49: 2 and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me: and he hath made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he kept me close:
49: 3 and he said unto me, Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
49: 4 But I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity; yet surely the justice due to me is with Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.
49: 5 And now saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, 553and that Israel be gathered unto him; (for I am honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God is become my strength;)
553So Hbmg 1QIsaa Sept. GkAq Targ. Most Hbtxt 4QIsad Vg., GkTheod, Symm read but Israel is not gathered, yet shall I be honorable
49: 6 yes, he saith, It is too light a 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, 554that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
554Or, that my salvation may be unto etc.
49: 7 Thus saith Jehovah, the Ransomer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whose soul is despised, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of Jehovah that is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
49: 8 Thus saith Jehovah, In an acceptable time have I answered 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 555raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;
555Or, establish the earth,
49: 9 saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed by the ways, and on all bare heights shall be their pasture.
49: 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the 556heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, even by springs of water will he guide them.
556Or, mirage
49: 11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
49: 12 Lo, these shall come from far; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of 557Sinim.
557Many suggest China (cf. Sino-); Sept. reads Persia. (cf. Elam in Ge 10). Perhaps Mt. Sinai and the adjacent Wilderness of Sin; Douay says south country. But 1QIsaa reads Syene.
49: 13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for Jehovah hath comforted his people, and will have compassion upon his afflicted.
49: 14 But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and 558Jehovah hath forgotten me.
558Sopherim changed to the Lord
49: 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yes, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee.
49: 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
49: 17 Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee.
49: 18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.
49: 19 For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
49: 20 The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell.
49: 21 Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath 559begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am single, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?
559Or, borne me these,... and am barren,
49: 22 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
49: 23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; and they that wait for me shall not be put to shame.
49: 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or 560the lawful captives be delivered?
560Hb. the captives of the just be delivered
49: 25 But thus saith Jehovah, 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.
49: 26 And 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, Jehovah, am thy Saviour, and thy Ransomer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
