CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Isaiah 49 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/isaiah/49.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/isaiah/49-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Isaiah 49</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../isaiah/48.htm" title="Isaiah 48">◄</a> Isaiah 49 <a href="../isaiah/50.htm" title="Isaiah 50">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/isaiah/49.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">The LORD’s Servant Commissioned</p><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Listen to me, all you in distant lands!</p><p class="line2">Pay attention, you who are far away!</p><p class="line1">The LORD called me before my birth;</p><p class="line2">from within the womb he called me by name.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.</p><p class="line2">He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.</p><p class="line2">I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,</p><p class="line2">and you will bring me glory.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>I replied, “But my work seems so useless!</p><p class="line2">I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.</p><p class="line1">Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand;</p><p class="line2">I will trust God for my reward.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>And now the LORD speaks—</p><p class="line2">the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,</p><p class="line2">who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.</p><p class="line1">The LORD has honored me,</p><p class="line2">and my God has given me strength.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.</p><p class="line2">I will make you a light to the Gentiles,</p><p class="line2">and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>The LORD, the Redeemer</p><p class="line2">and Holy One of Israel,</p><p class="line1">says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,</p><p class="line2">to the one who is the servant of rulers:</p><p class="line1">“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.</p><p class="line2">Princes will also bow low</p><p class="line1">because of the LORD, the faithful one,</p><p class="line2">the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”</p><p class="hdg">Promises of Israel’s Restoration</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>This is what the LORD says:</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1">“At just the right time, I will respond to you.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a></p><p class="line2">On the day of salvation I will help you.</p><p class="line1">I will protect you and give you to the people</p><p class="line2">as my covenant with them.</p><p class="line1">Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel</p><p class="line2">and assign it to its own people again.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’</p><p class="line2">and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’</p><p class="line1">They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures</p><p class="line2">and on hills that were previously bare.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>They will neither hunger nor thirst.</p><p class="line2">The searing sun will not reach them anymore.</p><p class="line1">For the LORD in his mercy will lead them;</p><p class="line2">he will lead them beside cool waters.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.</p><p class="line2">The highways will be raised above the valleys.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>See, my people will return from far away,</p><p class="line2">from lands to the north and west,</p><p class="line2">and from as far south as Egypt.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a>”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Sing for joy, O heavens!</p><p class="line2">Rejoice, O earth!</p><p class="line2">Burst into song, O mountains!</p><p class="line1">For the LORD has comforted his people</p><p class="line2">and will have compassion on them in their suffering.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Yet Jerusalem<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> says, “The LORD has deserted us;</p><p class="line2">the Lord has forgotten us.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?</p><p class="line2">Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?</p><p class="line1">But even if that were possible,</p><p class="line2">I would not forget you!</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.</p><p class="line2">Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Soon your descendants will come back,</p><p class="line2">and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Look around you and see,</p><p class="line2">for all your children will come back to you.</p><p class="line1">As surely as I live,” says the LORD,</p><p class="line2">“they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land</p><p class="line2">will soon be crowded with your people.</p><p class="line1">Your enemies who enslaved you</p><p class="line2">will be far away.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>The generations born in exile will return and say,</p><p class="line2">‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Then you will think to yourself,</p><p class="line2">‘Who has given me all these descendants?</p><p class="line1">For most of my children were killed,</p><p class="line2">and the rest were carried away into exile.</p><p class="line1">I was left here all alone.</p><p class="line2">Where did all these people come from?</p><p class="line1">Who bore these children?</p><p class="line2">Who raised them for me?’”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>This is what the Sovereign LORD says:</p><p class="line2">“See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.</p><p class="line1">They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;</p><p class="line2">they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Kings and queens will serve you</p><p class="line2">and care for all your needs.</p><p class="line1">They will bow to the earth before you</p><p class="line2">and lick the dust from your feet.</p><p class="line1">Then you will know that I am the LORD.</p><p class="line2">Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior?</p><p class="line2">Who can demand that a tyrant<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> let his captives go?</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>But the LORD says,</p><p class="line1">“The captives of warriors will be released,</p><p class="line2">and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.</p><p class="line1">For I will fight those who fight you,</p><p class="line2">and I will save your children.</p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/49-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>I will feed your enemies with their own flesh.</p><p class="line2">They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood.</p><p class="line1">All the world will know that I, the LORD,</p><p class="line2">am your Savior and your Redeemer,</p><p class="line2">the Mighty One of Israel.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a>”</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">49:8 </span><span class="ft">Greek version reads </span><span class="it">I heard you.</span><span class="ft"> Compare 2 Cor 6:2.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">49:12 </span><span class="ft">As in Dead Sea Scrolls, which read </span><span class="it">from the region of Aswan,</span><span class="ft"> which is in southern Egypt. Masoretic Text reads </span><span class="it">from the region of Sinim.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">49:14 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">Zion.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">49:24 </span><span class="ft">As in Dead Sea Scrolls, Syriac version, and Latin Vulgate (also see 49:25); Masoretic Text reads </span><span class="it">a righteous person.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">49:26 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">of Jacob.</span><span class="ft"> See note on 14:1.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../isaiah/48.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Isaiah 48"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Isaiah 48" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../isaiah/50.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Isaiah 50"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Isaiah 50" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/isaiah/49-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchap.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>