218 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
218 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
The LORD's Servant Commissioned
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# Chapter 49
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1. Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
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Pay attention, you who are far away!
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The LORD called me before my birth;
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from within the womb he called me by name.
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2. He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
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He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
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I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
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3. He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel,
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and you will bring me glory."
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4. I replied, "But my work seems so useless!
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I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
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Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand;
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I will trust God for my reward."
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5. And now the LORD speaks--
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the one who formed me in my mother's womb to be his servant,
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who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
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The LORD has honored me,
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and my God has given me strength.
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6. He says, "You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
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I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
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and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
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7. The LORD, the Redeemer
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and Holy One of Israel,
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says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,
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to the one who is the servant of rulers:
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"Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.
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Princes will also bow low
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because of the LORD, the faithful one,
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the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
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Promises of Israel's Restoration
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8. This is what the LORD says:
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"At just the right time, I will respond to you.
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On the day of salvation I will help you.
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I will protect you and give you to the people
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as my covenant with them.
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Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel
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and assign it to its own people again.
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9. I will say to the prisoners, 'Come out in freedom,'
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and to those in darkness, 'Come into the light.'
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They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures
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and on hills that were previously bare.
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10. They will neither hunger nor thirst.
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The searing sun will not reach them anymore.
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For the LORD in his mercy will lead them;
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he will lead them beside cool waters.
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11. And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.
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The highways will be raised above the valleys.
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12. See, my people will return from far away,
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from lands to the north and west,
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and from as far south as Egypt."
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13. Sing for joy, O heavens!
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Rejoice, O earth!
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Burst into song, O mountains!
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For the LORD has comforted his people
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and will have compassion on them in their suffering.
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14. Yet Jerusalem says, "The LORD has deserted us;
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the Lord has forgotten us."
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15. "Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
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Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
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But even if that were possible,
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I would not forget you!
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16. See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
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Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem's walls in ruins.
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17. Soon your descendants will come back,
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and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
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18. Look around you and see,
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for all your children will come back to you.
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As surely as I live," says the LORD,
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"they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.
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19. "Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land
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will soon be crowded with your people.
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Your enemies who enslaved you
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will be far away.
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20. The generations born in exile will return and say,
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'We need more room! It's crowded here!'
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21. Then you will think to yourself,
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'Who has given me all these descendants?
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For most of my children were killed,
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and the rest were carried away into exile.
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I was left here all alone.
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Where did all these people come from?
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Who bore these children?
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Who raised them for me?'"
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22. This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
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"See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.
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They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;
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they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.
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23. Kings and queens will serve you
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and care for all your needs.
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They will bow to the earth before you
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and lick the dust from your feet.
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Then you will know that I am the LORD.
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Those who trust in me will never be put to shame."
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24. Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior?
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Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?
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25. But the LORD says,
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"The captives of warriors will be released,
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and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.
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For I will fight those who fight you,
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and I will save your children.
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26. I will feed your enemies with their own flesh.
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They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood.
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All the world will know that I, the LORD,
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am your Savior and your Redeemer,
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the Mighty One of Israel."
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