Isaiah 49:14-26

Promise to Zion

14 But Zion said, “The Lord has abandoned me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^aI will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have ^binscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^cwalls are continually before Me.
17 “Your ▼

▼Ancient versions and DSS; MT sons

builders hurry;
Your ^edestroyers and devastators
Will leave you.
18 “ ^fRaise your eyes and look around;
^gAll of them gather together, ^hthey come to you.
ⁱAs I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will certainly ^jput them all on as ▼

▼Lit an ornament

jewelry and bind them on as a bride.
19 “For ^lyour ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land--
Now you will certainly be ^mtoo cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ⁿswallowed you will be far away.
20 “The ^ochildren ▼

▼Lit of your bereavement

you lost will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
21 “Then you will ^qsay in your heart,
‘Who has fathered these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And ^rcannot conceive, and I am an ^sexile, and a wanderer?
And who has raised these?
Behold, I was ^tleft alone;
▼

▼Lit These, where are they?

, ^vWhere are these from?’”

22 This is what the Lord ▼

▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

God says:
“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My ^xflag to the peoples;
And they will ^ybring your sons ▼

▼Lit on the chest

in their arms,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
23 “ ^aaKings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^abbow down to you with their faces to the ground
And ^aclick the dust from your feet;
And you will ^adknow that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully ^aewait for Me will ^afnot be put to shame.

24 “ ^agCan the prey be taken from a mighty man,
Or the captives of ▼

▼Ancient versions and DSS; MT the righteous, cf. v 25

a tyrant be rescued?”

25 Indeed, this is what the Lord says:
“Even the ^aicaptives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of a tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will ^ajsave your sons.
26 “I will feed your ^akoppressors with their ^alown flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And ▼

▼Lit all flesh

, ^anhumanity will know that I, the Lord, am your ^aoSavior
And your ^apRedeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 50

God Helps His Servant

1 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is the ^aqcertificate of divorce
By which I have ^arsent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I ^assell you?
Behold, you were sold for your ^atwrongdoings,
And for your ^auwrongful acts your mother ^avwas sent away.
2 “Why was there ^awno one when I came?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Is My ^axhand so short that it cannot redeem?
Or do I have no power to rescue?
Behold, I ^aydry up the sea with My rebuke,
I ^azturn rivers into a wilderness;
Their fish stink for lack of water,
And die of thirst.
3 “I ^baclothe the heavens with blackness,
And make sackcloth their covering.”

4 The Lord ▼

▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch

God has given Me the tongue of ^bcdisciples,
So that I may know how to ^bdsustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me ^bemorning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
5 The Lord God has ^bfopened My ear,
And I was ^bgnot disobedient,
Nor did I turn back.
6 I ^bhgave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard;
I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.
7 For the Lord God ^bihelps Me,
Therefore, I am ^bjnot disgraced;
Therefore, I have made My face like ^bkflint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
8 He who ^blvindicates Me is near;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us ^bmstand up to each other.
Who has a case against Me?
Let him approach Me.
9 Behold, ^bnthe Lord God helps Me;
^boWho is he who condemns Me?
Behold, ^bpthey will all wear out like a garment;
A moth will eat them.
10 Who is among you who fears the Lord,
Who obeys the voice of His ^bqservant,
Who ^brwalks in darkness and has no light?
Let him ^bstrust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who ^btkindle a fire,
Who encircle yourselves with flaming arrows,
Walk in the light of your fire
And among the flaming arrows you have set ablaze.
This you will have from My hand:
You will ^bulie down in torment.

Isaiah 51:1-3

Israel Exhorted

1 “ ^bvListen to Me, you who ^bwpursue righteousness,
Who seek the Lord:
Look to the ^bxrock from which you were cut,
And to the ▼

▼Lit excavation of a pit

quarry from which you were dug.
2 “Look to ^bzAbraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
When he ^cawas only one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
3 Indeed, ^cbthe Lord will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her ^ccruins.
And He will make her ^cdwilderness like ^ceEden,
And her desert like the ^cfgarden of the Lord.
^cgJoy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the sound of a melody.