Isaiah 49:5

King James Version

And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord , and my God shall be my strength.

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
So now says Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,To return Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him(For I am glorified in the sight of Yahweh,And My God is My strength),

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength),

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And nowe saith the Lorde, euen he that fashioned me from my mothers wombe to be his seruaunt, that I may bryng Iacob agayne vnto hym, albeit Israel wyll not be gathered vnto hym agayne, yet in Gods sight shall I be glorious, my God shalbe my strength.

Darby Translation
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 glorified in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God shall be my strength;)

New King James Version
"And now the Lord says,Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,To bring Jacob back to Him,So that Israel is gathered to Him [fn] (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,And My God shall be My strength),

Literal Translation
And now, says Jehovah who formed Me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him: Though Israel is not gathered, yet I am honored in the eye of Jehovah, and My God is My strength.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord is the one who made me in my mother's womb, so that I could be his servant. He wanted me to lead Jacob and Israel back to him. The Lord gives me honor. I get my strength from my God.

World English Bible
Now says Yahweh who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered to him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Yahweh, and my God is become my strength);

King James Version (1611)
And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the wombe to be his seruant, to bring Iacob againe to him; Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall bee my strength.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And now saieth the LORDE (eue he that fashioned me fro my mothers wombe to be his seruaute, that I maye bringe Iacob agayne vnto him: howbeit, Israel will not be gathered vnto hi agayne. In whose sight I am greate, which also is my LORDE, my God and my stregth)

THE MESSAGE
"And now," God says, this God who took me in hand from the moment of birth to be his servant, To bring Jacob back home to him, to set a reunion for Israel— What an honor for me in God 's eyes! That God should be my strength! He says, "But that's not a big enough job for my servant— just to recover the tribes of Jacob, merely to round up the strays of Israel. I'm setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global! "

Amplified Bible
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him, —For I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, And My God is My strength—

American Standard Version
And now saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered unto him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God is become my strength);

Bible in Basic English
And now, says the Lord, who made me his servant when I was still in my mother's body, so that I might make Jacob come back to him, and so that Israel might come together to him: and I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord, and my God became my strength.

Update Bible Version
And now says Yahweh that formed me from the womb to be his slave, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered to him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Yahweh, and my God has become my strength);

Webster's Bible Translation
And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb [to be] his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

New Century Version
The Lord made me in the body of my mother to be his servant, to lead the people of Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him. The Lord will honor me, and I will get my strength from my God.

New English Translation
So now the Lord says, the one who formed me from birth to be his servant— he did this to restore Jacob to himself, so that Israel might be gathered to him; and I will be honored in the Lord 's sight, for my God is my source of strength—

Contemporary English Version
Even before I was born, the Lord God chose me to serve him and to lead back the people of Israel. So the Lord has honored me and made me strong.

Complete Jewish Bible
So now Adonai says — he formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Ya‘akov back to him, to have Isra'el gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the sight of Adonai , my God having become my strength —

Geneva Bible (1587)
And now sayeth the Lord, that formed me from the wombe to be his seruaunt, that I may bring Iaakob againe to him (though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I bee glorious in the eyes of the Lord: and my God shall be my strength)

George Lamsa Translation
Now, thus says the LORD, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel together; I am glorified in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength.

Hebrew Names Version
Now says the LORD who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Ya`akov again to him, and that Yisra'el be gathered to him (for I am honorable in the eyes of the LORD, and my God is become my strength);

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And now saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, and that Israel be gathered unto Him--for I am honourable in the eyes of the LORD, and my God is become my strength--

New Living Translation
And now the Lord speaks— the one who formed me in my mother's womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength.

New Life Bible
And now the Lord speaks, Who made Me before I was born to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him. For I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and My God is My strength.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now, thus saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his own servant, to gather Jacob to him and Israel. I shall be gathered and glorified before the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.

English Revised Version
And now saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered unto him: (for I am honourable in the eyes of the LORD, and my God is become my strength:)

Berean Standard Bible
And now says the LORD, who formed me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him-for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God is my strength-

New Revised Standard
And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord , and my God has become my strength—

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, said Yahweh - Fashioning me from birth To be Servant to him, To restore Jacob unto him, And that, Israel, unto him, might be gathered And I be honourable in the eyes of Yahweh, And, my God, be proved to have been my strength,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength.

