XLIX. 1 Hearken, ye isles, to me, and listen, ye peoples, from afar; the Lord hath called me from the. womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

2 And he made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; and set me for a polished arrow; in his quiver be concealed me,

15. i.e. ‘brought him’ into view, into prominence; or, on his16. The grammar admits the rendering ‘hath sent me and his Spirit’: the emphasis is strongly against it: most authorities support it, however, on theological grounds.18. Or, ‘wouldst hearken.19. ‘grains,’ or, ‘entrails,’ of the sea, i.e. the ﬁshes.

3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.

4 And I said, I have laboured in vain, for waste and vanity have I consumed my strength; surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.

5 And now, saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb for a servant to him, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be not swept away—and I shall be honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my—

6 And he said, 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; and I will give thee for a light of the nations, that my salvation may be to the end of the earth.

7 Thus saith the Lord, the redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to the despised of soul, to the abhorred of a nation, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall bow themselves; for the sake of the LORD, that is faithful; the Holy One of Israel, and he hath chosen thee.

8 Thus saith the Lord, In a time of favour 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 raise up the land, to allot the desolate allotments,

9 Saying tothe captives, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare heights is their feeding place.

4. ‘laboured’: or. wearied myself. Usual word, mishpat, for ‘judgment’: meaning here. ‘my ’ or ‘my rightful reward.’5. ‘and that Israel...’: Heb. margin, ‘and that Israel be gathered him ’—doubt between readings ‘not’ and ‘to him,’ as in ix. 3 alike).6 ﬁn. Or, ‘to be my salvation to . . . earth.9 init. Or, ‘To say to the captives . . .

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; and the burning sand and sun shall not smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, and by springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the sea; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth; and break forth into, singing, ye mountains; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

14 And Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

15 Will a woman forget her suckling, not to have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, these may forget, and I will not forget thee.

16 Behold, upon both palms have I engraved thee; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy sons make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see; they all are gathered together, they come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird them on (thee) like a bride.

19 For (as for) thy ruins and thy waste places, and the land of thy destruction, surely now shalt thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

29 The sons of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me, and I will dwell.