, “I have labored in vain,

for emptiness and for mere breath I have spent my energy,

yet my justice is with Yahweh,

and my wages with my God.”

5 And now Yahweh has spoken,

who formed me from the womb as his servant,

to restore Jacob to himself

and gather Israel to him,

and I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh,

and my God has become my strength.

6 And he says, “Too insignificant a thing for you to be my servant

to raise up the tribes of Jacob,

and to bring back the protected of Israel.

And I will make you a light of the nations,

to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

7 Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel,

its Holy One,

to the one whose life is despised, hated by the nations,

a slave of rulers,

“Kings will see and arise,

princes, and bow down,

for the sake of Yahweh who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel, for he has chosen you.”

8 Thus says Yahweh,

“At the time of favor I shall answer you,

and in a day of salvation I shall help you

and protect you and give you

as a covenant of the people,

to rebuild the land,

to apportion the desolate inheritance,

9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out!’

to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’

“Along the roads they will graze,

and on all the bare slopes will be their pasture.

10 They will not be hungry and they will not be thirsty;

and the heat or sun will not beat on them,

for he who has mercy on them will lead them

and to springs of water he will guide them.

11 Then I will make all my mountains into a road,

and make my highways level.

12 Behold, these will come from far away,

and behold, some from the north and the west;

and some from the land of Sinim.”

13 Shout for joy, heavens, and be joyful, earth,

and break into singing, mountains!

For Yahweh comforts his people,

and he will have compassion on his afflicted.

14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me,

and the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a woman forget her baby

or have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even she may forget these,

but I will not forget you.

16 Behold, I have inscribed you on my palms;

your walls are before me always.

17 Your children are hurrying,

those who destroyed you and ravaged you are going away from you.

18 Lift up your eyes around and see,

they are all gathering, coming to you.

As I live”—the declaration of Yahweh—

“for all of them like jewelry you will wear,

and you will put them on like a bride.

19 “For your ruins and desolate places,

and your lands of devastation,

surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,

and your devourers will be far away.

20 Yet they will say in your ears,

the sons of your bereavement,

‘The place is too cramped for us,

make room for us, so we may live here.’

21 And you will say in your heart,

‘Who has borne these for me?

When I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and cast aside.

And who has raised these?

Behold, I was left alone;

where did these come from?’ ”

22 Thus says Lord Yahweh:

“Behold, I shall raise my hand to the nations

and to the peoples lift up my banner.

And they will bring your sons in their laps,

and they will carry your daughters on their shoulders.

23 And kings will be your foster fathers

and their queens your nursemaids;

face to the earth they will bow down to you

and the dust of your feet they will lick;

and you will know that I am Yahweh;

those who wait for me will not be put to shame.”

24 Can the spoils be taken from the warrior,

or can captives be rescued from the fierce?[fn]

25 For thus says Yahweh,

“Even the captives of a warrior will be taken,

and spoils of a tyrant will be rescued,

and I shall contend with your contender,

and your sons I shall save.

26 And I shall feed your oppressors their flesh;

and as wine, on their blood they will get drunk.

Then all flesh will know

that I, Yahweh, am your Savior

and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Instead of from the fierce, some ancient manuscripts have from the righteous, but most modern versions correct it to from the fierce.