_Self-Attestation of the Servant of
Jehovah. The Despondency of Zion Reproved._
1. Listen, O isles, unto Me; and hearken, ye nations afar off:
Jehovah hath called Me from the womb; from My mother's lap hath He
remembered My name. 2. And He 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 concealed Me. 3. And He said to Me, Thou art My
servant, O Israel, Thou in Whom I glorify Myself.
4. And I, I said, I have wearied Myself in vain, and thrown away My
strength for nothing and to no purpose; yet My right[1] is with
Jehovah, and My reward with My God.
5. And now, saith Jehovah, that formed Me from the womb to be His
servant, to bring back Jacob to Him, and that Israel[2] may be
gathered together to Him; and I am honoured in the eyes of Jehovah,
and My God has become My strength. 6. He saith, It is only a small
thing that Thou becomest My servant, to set up the tribes of Jacob,
and to bring back the preserved of Israel: I have set Thee for the
light of the Gentiles, to become My salvation to the end of the earth.
7. Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to him
of contemptible soul, to the abhorrence of the people, to the servant
of tyrants: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and prostrate
themselves for the sake of Jehovah, who is faithful, the Holy One of
Israel, that He hath chosen Thee. 8. Thus saith Jehovah, In[3] a time
of favour I have heard Thee, and in the day of salvation have I
helped Thee: and I form Thee, and set Thee for a covenant of the
people, to raise up the land, to apportion again desolate
inheritances, 9. saying to prisoners: Go ye out; to those who are in
darkness, Come ye to the light.
They shall feed by the ways, and[4] there is pasture for them upon
all field-hills. 10. They shall not hunger nor thirst, and the mirage
and sun shall not blind them: for He that hath mercy on them shall
lead them, and guide them by bubbling water-springs. 11. And I make
all My mountains ways, and My roads are exalted. 12. Behold these,
they come from afar; and behold these from the north and from the
sea; and these from the land of the Sinese. 13. Sing, O heavens, and
shout, O earth; and break out into singing, ye mountains! for Jehovah
hath comforted His people, and He hath compassion upon His afflicted
ones.
14. Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten
me. 15. Does a woman forget her sucking child, so as not to have
compassion upon the child of her womb? Even though mothers should
forget, I will not forget thee. 16. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of My hands; thy walls stand continually before Me.
17. Thy children make haste, thy destroyers and masters draw out from
thee. 18. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; all these assemble
themselves together, and come to thee. As truly as I live, saith
Jehovah, thou wilt put them all on like jewellery, and gird them
about thee like a bride. 19. For thy ruins and thy waste places and
thy land full of ruin,--yea, now thou wilt be too narrow for the
inhabitants, and thy devourers are far away. 20. Thy[5] children,
that were formerly taken from thee, shall say in thine ears, The
space is too narrow for me; give way for me, that I may have room.
21. And thou wilt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I
am robbed of children, and barren, banished, and thrust away; and
these, who hath brought them up? Behold, I was left alone; these,
where were they?
22. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lift up My hand to
nations, and set up My standard to peoples: and they bring thy sons
in their bosom; and thy daughters, upon shoulders are they carried.
23. And kings become thy foster-fathers, and their princesses thy
nurses: they bow down their face to thee to the earth, and they lick
the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt learn that I am Jehovah, He
whose hoping ones are not put to shame.
24. Can the booty indeed be wrested from a giant, or will the
captive[6] host of the righteous escape? 25. Yea, thus saith Jehovah,
Even the captive hosts of a giant are wrested from him, and the booty
of a tyrant escapes! and I[7] will make war upon him that warreth
with thee, and I will bring salvation to thy children. 26. And[8] I
feed them that pain thee with their own flesh; and they shall be
drunken with their own blood, as if with new wine; all flesh shall
see that I Jehovah am thy Saviour, and that thy Redeemer is the
Mighty One of Jacob.