The Book of the Prophet Isaiah 49

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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 ⚑

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 ⚑

King James Version (1769) with Apocrypha · Crosswire Bible Society / eBible.org (standard text of 1769) · Public Domain

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · public domain