Isaiah 49:11-23
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 49
11I will make all My mountains a road, And My highways will be raised up. 12Behold, these will come from afar; And behold, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Aswan.' 13Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted. 14But Zion said, 'The Lord has abandoned me, And the Lord has forgotten me.' 15'Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will leave you. 18Raise your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live,' declares the Lord, 'You will certainly put them all on as jewelry and bind them on as a bride. 19For your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land— Now you will certainly be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away. 20The children you lost will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’King James Version
Chapter 49
11And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. 12Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
13Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
14But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15Can 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.
16Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
18Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doet
19For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
21Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
22Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Christian Standard Bible
12See, these will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Sinim.
13Shout for joy, you heavens! Earth, rejoice! Mountains break into joyful shouts! For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
14Zion says, "The Lord has abandoned me; the Lord has forgotten me! "
15"Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these forget, yet I will not forget you.
16Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
17Your builders hurry; those who destroy and devastate you will leave you.
18Look up, and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As I live" -- this is the Lord's declaration -- "you will wear all your children as jewelry, and put them on as a bride does.
19For your waste and desolate places and your land marked by ruins will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20Yet as you listen, the children that you have been deprived of will say, 'This place is too small for me; make room for me so that I may settle.'
21Then you will say within yourself, 'Who fathered these for me? I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive, exiled and wandering -- but who brought them up? See, I was left by myself -- but these, where did they come from? ' "
New Living Translation
Chapter 49
11And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys. 12See, my people will return from far away, from lands to the north and west, and from as far south as Egypt. '
15'Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!
16See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
17Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
18Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.
19'Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land will soon be crowded with your people. Your enemies who enslaved you will be far away.
20The generations born in exile will return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’
21Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these descendants? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile. I was left here all alone. Where did all these people come from? Who bore these children? Who raised them for me?’'
22This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'See, I will give a signal to the godless nations. They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms; they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.
23Kings and queens will serve you and care for all your needs. They will bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 49
11And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up. 12Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene.” 13Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. 14But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” 15“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. 17Your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you. 18Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does. 19“Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land— surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: ‘The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.’ 21Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’” 22Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. 23Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”New International Version
14But Zion said, 'The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.'
15Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
16See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
17Your children hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18Lift up your eyes and look around; all your children gather and come to you. As surely as I live,' declares the LORD, 'you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.
19Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.
20The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, 'This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.'
21Then you will say in your heart, 'Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these--where have they come from?''
New King James Version
Chapter 49
11 I will make each of My mountains a road, And My highways shall be elevated. 12Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.” 13 Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted. 14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.” 15“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 16See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you. 18 Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the Lord, “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on you as a bride does. 19“For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, Will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20 The children you will have, After you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.’ 21Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?’ ”
22Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
