Listen to Me, O aislands
, And pay
attention
, you peoples
from afar
. bThe LORD
called
Me from the womb
; From the 1body
of My mother
He named
Me.
He has made My amouth
like a sharp
sword
, In the bshadow
of His hand
He has concealed
Me; And He has also made
Me a 1select
carrow
, He has hidden
Me in His quiver
.
He said to Me, " aYou are My Servant
, Israel
, bIn Whom
I will 1show
My glory
."
But I said, "I have atoiled
in vain
, I have spent
My strength
for nothing
and vanity
; Yet surely
the justice
due to Me is with the LORD
, And My breward
with My God
."
And now says
athe LORD
, who formed
Me from the womb
to be His Servant
, To bring
Jacob
back
to Him, so that bIsrael
might be gathered
to Him (For I am chonored
in the sight
of the LORD
, And My God
is My dstrength
),
He says, "It is too
1small
a thing
that You should be My Servant
To raise
up the tribes
of Jacob
and to restore
the apreserved
ones of Israel
; I will also make
You a blight
2of the nations
So that My salvation
may 3reach
to the cend
of the earth
."
Thus says
the LORD
, the aRedeemer
of Israel
and its Holy
One
, To the bdespised
One, To the One abhorred
by the nation
, To the Servant
of rulers
, " cKings
will see
and arise
, Princes
will also dbow
down
, Because
of the LORD
who
is faithful
, the Holy
One
of Israel
who has chosen
You."
Thus says
the LORD
, "In a afavorable
time
I have answered
You, And in a day
of salvation
I have helped
You; And I will bkeep
You and cgive
You for a covenant
of the people
, To 1 drestore
the land
, to make them inherit
the desolate
heritages
;
Saying to those who are abound
, `Go
forth
,' To those who
are in darkness
, `Show
yourselves.' Along
the roads
they will feed
, And their pasture
will be on all
bbare
heights
.
"They will anot hunger or thirst
, Nor
will the scorching
bheat
or sun
strike
them down
; For cHe who has
compassion
on them will dlead
them And will guide
them to esprings
of water
.
"I will make all
aMy mountains
a road
, And My bhighways
will be raised
up.
"Behold, these
will come
afrom afar
; And lo
, these
will come from the bnorth
and from the west
, And these
from the land
of Sinim
."
aShout for joy
, O heavens
! And rejoice
, O earth
! Break
forth
into joyful
shouting
, O mountains
! For the bLORD
has comforted
His people
And will chave
compassion
on His afflicted
.
But Zion said
, "The LORD
has forsaken
me, And the Lord
has forgotten
me."
"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.
"Behold, I have ainscribed
you on the palms
of My hands; Your bwalls
are continually
before
Me.
"Your 1builders hurry
; Your adestroyers
and devastators
Will depart
from you.
" aLift up your eyes
and look
around
; bAll
of them gather
together, cthey come
to you. dAs I live
," declares
the LORD
, "You will surely
eput
on all
of them as 1jewels
and bind
them on as a bride
.
"For ayour waste and desolate
places and your destroyed
land
-- Surely
now
you will be btoo
cramped
for the inhabitants
, And those who cswallowed
you will be far
away.
"The achildren of 1whom you were bereaved
will yet
say
in your ears
, `The place
is too cramped
for me; Make
room
for me that I may live
here.'
"Then you will asay in your heart
, `Who
has begotten
these
for me, Since I have been
bereaved
of my children
And am bbarren
, an cexile
and a wanderer
? And who
has reared
these
? Behold
, I was dleft
alone
; 1 eFrom where
did these
come?' "
Thus says
the Lord
1GOD
, "Behold
, I will lift
up My hand
to the nations
And set
up My astandard
to the peoples
; And they will bbring
your sons
in their bosom
, And your daughters
will be carried
on their shoulders
.
" aKings will be your guardians
, And their princesses
your nurses
. They will bbow
down
to you with their faces
to the earth
And click
the dust
of your feet
; And you will dknow
that I am the LORD
; Those who
hopefully
ewait
for Me will fnot be put
to shame
.
" aCan the prey be taken
from the mighty
man
, Or
the captives
of 1a tyrant be rescued
?"
Surely, thus
says
the LORD
, "Even
the acaptives
of the mighty
man
will be taken
away, And the prey
of the tyrant
will be rescued
; For I will contend
with the one
who
contends
with you, And I will bsave
your sons
.
"I will feed your aoppressors
with their bown flesh
, And they will become
drunk
with their own blood
as with sweet
wine
; And call
flesh
will know
that I, the LORD
, am your dSavior
And your eRedeemer
, the Mighty
One
of Jacob
."