Bible, King James Version
Isaiah
Isa.49
[1] Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from
far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my
mother hath he made mention of my name.
[2] And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the
shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft;
in his quiver hath he hid me;
[3] And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in
whom I will be glorified.
[4] Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my
strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with
the LORD, and my work with my God.
[5] And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb
to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be
not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
and my God shall be my strength.
[6] And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the
Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the
earth.
[7] Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his
Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation
abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise,
princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful,
and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
[8] Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I
heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I
will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people,
to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate
heritages;
[9] That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to
them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in
the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
[10] They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the
heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall
lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
[11] And I will make all my mountains a way, and my
highways shall be exalted.
[12] Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these
from the north and from the west; and these from the land of
Sinim.
[13] Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break
forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his
people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
[14] But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord
hath forgotten me.
[15] Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee.
[16] Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my
hands; thy walls are continually before me.
[17] Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and
they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
[18] Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these
gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith
the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an
ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
[19] For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land
of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the
inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far
away.
[20] The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast
lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too
strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
[21] Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten
me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a
captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
[22] Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine
hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and
they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall
be carried upon their shoulders.
[23] And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their
queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with
their face toward the earth, and lick 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.
[24] Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the
lawful captive delivered?
[25] But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the
mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be
delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee,
and I will save thy children.
[26] And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own
flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with
sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy
Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
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