Isaiah

49 Hear me, coasts; listen, every folk afar. Jehovah called me ever since my birth; since I was in my mother’s body he has been speaking my name; 2 and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword, has hid me in the shadow of his hand, and made of me a whetted arrow, screened me in his quiver; 3 and he has said to me “You are my servant, the Israel of whom I make my boast.” 4 But I thought “I have toiled in vain, used up my strength for a nothing and an illusion”; but in fact my rights were with Jehovah and my dues with my God, 5* and now Jehovah says, he who framed me in my mother’s body for servant of his to bring Jacob back to him and to take up Israel, and I was honored in Jehovah’s sight and my God was my strength,— 6** he says “When you are servant of mine it is too little to set the tribes of Jacob on their feet and to bring back the tight-held sons of Israel; I will give you for a light of nations, for my salvation to reach to the end of the earth.”

7 Says Jehovah, Israel’s friend in need, his Holy One, to one despised by men’s propensities, detested by a nation, a slave of rulers: Kings shall see, and stand up; generals, and do reverence; on Jehovah’s account, that he is reliable, Israel’s Holy One, and has chosen you. 8 Says Jehovah, At a time of graciousness I gave you your answer, on a day of salvation I gave you my help, and kept you and gave you for a people’s charter, to set a country on its feet, to assign desolate estates; 9* to say to the prisoners “Come out,” to those who are in darkness “Come into the open.” On all mountains they shall graze, have their pasture on all scalps of rock; 10 they shall not go hungry or thirsty, nor shall desert heat nor sun strike them down, because it is he who feels for them that is driving them, and he will take them by springs of water. 11* And I will make all my mountains a road, and my turnpikes shall run high. 12* Here will these come in from far away, and here these from the north and the west, and these from the Sinite country. 13* Shout, sky, and jubilate, earth! let mountains break out in shouting! for Jehovah has comforted his people and will have compassion on his unfortunates.

14* But Sion says “Jehovah has left me; my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 Will a woman forget her baby, so as to have no feeling about the child of her own body? even they may forget and I will not forget you. 16 Here I have drawn your picture on my hands; I have your walls before me always. 17 Those that build you up work faster than did those who demolished you, and those who laid you waste have gone out of you. 18 Lift your eyes in every direction and see! they all gather, they are coming to you! by my life, quoth Jehovah, you shall wear them all as jewels and tie them on like a bride’s ribbons. 19 Whereas I had laid you waste and desolate, demolished you to the ground, now you shall be too scanty for the population, and those that wrecked you will be far away; 20 you shall yet hear the sons born during your childlessness saying “The place is too scanty for me; move out of my way so I can settle down.” 21 And you will say to yourself “Who gave birth to these for me, when I was childless and beyond hope, who raised these? there was I left alone, where were these?”

22 Says the Lord Jehovah, Here, I will lift my hand to nations and raise my signal to peoples, and they shall bring your sons in the folds of cloaks, and your daughters shall be carried on sides, 23 and kings shall be your foster-fathers and their queens your nurses; they shall do reverence to you with their faces to the ground and lick the dust off your feet; and you shall know that I am Jehovah who do not disappoint those who put their hope in me.

24 Will his captures be taken from a champion, or will a tyrant’s prisoners get away? 25 For Jehovah says “Even a champion’s prisoners will be taken from him and a tyrant’s captures will get away; and I will combat those who combat you, I will save your sons, 26 and will set those who ill-treat you to eating their own flesh; they shall fuddle themselves with their own blood as if it were pomegranate-wine; and all mortals shall know that I Jehovah am your savior, and your friend in need is the Mighty One of Jacob.”