Isaiah 49

The Servant of the Lord

1Listen to me, #See ch. 11:11 O coastlands,

and give attention, you peoples #ch. 33:13 from afar.

# See ch. 44:2 The Lord called me from the womb,

from the body of my mother he named my name.

2 # ch. 11:4; Hos. 6:5; [ Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16 ] He made my mouth like a sharp sword;

# ch. 51:16 in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me a polished arrow;

in his quiver he hid me away.

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

Israel, #ch. 44:23in whom I will be glorified.”#49:3 Or I will display my beauty

4 # [ch. 65:23 ]; See ch. 50:6-8; 53:10-12 But I said, “I have labored in vain;

I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;

yet surely my right is with the Lord,

and my recompense with my God.”

5 # [ch. 50:4 ] And now the Lord says,

he #[See ver. 1 above] who formed me from the womb to be his servant,

to bring Jacob back to him;

and that Israel might be gathered to him—

for #[ch. 52:13]I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,

and my God has become my strength—

6he says:

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

to raise up the tribes of Jacob

and to bring back the preserved of Israel;

# Cited Acts 13:47 I will make you #ch. 42:6 as a light for the nations,

that #[Ps. 98:3]my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

7Thus says the Lord,

# ch. 48:17 the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,

# ver. 1; ch. 53:3; [ch. 50:6, 7 ] to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,

the servant of rulers:

# ver. 23 “Kings shall see and arise;

princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;

because of the Lord, who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

The Restoration of Israel

8Thus says the Lord:

# Cited 2 Cor. 6:2 “In a #Ps. 69:13 time of favor I have answered you;

in a day of salvation I have helped you;

I will keep you #ch. 42:6 and give you

as a covenant to the people,

to establish the land,

# ch. 61:4 to apportion the desolate heritages,

9 # ch. 42:7 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’

# [ch. 41:18 ] They shall feed along the ways;

on all bare heights shall be their pasture;

10 # Cited Rev. 7:16 they shall not hunger or thirst,

neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,

for he who has pity on them #Rev. 7:17; See ch. 40:11will lead them,

and by springs of water will guide them.

11 # [ch. 40:4 ] And I will make all my mountains a road,

and my highways shall be raised up.

12 # ch. 43:5, 6 Behold, these shall come from afar,

and behold, #[Ps. 107:3]these from the north and from the west,#49:12 Hebrew from the sea

and these from the land of Syene.”#49:12 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Sinim

13 # See ch. 44:23 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

break forth, O mountains, into singing!

For the Lord #ch. 40:1has comforted his people

and will have compassion on his afflicted.

14But Zion said, #[ch. 40:27; 54:6; 62:4]“The Lord has forsaken me;

my Lord has forgotten me.”

15 # [ch. 43:1; Ps. 27:10 ] “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.

16Behold, #Song 8:6; Rev. 13:16I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are continually before me.

17Your builders make haste;#49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste

# See Zech. 1:18-21 your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.

18 # ch. 60:4 Lift up your eyes around and see;

they all gather, they come to you.

# Num. 14:21; See Ezek. 5:11 As I live, declares the Lord,

# [ Jer. 43:12 ] you 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—

# [ Zech. 10:10 ] surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,

and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

20 # ch. 54:1 The children of your bereavement

will yet say in your ears:

# [See ver. 19 above] ‘The place is too narrow for me;

make room for me to dwell in.’

21Then you will say in your heart:

‘Who has borne me these?

# [See ver. 20 above] I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and put away,

but who has brought up these?

Behold, I was left alone;

from where have these come?’”

22Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,

# ch. 11:12 and raise my signal to the peoples;

# ch. 14:2 and they shall bring your sons in their arms,#49:22 Hebrew in their bosom

and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

23 # ch. 60:3, 16 Kings shall be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.

# ch. 60:14 With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,

and #Ps. 72:9; [Mic. 7:17] lick the dust of your feet.

Then you will know that I am the Lord;

# [ch. 40:31 ] those who wait for me #Ps. 25:3; Joel 2:27shall not be put to shame.”

24Can the prey be taken from the mighty,

or the captives of a tyrant#49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man be rescued?

25For thus says the Lord:

# [ Matt. 12:29; Luke 11:21, 22 ] “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,

and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,

for I will contend with those who contend with you,

and I will save your children.

26 # [ch. 9:20; Zech. 11:9 ] I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,

and they shall be drunk #[Rev. 14:20; 16:6] with their own blood as with wine.

Then all flesh shall know

that #ch. 43:3; See Ex. 20:2I am the Lord your Savior,

and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Currently Selected:

Isaiah 49: ESV

Highlight

Copy

Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in

Learn More About English Standard Version Revision 2016