Isaiah · Catholic Public Domain Version
Isaiah 49 Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
1 Pay attention, you islands, and listen closely, you far away peoples. The Lord has called me from the womb; from the womb of my mother, he has been mindful of my name.
1 Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother, he has mentioned my name.
2 And he has appointed my mouth as a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand, he has protected me. And he has appointed me as an elect arrow. In his quiver, he has hidden me.
2 He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. He has made me a polished shaft. He has kept me close in his quiver.
3 And he has said to me: “You are my servant, Israel. For in you, I will glory.”
3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
4 And I said: “I have labored toward emptiness. I have consumed my strength without purpose and in vain. Therefore, my judgment is with the Lord, and my work is with my God.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength in vain for nothing; yet surely the justice due to me is with Yahweh, and my reward with my God.”
5 And now, says the Lord, who formed me from the womb as his servant, so that I may bring back Jacob to him, for Israel will not be gathered together, but I have been glorified in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength,
5 Now Yahweh, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, says to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in Yahweh’s eyes, and my God has become my strength.
6 and so he has said: “It is a small thing that you should be my servant so as to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and so as to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have offered you as a light for the Gentiles, so that you may be my salvation, even to the furthest regions of the earth.”
6 Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to a contemptible soul, to an abominable nation, to the servant of lords: The kings will see, and the princes will rise up, and they will adore, because of the Lord. For he is faithful, and he is the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.
7 Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up, princes, and they shall worship, because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
8 Thus says the Lord: In a pleasing time, I have heeded you, and in the day of salvation, I have assisted you. And I have preserved you, and I have presented you as a covenant of the people, so that you would lift up the earth, and possess the scattered inheritances,
8 Yahweh says, “I have answered you in an acceptable time. I have helped you in a day of salvation. I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage,
9 so that you would say to those who are bound, “Go forth!” and to those who are in darkness, “Be released!” They will pasture along the roads, and their pastures will be in every open place.
9 saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.
10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the heat of the sun beat down upon them. For the one who takes pity on them will rule them, and he will give them to drink from fountains of waters.
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them, for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.
11 And I will make all my mountains into a road, and my paths will be exalted.
11 I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Behold, some will come from far away, and behold, others from the north and from the sea, and still others from the land of the south.
12 Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.”
13 Give praise, O heavens! And exult, O earth! Let the mountains give praise with jubilation! For the Lord has consoled his people, and he will take pity on his poor ones.
13 Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth! Break out into singing, mountains! For Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 And Zion said: “The Lord has abandoned me, and the Lord has forgotten me.”
14 But Zion said, “Yahweh has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.”
15 Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to take pity on the child of her womb? But even if she would forget, still I shall never forget you.
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!
16 Behold, I have engraved you on my hands. Your walls are always before my eyes.
16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are continually before me.
17 Your builders have arrived. Those who would tear you down and destroy you, they will depart from you.
17 Your children hurry. Your destroyers and those who devastated you will leave you.
18 Lift up your eyes all around, and see: all these have been gathered together; they have come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you shall be clothed with all these things, as if with an ornament. And like a bride, you shall wrap these things all around you.
18 Lift up your eyes all around, and see: all these gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live,” says Yahweh, “you shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament, and dress yourself with them, like a bride.
19 For your deserts, and your solitary places, and the land of your ruination will now be too narrow, because of all the inhabitants. And those who devoured you will be chased far away.
19 “For, as for your waste and your desolate places, and your land that has been destroyed, surely now that land will be too small for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 Even the children of your barrenness will say in your ears: “This place is too narrow for me. Make me a spacious place in which to dwell.”
20 The children of your bereavement will say in your ears, ‘This place is too small for me. Give me a place to live in.’
21 And you will say in your heart: “Who has conceived them? I was barren and unable to give birth. I was taken away and held captive. And so, who has raised them? I was destitute and alone. And so, where have they been?”
21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth? Who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’”
22 Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and I will exalt my sign before the peoples. And they will carry your sons in their arms, and they will bear your daughters on their shoulders.
22 The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and lift up my banner to the peoples. They shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
23 And kings will be your caretakers, and queens will be your nursemaids. They will reverence you with their face to the ground, and they will lick the dust at your feet. And you will know that I am the Lord. For those who hope in him will not be confounded.
23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am Yahweh; and those who wait for me won’t be disappointed.”
24 Can prey be taken from the strong? Or is anything taken captive by the powerful able to be saved?
24 Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
25 For thus says the Lord: Certainly, even the captives will be taken away from the strong, even what has been taken by the powerful will be saved. And truly, I will judge those who have judged you, and I will save your children.
