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Isaiah 49:14-51:3
English Standard Version
Isaiah 49:14-51:3
English Standard Version
14 But Zion said, (A)“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 (B)“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, (C)I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders make haste;[a]
(D)your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
18 (E)Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
(F)As I live, declares the Lord,
(G)you shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
19 “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
(H)surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 (I)The children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
(J)‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
21 Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
(K)I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
from where have these come?’”
22 Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
(L)and raise my signal to the peoples;
(M)and they shall bring your sons in their arms,[b]
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 (N)Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
(O)With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and (P)lick the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
(Q)those who wait for me (R)shall not be put to shame.”
24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant[c] be rescued?
25 For thus says the Lord:
(S)“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
26 (T)I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk (U)with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that (V)I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
50 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is (W)your mother's certificate of divorce,
with which (X)I sent her away?
Or (Y)which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
(Z)Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 (AA)Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
(AB)Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
(AC)Behold, by my rebuke (AD)I dry up the sea,
(AE)I make the rivers a desert;
(AF)their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 (AG)I clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering.”
4 The Lord God has given (AH)me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that (AI)I may know how to sustain with a word
(AJ)him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 (AK)The Lord God has opened my ear,
(AL)and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 (AM)I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
(AN)therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 (AO)He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 (AP)Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys (AQ)the voice of his servant?
(AR)Let him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
(AS)This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
The Lord's Comfort for Zion
51 (AT)“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for (AU)he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the Lord (AV)comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like (AW)Eden,
her desert like (AX)the garden of the Lord;
(AY)joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:17 Dead Sea Scroll; Masoretic Text Your children make haste
- Isaiah 49:22 Hebrew in their bosom
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac, Vulgate (see also verse 25); Masoretic Text of a righteous man
Isaiah 49:14-51:3
New International Version
Isaiah 49:14-51:3
New International Version
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child(C) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!(D)
16 See, I have engraved(E) you on the palms of my hands;
your walls(F) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste(G) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather(H) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(I)” declares the Lord,
“you will wear(J) them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(K)
and your land laid waste,(L)
now you will be too small for your people,(M)
and those who devoured(N) 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.’(O)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?(P)
I was bereaved(Q) and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.(R)
Who brought these(S) up?
I was left(T) all alone,(U)
but these—where have they come from?’”
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord(V) says:
“See, I will beckon to the nations,
I will lift up my banner(W) to the peoples;
they will bring(X) your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their hips.(Y)
23 Kings(Z) will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.(AA)
They will bow down(AB) before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust(AC) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;(AD)
those who hope(AE) in me will not be disappointed.(AF)”
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives(AH) will be taken from warriors,(AI)
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;(AJ)
I will contend with those who contend with you,(AK)
and your children I will save.(AL)
26 I will make your oppressors(AM) eat(AN) their own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood,(AO) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know(AP)
that I, the Lord, am your Savior,(AQ)
your Redeemer,(AR) the Mighty One of Jacob.(AS)”
Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience
50 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce(AT)
with which I sent her away?
Or to which of my creditors
did I sell(AU) you?
Because of your sins(AV) you were sold;(AW)
because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 When I came, why was there no one?
When I called, why was there no one to answer?(AX)
Was my arm too short(AY) to deliver you?
Do I lack the strength(AZ) to rescue you?
By a mere rebuke(BA) I dry up the sea,(BB)
I turn rivers into a desert;(BC)
their fish rot for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness(BD)
and make sackcloth(BE) its covering.”
4 The Sovereign Lord(BF) has given me a well-instructed tongue,(BG)
to know the word that sustains the weary.(BH)
He wakens me morning by morning,(BI)
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.(BJ)
5 The Sovereign Lord(BK) has opened my ears;(BL)
I have not been rebellious,(BM)
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat(BN) me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;(BO)
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.(BP)
7 Because the Sovereign Lord(BQ) helps(BR) me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,(BS)
and I know I will not be put to shame.(BT)
8 He who vindicates(BU) me is near.(BV)
Who then will bring charges against me?(BW)
Let us face each other!(BX)
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord(BY) who helps(BZ) me.
Who will condemn(CA) me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths(CB) will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears(CC) the Lord
and obeys(CD) the word of his servant?(CE)
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,(CF)
trust(CG) in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God.
11 But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches,(CH)
go, walk in the light of your fires(CI)
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:(CJ)
You will lie down in torment.(CK)
Everlasting Salvation for Zion
51 “Listen(CL) to me, you who pursue righteousness(CM)
and who seek(CN) the Lord:
Look to the rock(CO) from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
2 look to Abraham,(CP) your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was only one man,
and I blessed him and made him many.(CQ)
3 The Lord will surely comfort(CR) Zion(CS)
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;(CT)
he will make her deserts like Eden,(CU)
her wastelands(CV) like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness(CW) will be found in her,
thanksgiving(CX) and the sound of singing.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 25); Masoretic Text righteous
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.