Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye peoples from afar. Jehovah hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
And he hath 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 hid me.
And he said unto me, Thou [art] my servant, Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.
And I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain; nevertheless my judgment [is] with Jehovah, and my work with my God.
And now, saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb [to be] his servant, that I should bring Jacob again to him (though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God shall be my strength).
And he saith, It is a small 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 nations, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom the soul despiseth, 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, the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
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 establish the land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
saying to the prisoners, Go forth, to them that [are] in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures [shall be] on all bare heights.
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, and by the springs of water will he guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the west; and those from the land of Sinim.
Shout, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains. For Jehovah hath comforted his people and will have mercy on his afflicted ones.
But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands: thy walls [are] continually before me.
Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee.
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 bind them [on thee], as a bride [doeth].
For [in] thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, thou shalt even now be too straitened by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
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.
And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these (seeing I had lost my children, and was desolate, a captive, and driven to and fro)? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where [were] they?
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.
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 ashamed.
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
For thus saith Jehovah, Even the captive of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: and I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
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 Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.