Isaiah 49

Isaiah Chapter 49
The Lord's Servant Commissioned

Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The Lord called me before my birth
From within the womb he called me by name
He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver

He said to me, "You are my servant
Israel, and you will bring me glory."
I replied, "But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose
Yet I leave it all in the Lord's hand
I will trust God for my reward."

And now the Lord speaks
The one who formed me in my mother's womb to be his servant
Who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The
Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength
He says, "You will do more than restore the people of
Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles
And you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

The Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel
Says to the one who is despised and rejected by the
Nations, to the one who is the servant of rulers
Kings will stand at attention when you pass by
Princes will also bow low because of the Lord, the
Faithful One, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you
Promises of Israel's Restoration

This is what the Lord says
"At just the right time I will respond to you
On the day of salvation I will help you
I will protect you and give you to
The people as my covenant with them

Through you I will re-establish the land of
Israel and assign it to its own people again
I will say to the prisoners, 'Come out in freedom!'
And to those in darkness, 'Come into the light!'
They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures
And on hills that were previously bare

They will neither hunger nor thirst
The searing sun will not reach them anymore
For the Lord in his mercy will lead them
He will lead them beside cool waters
And I will make my mountains into level paths for them
The highways will be raised above the valleys
See, my people will return from far away, from lands
To the north and west and from as far south as Egypt

Sing for joy, O heavens!
Rejoice, O earth!
Burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted his people and will
Have compassion on them in their suffering

Yet Jerusalem says, 'The Lord has
Deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.'
Never can a mother forget her nursing child
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne
But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands
Always in my mind as a picture of Jerusalem's walls in ruins

Soon your descendants will come back, and all
Who are trying to destroy you will go away

Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you
'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'they will be
Like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display
Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned
Land will soon be crowded with your people
Your enemies who enslaved you will be far away
The generations born in exile will return and
Say, 'We need more room! It's crowded here!'

Then you will think to yourself, '
Who has given me all these descendants?
For most of my children were killed
And the rest were carried away into exile
I was left here all alone
Where did all these people come from?
Who bore these children?
Who raised them for me?'"

This is what the Sovereign Lord says

"See, I will give a signal to the godless nations
They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms
They will bring your daughters on their shoulders
Kings and queens will serve you and care for all your needs
They will bow to the earth before
You and lick the dust from your feet
Then you will know that I am the Lord

Those who trust in me will never be put to shame."
Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior?
Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?
The Lord says, "The captives of warriors will be released
And the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved
For I will fight for those who fight
You, and I will save your children

I will feed your enemies with their own flesh
They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood

All the world will know that I, the Lord, am your
Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel."