491 Listen to Me, O islands , And pay attention , you peoples from afar . The Lord called Me from the womb ; From the body of My mother He named e Me. 2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword , In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow , He has hidden Me in His quiver . 3 He said to Me, " You are My Servant , Israel , In Whom I will show My glory ." 4 But I said , "I have toiled in vain , I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity ; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord , And My reward with My God ." 5 And now says the Lord , who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant , To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the Lord , And My God is My strength ), 6 He says , "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel ; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth ."
7 Thus says the Lord , the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One , To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation , To the Servant of rulers , " Kings will see and arise , Princes will also bow down , Because of the Lord who is faithful , the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You."
8 Thus says the Lord , "In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people , To restore the land , to make them inherit the desolate heritages ; 9 Saying to those who are bound , 'Go forth ,' To those who are in darkness , 'Show yourselves.' Along the roads they will feed , And their pasture will be on all bare heights . 10 "They will not hunger or thirst , Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down ; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs of water . 11 "I will make all My mountains a road , And My highways will be raised up. 12 "Behold , these will come from afar ; And lo , these will come from the north and from the west , And these from the land of Sinim ."
13 Shout for joy , O heavens ! And rejoice , O earth ! Break forth into joyful shouting , O mountains ! For the Lord has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted . 14 But Zion said , "The Lord has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me." 15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb ? Even these may forget , but I will not forget you. 16 "Behold , I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17 "Your builders hurry ; Your destroyers and devastators Will depart from you.
18 " Lift up your eyes and look around ; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live ," declares the Lord , "You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride . 19 "For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land - Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants , And those who swallowed you will be far away. 20 "The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears , 'The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.' 21 "Then you will say in your heart , 'Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren , an exile and a wanderer ? And who has reared these ? Behold , I was left alone ; From where did these come?' " 22 Thus says the Lord GOD , "Behold , I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples ; And they will bring your sons in their bosom , And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders . 23 " Kings will be your guardians , And their princesses your nurses . They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet ; And you will know that I am the Lord ; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame .
24 " Can the prey be taken from the mighty man , Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued ?" 25 Surely , thus says the Lord , "Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued ; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons . 26 "I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh , And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine ; And all flesh will know that I, the Lord , am your Savior And your Redeemer , the Mighty One of Jacob ."
