| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1"Listen to me, you coastlands! Pay attention, you people from far away! The LORD called me from the womb; while I was still in my mother's body, he pronounced my name. | 1Listen to me, you coastlands! Pay attention, you people who live far away! The LORD summoned me from birth; he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. |
| 2He made my mouth like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hands. He made me like a polished arrow and hid me away in his quivers. | 2He made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hid me in the hollow of his hand; he made me like a sharpened arrow, he hid me in his quiver. |
| 3He said to me: 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.' | 3He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor." |
| 4"I said: 'I've labored for nothing. I've exhausted my strength on futility and on emptiness.' Yet surely my recompense is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God. | 4But I thought, "I have worked in vain; I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing." But the LORD will vindicate me; my God will reward me. |
| 5"And now, says the LORD, who formed you from the womb as his servant to bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him— and I am honored in the LORD's sight and my God has been my help — | 5So now the LORD says, the one who formed me from birth to be his servant--he did this to restore Jacob to himself, so that Israel might be gathered to him; and I will be honored in the LORD's sight, for my God is my source of strength-- |
| 6he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Israel and bring back those of Jacob I have preserved. I'll also make you as a light to the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth. | 6he says, "Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant, to reestablish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? I will make you a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth." |
| 7"This is what my Lord says— the LORD your Redeemer, O Israel, and his Holy One— to one despised by people, to those abhorred as a nation, to the servant of rulers: "Kings see and arise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, the one who has chosen you." | 7This is what the LORD, the protector of Israel, their Holy One, says to the one who is despised and rejected by nations, a servant of rulers: "Kings will see and rise in respect, princes will bow down, because of the faithful LORD, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you." |
| 8"This what the LORD says: "I'll answer you in a time of favor, and on a day of salvation I'll help you. I have watched over you, and given you as a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to reassign the inheritances that have been devastated; | 8This is what the LORD says: "At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you; in the day of deliverance I will help you; I will protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, to rebuild the land and to reassign the desolate property. |
| 9saying to captives, 'Come out!' and to those who are in darkness, 'Be free!' "They will feed on all the mountains, and their pasture will be on all the barren hills. | 9You will say to the prisoners, 'Come out,' and to those who are in dark dungeons, 'Emerge.' They will graze beside the roads; on all the slopes they will find pasture. |
| 10They won't hunger or thirst, nor will the desert heat or sun beat upon them; for the one who has compassion on them will drive them and guide them alongside springs of water. | 10They will not be hungry or thirsty; the sun's oppressive heat will not beat down on them, for one who has compassion on them will guide them; he will lead them to springs of water. |
| 11I'll turn all my mountains into a road, and my highways will be raised up. | 11I will make all my mountains into a road; I will construct my roadways." |
| 12"Watch! They'll come from far away— some from the north and from the west, and others from the Aswan region." | 12Look, they come from far away! Look, some come from the north and west, and others from the land of Sinim! |
| 13Shout with joy, you heavens, and rock with glee, you earth! Break out in song, you mountains! The LORD is comforting his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. | 13Shout for joy, O sky! Rejoice, O earth! Let the mountains give a joyful shout! For the LORD consoles his people and shows compassion to the oppressed. |
| 14"But Zion said, 'The LORD has abandoned me, and my God has forgotten me.' | 14"Zion said, 'The LORD has abandoned me, the sovereign master has forgotten me.' |
| 15"Can a woman forget her nursing child, or have no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these mothers may forget; But as for me, I'll never forget you! | 15Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you! |
| 16Look! I've inscribed you on the palms of my hands, and your walls are forever before me. | 16Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms; your walls are constantly before me. |
| 17Your builders are working faster than your destroyers, and those who devastated you go away from you. | 17Your children hurry back, while those who destroyed and devastated you depart. |
| 18Lift up your eyes and look around— they have all gathered together and are coming to you. "As surely as I live," says the LORD, "you will clothe yourself with all of them like ornaments, and tie them on like a bride. | 18Look all around you! All of them gather to you. As surely as I live," says the LORD, "you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry; you will put them on as if you were a bride. |
| 19Indeed, your ruins, your desolate places, and your devastated land will now be too crowded for your inhabitants, while those who swallowed you up will be far away. | 19Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away. |
| 20"The children who are grieving at present will yet say in your hearing, 'This place is too crowded for me; make room for me, so I may have a place to live.' | 20Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing, 'This place is too cramped for us, make room for us so we can live here.' |
| 21Then you'll ask in your heart, 'Who bore these children for me, although I was childless and barren, and an exile and cast aside? Who brought these up? Look! For my part I was left all alone; but as for these, where have they come from?' | 21Then you will think to yourself, 'Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?'" |
| 22"For this what the LORD says, 'Watch! I'll lift up my hand to the nations and raise my banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.' | 22This is what the sovereign LORD says: "Look I will raise my hand to the nations; I will raise my signal flag to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders. |
| 23"Oh, yes! Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens will be your nursing mothers. They will bow to you with their faces to the ground, and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. | 23Kings will be your children's guardians; their princesses will nurse your children. With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you and they will lick the dirt on your feet. Then you will recognize that I am the LORD; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame. |
| 24"Can they seize plunder from warriors, or can the captives of tyrants be rescued? | 24Can spoils be taken from a warrior, or captives be rescued from a conqueror? |
| 25But this is what the LORD says: "He will seize even the warriors' plunder, and the captives of tyrants will be rescued. I myself will quarrel with those who have a quarrel with you, and I myself will save your children. | 25Indeed," says the LORD, "captives will be taken from a warrior; spoils will be rescued from a conqueror. I will oppose your adversary and I will rescue your children. |
| 26"I'll make those who mistreat you eat their own flesh, and they will get drunk on their own blood, as with new wine. "Then all mankind will know that I am the LORD your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." | 26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. Then all humankind will recognize that I am the LORD, your deliverer, your protector, the powerful ruler of Jacob." |
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