49:1 Listen to me, O Isles; 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 shade
of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in
his quiver hath he hid me;
49:3 And said to me, Thou [art] my servant, O Israel, in whom I
will be glorified.
49:4 Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my
strength for naught, 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 shouldst 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 to 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, Show 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? yes, they may forget,
yet I will 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 from thee.
49:18 Lift up thy eyes around, and behold: all these assemble
themselves, [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 thy ears, The place [is] too
narrow for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
49:21 Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten these
for me, 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 [have] they
[been]?
49:22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up my 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 to thee with [their] face
towards 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
Savior and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
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