25 But Yahweh says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the plunder retrieved from the fierce, for I will contend with him who contends with you and I will save your children.
26 And I will feed your enemies their own flesh. And they will be inebriated with their own blood, as with new wine. And all flesh will know that I am the Lord, who saves you, and your Redeemer, the Strong One of Jacob.
26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; and they will be drunk on their own blood, as with sweet wine. Then all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Cross references (26)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15; Isaiah 44:2; Isaiah 49:5; Luke 1:31
- 2 Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16; Isaiah 50:4; Revelation 2:12; Isaiah 51:16
- 3 Isaiah 42:1; 1 Peter 2:9; Isaiah 44:23; John 17:1; Isaiah 52:13
- 4 Isaiah 35:4; Galatians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 12:15; Isaiah 62:11; Isaiah 40:10
- 5 John 3:35; Matthew 17:5; Romans 15:8; 1 Peter 3:22; Matthew 28:18
- 6 Acts 13:47; Isaiah 42:6; Luke 2:32; Psalm 98:2–3; Isaiah 52:10
- 7 1 Peter 2:4; Matthew 26:67; Isaiah 53:3; Isaiah 48:17; Psalm 72:10–11
- 8 2 Corinthians 6:2; Isaiah 42:6; Psalm 69:13; Hebrews 12:24; Isaiah 61:4
- 9 1 Peter 2:9; Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 42:7; Luke 4:18; Psalm 69:33
- 10 Revelation 7:16–17; Matthew 5:6; Ezekiel 34:23; Isaiah 33:16; Psalm 121:5–6
- 11 Isaiah 11:16; Isaiah 62:10; Luke 3:4–5; Isaiah 35:8–10; Isaiah 40:3–4
- 12 Isaiah 43:5–6; Luke 13:29; Isaiah 2:2–3; Psalm 72:17; Psalm 72:10–11
- 13 Isaiah 44:23; Isaiah 51:3; Psalm 96:11–13; Isaiah 52:9; Isaiah 40:1–2
- 14 Isaiah 40:27; Psalm 22:1; Romans 11:1–5; Lamentations 5:20; Psalm 89:38–46
- 15 Isaiah 44:21; Psalm 103:13; Matthew 7:11; Jeremiah 31:20; Hosea 11:1
- 16 Haggai 2:23; Isaiah 60:18; Isaiah 62:6; Song of Songs 8:6; Isaiah 26:1
- 17 Isaiah 51:13; Isaiah 62:5; Isaiah 51:22–23; Ezekiel 28:24; Isaiah 51:18–20
- 18 Isaiah 54:1–3; Isaiah 61:10; Isaiah 66:12–13; Isaiah 54:9; Isaiah 54:7
- 19 Zechariah 10:10; Isaiah 54:1–2; Jeremiah 30:18–19; Isaiah 49:25–26; Isaiah 51:3
- 20 Joshua 17:14–16; Galatians 4:26–28; Hosea 1:10; Isaiah 60:4; 2 Kings 6:1
- 21 Isaiah 64:10; Galatians 3:29; Isaiah 54:3–8; Isaiah 5:13; Matthew 24:29–30
- 22 Luke 13:29; Psalm 86:9; Isaiah 14:2; Malachi 1:11; Psalm 67:4–7
- 23 Isaiah 60:14; Isaiah 60:16; Isaiah 60:3; Micah 7:17; Isaiah 45:14
- 24 Luke 11:21–22; Psalm 124:6–7; Matthew 12:29; Ezekiel 37:3; Isaiah 42:22
- 25 Isaiah 54:15–17; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 41:11–12; Jeremiah 50:33–34; Isaiah 54:13
- 26 Isaiah 9:20; Isaiah 41:14–20; Isaiah 9:4; Revelation 16:6; Ezekiel 39:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… kingdom, the earth has been called again by Christ [to its pristine condition], and Jerusalem rebuilt after the pattern of the Jerusalem above, of which the prophet Isaiah says, "Behold, I have depicted thy walls upon my hands, and thou art always in my sight." And the apostle, too, writing to the Galatians, says in like manner, "But the Jerusalem …
… Prophets foretold, that is, ye have leaves only), "lo, we turn to the Gentiles." For this also was foretold by the Prophets; "Behold, I have given Thee for a light of the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth." See then, the tree hath withered away; and Christ hath been removed unto the Gentiles, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
"For though," saith He, "a woman should forget the fruits of her womb, yet will I not forget thee."
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
This also the Prophet says in His person, From the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of My name; because the Angel foretold that He should be called Jesus.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… salutary doctrine, the Apostle Paul also says, "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son;" and God declares by the prophet, "In an acceptable time have I heard Thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee;" and yet again the apostle, "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)