THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH
Isaiah 49 ©
Christ declares unto all nations His calling, v. 1. He complains of the Jews’ unbelief, 4. And speaks of the calling of the Gentiles, 6. And comforts the prisoners and afflicted ones, 9. He promises to remove all things that may hinder their coming to Him, 11. He comforts the dejected Jews, 14. With a promise of increasing their spiritual seed, 18. And that kings would be their nursing fathers, 23. And He promises that He will deliver them from the hand of their enemies, both temporal and spiritual, 24.
LISTEN,12O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called 3me from the womb; from the 4bowels of my mother hath he made 5mention of 6my name.
And he hath 7made my mouth like a sharp sword; 8in the shadow of his hand 9hath he hid me, and made me 10a polished 11shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
And said unto me, 12Thou art my servant, O Israel, 13in whom I will be glorified.
Then 14I said, I have laboured 15in vain, I have 16spent my strength for 17nought, and in vain: yet 18surely 19my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
¶And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring 20Jacob again to him, 21Though Israel be not 22gathered, 23yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God 24shall be my strength.
And he said, 25It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant 26to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore 27the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee 28for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be 29my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and 30his Holy One, to him 31whom man despiseth, to him whom 32the nation abhorreth, 33to a servant of 34rulers, Kings 35shall see and 36arise, princes also 37shall worship, 38because of the LORD 39that is faithful, and 40the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose 41thee.
Thus saith 42the LORD, 43Ina an acceptable time 44have I heard 45thee, 46and in a day of salvation 47have I helped thee: and 48I will preserve thee, and give thee 49for a covenant 50of the people, to establish 51the earth, to cause to inherit 52the desolate heritages;
That thou mayest say 53to the prisoners, Go forth; to them 54that are in darkness, 55Shew yourselves. 56They shall feed 57in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
58They shall not hungerb nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun 59smite them: for 60he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall 61he guide them.
And 62I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall 63be exalted.
Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and 64from the west; and these from the land of 65Sinim.
¶ 66Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, 67O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
But 68Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Can a woman forget 69her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the 70son of her womb? 71yea, they may 72forget, yet will I not forget 73thee.
Behold, 74I have 75graven thee upon the palms of my hands; 76thy walls 77are continually before me.
Thy 78children shall make haste; 79thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth 80of thee.
¶Liftc up thine eyes round about, and behold: 81all these gather themselves together, and come 82to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee 83with them all, 84as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, 85as a bride doeth.
For 86thy waste and thy desolate places, and the 87land of thy destruction, shall even 88now be 89too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they 90that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
91The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, 92The place is too strait for me: 93give place to me that I may dwell.
Then shalt 94thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, 95a captive, and 96removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, 97I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and 98set up my standard to the people: 99and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
And 100kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and 101their queens thy 102nursing mothers: 103they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and 104lick 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.
¶ 105Shalld the prey be taken from the mighty, or the 106lawful captive delivered?
But thus saith the LORD, 107Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be 108delivered: for I will contend with him 109that contendeth with thee, and I will 110save thy children.
And 111I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken withe their own blood, as with sweet wine: and 112all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.