⁶ he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant^(A)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.^(B)
I will also make you a light^(C) for the Gentiles,^(D)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”^(E)

⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel^(F)—
to him who was despised^(G) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings^(H) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,^(I)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,^(J)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen^(K) you.”

“In the time of my favor^(L) I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;^(M)
I will keep^(N) you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,^(O)
to restore the land^(P)
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,^(Q)
9 to say to the captives,^(R) ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness,^(S) ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.^(T)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,^(U)
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.^(V)
He who has compassion^(W) on them will guide^(X) them
    and lead them beside springs^(Y) of water.
¹¹ I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways^(Z) will be raised up.^(AA)
12 See, they will come from afar^(AB)—
    some from the north, some from the west,^(AC)
    some from the region of Aswan.^[a]”

¹³ Shout for joy,^(AD) you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;^(AE)
    burst into song, you mountains!^(AF)
For the Lord comforts^(AG) his people
    and will have compassion^(AH) on his afflicted ones.^(AI)

¹⁴ But Zion^(AJ) said, “The Lord has forsaken^(AK) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵ “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child^(AL) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!^(AM)
16 See, I have engraved^(AN) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls^(AO) are ever before me.
¹⁷ Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste^(AP) depart from you.
¹⁸ Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather^(AQ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,^(AR)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear^(AS) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

¹⁹ “Though you were ruined and made desolate^(AT)
    and your land laid waste,^(AU)
now you will be too small for your people,^(AV)
    and those who devoured^(AW) you will be far away.
²⁰ The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’^(AX)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?^(AY)
I was bereaved^(AZ) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.^(BA)
    Who brought these^(BB) up?
I was left^(BC) all alone,^(BD)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner^(BF) to the peoples;
they will bring^(BG) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.^(BH)
23 Kings^(BI) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.^(BJ)
They will bow down^(BK) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust^(BL) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;^(BM)
    those who hope^(BN) in me will not be disappointed.^(BO)”

²⁴ Can plunder be taken from warriors,^(BP)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce^[b]?

“Yes, captives^(BQ) will be taken from warriors,^(BR)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;^(BS)
I will contend with those who contend with you,^(BT)
    and your children I will save.^(BU)
26 I will make your oppressors^(BV) eat^(BW) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,^(BX) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know^(BY)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,^(BZ)
    your Redeemer,^(CA) the Mighty One of Jacob.^(CB)”