Isaiah 49

₁People who live far from here, near the sea,

you must listen to what I say.

The Lord called me before I was born.

I was still in my mother's womb

when He called my name.

₂He taught me to speak well,

and my words are like a sharp sword, or like an arrow.

But the Lord told me to keep quiet at first.

He hid me like a sword

or like an arrow in its holder.

₃He told me: ‘You are my servant.

You are Israel.

When people look at you, they will honour Me.’

₄I have worked very hard.

I became tired, but it did not help me.

The Lord knows what I have done,

and my God will reward me.

₅Before I was born, He told me

to be his servant and to bring back to Him

the descendants of Jacob,

the people of Israel who now

live far away from each other.

The Lord has made me important.

It is my God who makes me strong.

He talked to me again.

₆He said: ‘You are my servant,

and you must bring back the Israelites,

all the tribes of Jacob

who are still_alive.

But that is not enough. You must do more.

You must be the light to the other nations.

I want to save all the people on earth.’

₇This is what the Lord says.

He is the Saviour of the Israelites,

the holy God of Israel.

He talks to the Israelites

who think they are worthless.

Other nations hate them. They are now

slaves and other people rule over them.

The Lord says: ‘The kings

of other lands will honour them.

They will bow down before them

because they will know that I, the Lord,

am faithful and I do what I say.

I am the holy God of Israel

and I have chosen you to belong to Me.’

₈The Lord said to me: ‘At the right time

I will listen to your prayers.

I will listen to your prayers and I will help you.

I will help and protect you and you will

be my covenant with my people.

You must call them to come back

to their land and to live in the places

that are empty now.

₉You must call the prisoners who are

in dark places, and tell them to come out.

They will be like sheep

that have a lot of food to eat.

There will be grass on the roads

and even in places where nothing grows.

₁₀They will not be hungry or thirsty,

and the sun will not burn them.

I feel sorry for them, so I will walk

in front of them. I will be friendly and

lead them to places with streams of water.

₁₁I will make the mountains

roads where people can walk easily.

₁₂Look, my people will come from far away.

Some of them will come from the north

and some will come from the west,

and some will come from the land of Aswan.’

₁₃Heaven, earth and mountains,

you must rejoice and be happy

because the Lord is with his people.

He helps people who can not help themselves.

₁₄Zion, you said: ‘The Lord has left me.

My Lord has forgotten me.’

₁₅But the Lord asks: ‘Do you think

that a mother will forget her baby?

Do you think she will not feel sorry for her child?

No, she will never do that.

But even if she did forget her child,

I will never forget you.

₁₆Zion, you must know this:

You are my city.

I have written your name on my hand

and I always think about your walls.

₁₇Your people will come back soon,

and the people who have destroyed

and broken the city will go away.

₁₈Look around you. Your people

are coming together

and they are coming back to you.’

The Lord says: ‘I promise you this:

Your people will be as beautiful

as the jewels that a bride puts on

to make herself beautiful.

₁₉You are only a heap of stones now.

There are no people living in you

and your land is destroyed.

But they will come back and

there will not be enough space in you

for all your people.

And the people who have destroyed you

will be far away from you.

₂₀Your people who were away

will say to you:

“There is not enough space for us all.

You must make space for us,

because we want to live here.”

₂₁And you will think:

“Where do all these people come from?

I was like a woman

who could not have any children.

I was alone and cut off from my people.

I was alone like a widow

who had lost her children.

Where do all these people come from now?” ’

₂₂The Lord says: ‘I will now

hold up my hand to the nations

and I will show them my flag,

and they will bring your sons and your daughters.

They will carry them to you.

₂₃Kings and queens will look after your children.

They will bow down before you

and eat the dust from your feet.

Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Everyone who believes that I will help him

will not be disappointed.’

₂₄If a soldier comes back from war

and he has taken plunder from his enemies,

then no one will take those things from him.

If a strong man guards prisoners,

then those prisoners can not escape

and run away from him.

₂₅Yes, the Lord says: ‘Maybe it could happen

that someone would take away

the prisoners from a strong soldier,

or that a soldier could lose the plunder

that he had taken in war.

But this will not happen to you.

I will go to war_against the people

who want to go to war_against you,

and I will save your children.

₂₆I will punish the people who oppress you.

They will have to eat the flesh of their own bodies,

and they will have to drink their own blood

and become drunk like people

who have had too much wine.

They will know that I am the Lord

who saves you, I am your Saviour,

and I am the Strong God_of_Jacob.’