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I Will Give You as a Light of the Nations

¹ Listen to Me, O ^(C1)coastlands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
^(C2)Yahweh called Me from the womb;
From the ^(F1)body of My mother He made My name to be remembered.

² He has set My ^(C1)mouth like a sharp sword;
In the ^(C2)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also set Me as a ^(F1)select ^(C3)arrow;
He has hidden Me in His quiver.

³ He said to Me, "^(C1)You are My Servant, Israel,
^(C2)In Whom I will ^(F1)show forth My beautiful glory."

⁴ But I said, "I have ^(C1)toiled in vain;
I have spent My might for ^(F1)nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with Yahweh,
And My ^(C2)reward with My God."

⁵ So now says ^(C1)Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To return Jacob back to Him, so that ^(C2)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am ^(C3)glorified in the sight of Yahweh,
And My God is My ^(C4)strength),

⁶ He says, "It is too ^(F1)small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the ^(C1)preserved ones of Israel to return;
I will also give You as a ^(C2)light ^(F2)of the nations
So that My salvation may ^(F3)reach to the ^(C3)end of the earth."

⁷ Thus says Yahweh, the ^(C1)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the ^(C2)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
"^(C3)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also ^(C4)bow down,
Because of Yahweh who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You."

⁸ Thus says Yahweh,

"In an ^(C1)acceptable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will ^(C2)guard You and ^(C3)give You for a covenant of the people,
To ^(C4)establish the land, to make them inherit the desolate ^(F1)inheritance;

⁹ Saying to those who are ^(C1)bound, 'Go forth,'
To those who are in darkness, '^(F1)Show yourselves.'
Along the roads they will ^(F2)feed,
And their pasture will be on all ^(C2)bare heights.

¹⁰ "They will ^(C1)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching ^(C2)heat or sun strike them down;
For ^(C3)He who has compassion on them will ^(C4)guide them
And will lead them to ^(C5)springs of water.

¹¹ "I will set all ^(C1)My mountains as a road,
And My ^(C2)highways will be raised up.

¹² "Behold, these will come ^(C1)from afar;
And behold, these will come from the ^(C2)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim."

^13 (C1)Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For ^(C2)Yahweh has comforted His people
And will ^(C3)have compassion on His afflicted.

Promise to Zion

¹⁴ But Zion said, "Yahweh has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me."

¹⁵ "Can a woman forget her infant
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^(C1)I will not forget you.

¹⁶ "Behold, I have ^(C1)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^(C2)walls are continually before Me.

¹⁷ "Your ^(F1)builders hurry;
Your ^(C1)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.

¹⁸ "^(C1)Lift up your eyes and look around;
^(C2)All of them gather together; ^(C3)they come to you.
^(C4)As I live," declares Yahweh,
"You will surely ^(C5)put on all of them as ^(F1)jewels and bind them on as a bride.

¹⁹ "For ^(C1)your ^(F1)devastated and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be ^(C2)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^(C3)swallowed you will be far away.

²⁰ "The ^(C1)children of ^(F1)whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
'The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.'

²¹ "Then you will ^(C1)say in your heart,
'Who has borne these for me?
Indeed, I have been bereaved of my children
And am ^(C2)barren, an ^(C3)exile and a wanderer.
And who has reared these?
Behold, I ^(C4)remained alone;
^(F1)(C5)From where did these come?'"

²² Thus says Lord Yahweh,

"Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And make high My ^(C1)standard to the peoples;
And they will ^(C2)bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be lifted up on their shoulders.

²³ "^(C1)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^(C2)bow down to you with their ^(F1)faces to the earth
And ^(C3)lick the dust of your feet;
And you will ^(C4)know that I am Yahweh;
Those who ^(C5)hope in Me will ^(C6)not be put to shame.

²⁴ "^(C1)Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of the ^(F1)righteous be granted escape?"