Lexham English Bible
And now Yahweh says, who formed me from the womb as a servant for him, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might not be gathered, for I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh, and my God has become my strength.

English Standard Version
And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord , and my God has become my strength—

New American Standard Bible
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength),

Good News Translation
Before I was born, the Lord appointed me; he made me his servant to bring back his people, to bring back the scattered people of Israel. The Lord gives me honor; he is the source of my strength.

Christian Standard Bible®
And now, says the Lord , who formed me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him so that Israel might be gathered to Him; for I am honored in the sight of the Lord , and my God is my strength—

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And now the Lord, formynge me a seruaunt to hym silf fro the wombe, seith these thingis, that Y brynge ayen Jacob to hym. And Israel schal not be gaderid togidere; and Y am glorified in the iyen of the Lord, and my God is maad my strengthe.

Revised Standard Version
And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength--

Young's Literal Translation
And now, said Jehovah, who is forming me from the belly for a servant to Him, To bring back Jacob unto Him, (Though Israel is not gathered, Yet I am honoured in the eyes of Jehovah, And my God hath been my strength.)

Contextual Overview

¹ Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. ² 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; ³ And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. ⁴ Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord , and my work with my God. ⁵ And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord , and my God shall be my strength. ⁶ And he said, It is a light 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, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that formed: Isaiah 49:1

to bring: Isaiah 56:8, Matthew 15:24, Acts 10:36, Romans 15:8

Though: etc. or, That Israel may be gathered to him, and I may, etc

Israel: Matthew 21:37-41, Matthew 23:37, Luke 19:42, 1 Thessalonians 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:16

yet: Psalms 110:1-3, Matthew 3:17, Matthew 11:27, Matthew 17:5, Matthew 28:18, John 3:35, John 5:20-27, Ephesians 1:20-22, 1 Peter 3:22

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 17:19 - thy servant's Psalms 21:5 - glory Psalms 71:6 - thou art Psalms 80:15 - the branch Isaiah 29:17 - Lebanon Isaiah 42:4 - shall not Jeremiah 1:5 - Before I Ezekiel 3:19 - but thou Micah 5:4 - shall he be great Zechariah 3:8 - my Zechariah 6:13 - bear Zechariah 11:4 - Lord Matthew 12:18 - my servant Matthew 21:41 - and will let out Luke 14:23 - Go John 12:23 - The hour John 14:28 - Father Acts 13:46 - seeing 2 Corinthians 2:15 - in them Galatians 1:15 - who

Cross-References

Genesis 49:10
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Genesis 49:11
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

Genesis 49:25
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

Genesis 49:31
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

Genesis 49:33
And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

Proverbs 18:9
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And now, saith the Lord,.... Jehovah the Father, in confirmation of the call, office, and work of Christ, which he hath declared, Isaiah 49:1:

that formed me from the womb to be his servant; who preordained him to this service before the world began, and prepared him for it from the womb of his mother Mary, by filling him with grace and wisdom and with the Spirit without measure; anointing him with the oil of gladness above his fellows, and so fitting him as man and Mediator for the preaching of the Gospel, and every other service he called him:

to bring Jacob again, to him; the lost sheep of the house of Israel, God's elect among the Jews, which were as straying sheep; or all his chosen people, whether Jews or Gentiles, which were scattered abroad, and were afar off from God, whom Christ was to bring back again, and bring nigh unto God, and did:

though Israel be not gathered: in general, only a remnant, according to the election of grace, the greater part refusing to be gathered ministerially by him; and the rulers not suffering the common people to attend on his ministry. Matthew 23:37. It may be observed that there is a marginal reading of the Hebrew, different from the written text; instead of לא, "not" it is לו, "to him"; and may be rendered thus, "and Israel shall be gathered unto him"; and then the sense entirely agrees with the preceding clause, with which the words are connected, and not with the following, as the accent "athnach" shows, thus; the Lord appointed and formed me to be his servant to bring back Jacob, and that Israel might be gathered to him; as all the Israel of God, all the elect of God were by the sufferings and death of Christ; see Ephesians 1:10. The marginal reading, and the writing, may be both retained, as in some other places, thus, "and shall not Israel be gathered to him?" since he has formed me to bring back Jacob to him? verily he shall. The marginal reading is followed by the Targum, and the passage paraphrased thus,

"to return the house of Jacob to his service, and Israel shall be brought nigh, to his fear.''

