International Standard Version | King James 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, 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. |
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. | 2And 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; |
3He said to me: 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.' | 3And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. |
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. | 4Then 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, 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 — | 5And 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. |
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. | 6And 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"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." | 7Thus 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"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; | 8Thus 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; |
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. | 9That 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. |
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 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. |
11I'll turn all my mountains into a road, and my highways will be raised up. | 11And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. |
12"Watch! They'll come from far away— some from the north and from the west, and others from the Aswan region." | 12Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these 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. | 13Sing, 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 has abandoned me, and my God has forgotten me.' | 14But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath 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 sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. |
16Look! I've inscribed you on the palms of my hands, and your walls are forever before me. | 16Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. |
17Your builders are working faster than your destroyers, and those who devastated you go away from you. | 17Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. |
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. | 18Lift 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. |
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. | 19For 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 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.' | 20The 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. |
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 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"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.' | 22Thus 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"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. | 23And 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. |
24"Can they seize plunder from warriors, or can the captives of tyrants be rescued? | 24Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? |
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. | 25But 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"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." | 26And 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. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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