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Salvation Reaches to the Ends of the Earth

¹ Listen to Me, you ^(C1)islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
^(C2)The LORD called Me from the womb;
From the ^(F1)body of My mother He named Me.

² He has made My ^(C1)mouth like a sharp sword,
In the ^(C2)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a sharpened ^(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 show My glory."

⁴ But I said, "I have ^(C1)labored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and futility;
Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the LORD,
And My ^(C2)reward is with My God."

⁵ And now says ^(C1)the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that ^(C2)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am ^(C3)honored in the sight of the LORD,
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 restore the ^(C1)protected ones of Israel;
I will also make You a ^(C2)light ^(F2)of the nations
So that My salvation may ^(F3)reach to the ^(C3)end of the earth."

⁷ This is what the LORD, the ^(C1)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
Says to the ^(F1)(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 the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You."

⁸ This is what the LORD says:
"At a ^(C1)favorable time I answered You,
And on a day of salvation I helped You;
And I will ^(C2)watch over You and ^(C3)make You a covenant of the people,
To ^(F1)(C4)restore the land, to give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands;

⁹ Saying to those who are ^(C1)bound, '^(F1)Go free,'
To those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'
They will feed along the roads,
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)lead them,
And He will guide them to ^(C5)springs of water.

¹¹ "I will make all ^(C1)My mountains 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 Aswan."

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

Promise to Zion

¹⁴ But 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 ^(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 leave you.

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

¹⁹ "For ^(C1)your ruins and deserted places and your destroyed land—
Now you will certainly be ^(C2)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^(C3)swallowed you will be far away.

²⁰ "The ^(C1)children ^(F1)you lost 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 fathered these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And ^(C2)cannot conceive, and I am an ^(C3)exile, and a wanderer?
And who has raised these?
Behold, I was ^(C4)left alone;
^(F1)(C5)Where are these from?'"

²² This is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says:

"Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My ^(C1)flag to the peoples;
And they will ^(C2)bring your sons ^(F2)in their arms,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

²³ "^(C1)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^(C2)bow down to you with their faces to the ground
And ^(C3)lick the dust from your feet;
And you will ^(C4)know that I am the LORD;
Those who hopefully ^(C5)wait for Me will ^(C6)not be put to shame.

²⁴ "^(C1)Can the prey be taken from a mighty man,
Or the captives of ^(F1)a tyrant be rescued?"