Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye peoples, from far: 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 he hath made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he kept me close:
and he said unto me, Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
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.
And now saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, {Another reading is, but Israel is not gathered, yet shall I be &c.}and that Israel be gathered unto him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God is become my strength);
yea, 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, {Or, that my salvation may be}that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man 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, even 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 {Or, establish the earth}raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages:
saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare heights shall be their pasture.
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the {Or, mirage}heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, even by springs of water will he guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
Lo, these shall come from far; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
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.
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, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Thy children 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 gird thyself with them, like a bride.
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.
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.
Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath {Or, borne}begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am {Or, barren}solitary, an exile, and wandering 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 put to shame.
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or {Hebrew: the captives of the just.}the lawful captives be delivered?
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.
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.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 49,1 Jes 49,1
Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.
Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
And now saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, {Another reading is, but Israel is not gathered, yet shall I be &c.}and that Israel be gathered unto him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God is become my strength);
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the {Or, nations (and elsewhere)}Gentiles.
He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
He will not {Or, burn dimly}fail nor be {Or, bruised}discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.
I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.
For thou art my hope, O Lord Jehovah:Thou art my trust from my youth.
Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands.
and he came and {Greek: brought good tidings of peace. Compare Matthew 11:5.}preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh:
By thee have I been holden up from the womb;Thou {Or, hast been my benefactor from &c.}art he that took me out of my mother's bowels:My praise shall be continually of thee.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him {Or, that is from heaven}that warneth from heaven:
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.
My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the peoples; the isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is {Greek: begotten.}conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath {Or, beautified}glorified thee.
And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.
And I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor {Greek: sikera.}strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the {Or, coast-lands}isles of the nations.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people:
for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is {Or, Anointed Lord}Christ the Lord.
say ye of him, whom the Father {Or, consecrated}sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace,
who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake,