Listen to Me , O islands ; pay attention , O distant peoples : The LORD called Me from the womb ; from the body of My mother He named Me ....
He made My mouth like a sharp sword ; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow ; He hid Me in His quiver.
He said “ You are My Servant , Israel , in whom I will display My glory. ”
But I said , “ I have labored in vain , I have spent My strength in futility and vanity ; yet My vindication is with the LORD , and My reward is with My God. ”
And now says the LORD , who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant to bring Jacob back to Him , that Israel ... might be gathered to Him — for I am honored in the sight of the LORD , and My God is My strength —
He says : “ It is not enough for You to be Servant , to raise up - the tribes of Jacob , and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations , to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth. ”
Thus says the LORD , the Redeemer (and) Holy One of Israel , to Him who was despised (and) abhorred by the nation , to the Servant of rulers : “ Kings will see You and rise , and princes will bow down , because of the LORD , who is faithful , the Holy One of Israel , who has chosen You. ”
This is what the LORD says : “ In the time of favor I will answer You , and in the day of salvation I will help You ; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people , to restore the land , to apportion its desolate inheritances ,
to say to the prisoners , ‘ Come out , ’ and to those in darkness , ‘ Show yourselves. ’ They will feed along the pathways , and find pasture on every barren hill.
They will not - hunger or thirst , nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
I will turn all My mountains into roads , and My highways will be raised up.
Behold , they will come from far away , ... ... from the north and from the west , and from the land of Aswan. ”
Shout for joy , O heavens ; rejoice , O earth ; break forth in song , O mountains ! For the LORD has comforted His people , and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
But Zion said , “ The LORD has forsaken me ; the Lord has forgotten me ! ”
“ Can a woman forget her nursing child , or lack compassion for the son of her womb ? Even if she could forget , I will not forget you !
Behold , I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands ; your walls are ever before Me.
Your builders hasten back ; your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.
Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together ; they come As surely as I live , ” declares the LORD , “ - you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.
For your ruined and desolate places and your ravaged land ... will now indeed be too small for your people , and those who devoured you will be far away.
Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing ‘ This place is too small for us ; make room to live here. ’
Then you will say in your heart , ‘ Who has begotten - these I was bereaved and barren ; I was exiled and rejected. So who vvv has reared them ? Look , I was left all alone , so where did they come from ?’”
This is what the Lord GOD says : “ Behold , I will lift up My hand to the nations , and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
Kings will be your foster fathers , and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow facedown ... and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD ; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame. ”
Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty , or the captives of a tyrant be delivered ?
Indeed , this is what the LORD says : “ Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away , and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved ; I will contend - with those who contend with you , and I will save your children.
I will make your oppressors - eat - their own flesh ; they will be drunk on their own blood , as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I , the LORD , am your Savior and your Redeemer , the Mighty One of Jacob. ”