And so it is by Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, and by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and by Aquila: "yet shall I be glorious" in the eyes of the Lord; or "I shall be glorious", c. as he was at his baptism and transfiguration on the mount; by the wonderful things done in heaven and on earth at the time of his death, at his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven, and exaltation at the right hand of God, far above all principalities and powers, angels, authorities, and powers, being subject to him; and by the ministration of the Gospel in the Gentile world, and particularly when he shall reign gloriously in the latter day, and in the New Jerusalem church state:

and my God shall be my strength; to keep up his spirits under all discouragements; to protect him from his enemies; to support him in his work as man; to carry him through it, and enable him completely to perform it, as he promised he would, and as he did, Isaiah 49:8.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And now, saith the Lord that formed me - This verse contains the reason why he cherished the hope that his work would not be unaccepted. The reason is, that Yahweh had said to him that he should be glorious in his eyes, and that he would be his strength. He stood so high in his favor, and he had such assurances of that favor, that he could confidently commit himself to his care.

That formed thee from the womb - Who appointed me before I was born to the office of a servant to accomplish important purposes (see the notes at Isaiah 49:1).

To bring Jacob again to him - To recover the Jewish people again to the pure worship of Yahweh. To them the Messiah was first to be sent, and when they rejected him, he was to proffer the same salvation to the Gentiles (see Isaiah 49:6; compare Matthew 21:33-43). Accordingly the Saviour spent his life in preaching to the Jews, and in endeavoring to bring them back to God, and for this purpose he regarded himself as sent (Matthew 15:24; see Acts 3:26).

Though Israel be not gathered - This metaphor is taken from a scattered flock which a shepherd endeavors to gather, or collect to himself. There is great variety in the interpretation of this expression. The margin reads it, ‘That Israel may be gathered to him, and I may’ be glorious. So Lowth, ‘That Israel unto him may be gathered.’ So Noyes, ‘To gather Israel to him.’ Jerome renders it, ‘Israel shall not be gathered.’ The Septuagint renders it, ‘To gather Jacob unto him, and Israel.’ The Syriac, ‘That I may gather Jacob unto him, and assemble Israel.’ This variety has arisen front the different readings in the Hebrew text. The reading in the text is לא lo' (“not”); but instead of this the marginal reading, or the Qere’ of the Masoretes is, לו lô, “to him.” ‘Five manuscripts (two ancient),’ says Lowth, ‘confirm the Qere’, or marginal construction of the Masoretes; and so read Aquila, and the Chaldee, Septuagint, and Arabic.’ Gesenius and Rosenmuller adopt this, and suppose that לא lo' is only a different form of writing לו lô. Grotius and Hengstenberg render it as it is in our version. It is impossible to determine the true reading; and the only guide is the context, and the views which shall be entertained of the design of the passage. To me it seems that the parallelism demands that we should adopt the reading of the Keri, the Septuagint, the Chaldee, and the Syriac, and which has been adopted by Lowth. According to this, it means that he had been appointed to gather in the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and gave his life to it. Other parts of this statement Isaiah 49:4-6 show, that by them he was rejected, and that then salvation was sent to other parts of the world. Luther renders it, ‘That Israel be not carried away.’

Yet shall I be - Or, “and” (ו v^e) I shall be glorious. The sense is, that as the result of this appointment he would be in some way glorious in the sight of Yahweh. Though he would be rejected by the nation, yet he would be honored by God. He would not only approve his character and work, but would secure his being honored among people by making him the light of the Gentiles (compare Isaiah 43:4).

And my God shall be my strength - He might be rejected by the people, but in God he would find an unfailing source of support and consolation. It is not needful to say, that this applies most accurately to the cbaracter of the Redeemer as exhibited in the New Testament.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 49:5. And now, saith the Lord - "And now, thus saith JEHOVAH"] The word כה coh, before אמר amar, is dropped out of the text: it is supplied by eight MSS. (two ancient) of Dr. Kennicott's, two of De Rossi's, and the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.

Though Israel be not gathered - "And that Israel unto him might be gathered"] Five MSS. (two ancient) confirm the Keri, or marginal correction of the Masoretes, לו lo, unto him, instead of לא lo, not, in the text; and so read Aquila; and the Chaldee, Septuagint, and Arabic omit the negative. But the Septuagint, MSS. Pachom, and I. D. II. express also the Keri לו lo by προς αυτον, to him.