Isa 49:1 LISTEN TO me, O isles and coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar.

The Lord
has called me from the womb; from the body of my mother He has named my name.
Isa 49:2 And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand has He hid
me and made me a polished arrow; in His quiver has He kept me close and concealed me.
Isa 49:3 And [the Lord] said to me, You are My servant, Israel [you who strive with God and
with men and prevail], in whom I will be glorified. [Gen. 32:28; Deut. 7:6; 26:18, 19; Eph.
1:4-6.]
Isa 49:4 Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in empty
futility; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense is with my God.
Isa 49:5 And now, says the Lord--Who formed me from the womb to be His servant to bring
Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him and not be swept away, for I am
honorable in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength--
Isa 49:6 He says, It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob and to restore the survivors [of the judgments] of Israel; I will also give you for a light
to the nations, that My salvation may extend to the end of the earth.
Isa 49:7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel's Holy One, to him whom man
rejects and despises, to him whom the nations abhor, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see
you and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, Who is
faithful, the Holy One of Israel, Who has chosen you.
Isa 49:8 Thus says the Lord, In an acceptable and favorable time I have heard and answered
you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; and I will preserve you and give you for a
covenant to the people, to raise up and establish the land [from its present state of ruin] and
to apportion and cause them to inherit the desolate [moral wastes of heathenism, their]
heritages, [II Cor. 6:2.]
Isa 49:9 Saying to those who are bound, Come forth, and to those who are in [spiritual]
darkness, Show yourselves [come into the light of the Sun of righteousness]. They shall feed
in all the ways [in which they go], and their pastures shall be [not in deserts, but] on all the
bare [grass-covered] hills.
Isa 49:10 They will not hunger or thirst, neither will mirage [mislead] or scorching wind or sun
smite them; for He Who has mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water will He
guide them. [Rev. 7:16, 17.]
Isa 49:11 And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways will be raised up.
Isa 49:12 Behold, these shall come from afar--and, behold, these from the north and from the
west, and these from the land of Sinim (China).
Isa 49:13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O
mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion upon His
afflicted.
Isa 49:14 But Zion [Jerusalem, her people as seen in captivity] said, The Lord has forsaken me,
and my Lord has forgotten me.
Isa 49:15 [And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not
have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.
Isa 49:16 Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of
My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.
Isa 49:17 Your children and your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you
waste go forth from you.
Isa 49:18 Lift up your eyes round about and see [the returning exiles, ready to rebuild
Jerusalem]; all these gather together and come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you [Zion]
shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament and bind them on you as a
bride does.
Isa 49:19 For your waste and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction
surely now [in coming years] will be too narrow to accommodate the population, and those
who once swallowed you up will be far away.
Isa 49:20 The children of your bereavement [born during your captivity] shall yet say in your
ears, The place is too narrow for me; make room for me, that I may live.
Isa 49:21 Then [Zion], you will say in your heart, Who has borne me all these children, seeing
that I lost my offspring and am alone and barren and unfruitful, an exile put away and
wandering hither and thither? And who brought them up? Behold, I was left alone [put away
by the Lord, my Husband]; from where then did all these children come?
Isa 49:22 Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up My hand to the Gentile nations and set
up My standard and raise high My signal banner to the peoples; and they will bring your
sons in the bosom of their garments, and your daughters will be carried upon their
shoulders.
Isa 49:23 And kings shall be your foster fathers and guardians, and their queens your nursing
mothers. They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick up the dust of
your feet; and you shall know [with an acquaintance and understanding based on and
grounded in personal experience] that I am the Lord; for they shall not be put to shame who
wait for, look for, hope for, and expect Me.
Isa 49:24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives of the just be
delivered?
Isa 49:25 For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the
prey of the terrible will be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and
I will give safety to your children and ease them.
Isa 49:26 And I will make those who oppress you consume themselves [in mutually destructive
wars], thus eating their own flesh; and they will be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet
wine; and all flesh will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the
Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.