top Isaiah ch 49
Greek: Septuagint (LXX)
English: John Barach
Chapter 49
The Servant’s Commission
1 ἀκούσατέ μου, νῆσοι, καὶ προσέχετε, ἔθνη· διὰ χρόνου πολλοῦ στήσεται, λέγει κύριος. ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομά μου 2 καὶ ἔθηκεν τὸ στόμα μου ὡσεὶ μάχαιραν ὀξεῖαν καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ ἔκρυψέν με, ἔθηκέν με ὡς βέλος ἐκλεκτὸν καὶ ἐν τῇ φαρέτρᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐσκέπασέν με. 3 καὶ εἶπέν μοι δοῦλός μου εἶ σύ, Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐν σοί δοξασθήσομαι. 4 καὶ ἐγὼ εἶπα κενῶς ἐκοπίασα καὶ εἰς μάταιον καὶ εἰς οὐδὲν ἔδωκα τὴν ἰσχύν μου· διὰ τοῦτο ἡ κρίσις μου παρὰ κυρίῳ, καὶ ὁ πόνος μου ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ μου. 1 Hear me, you islands, and pay attention, you nations; after a long time it shall stand, says the Lord. From the womb of my mother he called my name, 2 and he made my mouth like a sharp sword and hid me under the shelter of his hand; he made me like a choice arrow and covered me in his quiver. 3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, and in you I will be glorified." 4 And I said, "I have labored in vain, and for vanity and for nothing I have given my strength; because of this my judgment is with the Lord, and my toil is before my God."
5 καὶ νῦν οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ πλάσας με ἐκ κοιλίας δοῦλον ἑαυτῷ τοῦ συναγαγεῖν τὸν Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς αὐτόν συναχθήσομαι καὶ δοξασθήσομαι ἐναντίον κυρίου, καὶ ὁ θεός μου ἔσται μου ἰσχύς 6 καὶ εἶπέν μοι μέγα Σοὶ ἐστιν τοῦ κληθῆναί σὲ παῖδά μου τοῦ στῆσαι τὰς φυλὰς Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὴν διασπορὰν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπιστρέψαι· ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σὲ εἰς διαθήκην γένους εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναί σὲ εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς. 5 And now, thus says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be a servant to himself, to gather Jacob and Israel to him; I shall be gathered and glorified before the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said to me, "It is a great thing for you to be called my child, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to turn back the dispersion of Israel; behold, I have set you for a covenant of a race, for a light of the nations, that you may be for salvation unto the end of the earth."
The Restoration of the Despised
7 οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ ῥυσάμενός σὲ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ἁγιάσατε τὸν φαυλίζοντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τὸν βδελυσσόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν τῶν δούλων τῶν ἀρχόντων· βασιλεῖς ὄψονται αὐτὸν καὶ ἀναστήσονται, ἄρχοντες καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ ἕνεκεν κυρίου· ὅτι πιστός ἐστιν ὁ ἅγιος Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐξελεξάμην σε. 7 Thus says the Lord who rescued you, the God of Israel: "Sanctify him who despises his soul, him who is abhorred by the nations, the servant of rulers. Kings shall see him and shall rise up; princes also shall bow down to him for the sake of the Lord; because the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I chose you."
8 οὕτως λέγει κύριος καιρῷ δεκτῷ ἐπήκουσά σου καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ σωτηρίας ἐβοήθησά σοί καὶ ἔδωκά σὲ εἰς διαθήκην ἐθνῶν τοῦ καταστῆσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ κληρονομῆσαι κληρονομίαν ἐρήμου, 9 λέγοντα τοῖς ἐν δεσμοῖς ἐξέλθατε, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῷ σκότει ἀνακαλυφθῆναι. καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν βοσκηθήσονται, καὶ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς τρίβοις ἡ νομὴ αὐτῶν· 10 οὐ πεινάσουσιν οὐδὲ διψήσουσιν, οὐδὲ πατάξει αὐτοὺς καύσων οὐδὲ ὁ ἥλιος, ἀλλὰ ὁ ἐλεῶν αὐτοὺς παρακαλέσει καὶ διὰ πηγῶν ὑδάτων ἄξει αὐτούς· 11 καὶ θήσω πᾶν ὄρος εἰς ὁδὸν καὶ πᾶσαν τρίβον εἰς βόσκημα αὐτοῖς. 12 ἰδοὺ οὗτοι πόρρωθεν ἔρχονται, οὗτοι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ καὶ οὗτοι ἀπὸ θαλάσσης, ἄλλοι δὲ ἐκ γῆς Περσῶν. 8 Thus says the Lord: "In an acceptable time I heard you, and in a day of salvation I helped you; and I gave you for a covenant of the nations to establish the land and to inherit the inheritance of the desert, 9 saying to those in bonds, 'Go forth,' and to those in darkness, 'Be revealed.' And in all their ways they shall be fed, and in all the paths shall be their pasture. 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, nor shall the scorching heat nor the sun strike them, but he who has mercy on them will comfort [them] and lead them through springs of water. 11 And I will make every mountain into a way and every path into a pasture for them. 12 Behold, these come from afar, these from the north and these from the sea, and others from the land of the Persians."
Zion Comforted
13 εὐφραίνεσθε, οὐρανοί, καὶ ἀγαλλιάσθω ἡ γῆ, ῥηξάτωσαν τὰ ὄρη εὐφροσύνην καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι ἠλέησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς ταπεινοὺς τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ παρεκάλεσεν. 13 Be glad, O heavens, and let the earth exult! Let the mountains break forth with gladness and the hills with righteousness, because God has shown mercy to his people and has comforted the humble of his people.
Promise to Zion
14 εἶπεν δὲ Σιὼν ἐγκατέλιπέν με κύριος, καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐπελάθετό μου. 15 μὴ ἐπιλήσεται γυνὴ τοῦ παιδίου αὐτῆς τοῦ μὴ ἐλεῆσαι τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας αὐτῆς; εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιλάθοιτο ταῦτα γυνή, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ οὐκ ἐπιλήσομαί σου, εἶπεν κύριος. 14 But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." 15 "Will a woman forget her child so as not to have mercy on the offspring of her womb? Even if a woman should forget these, yet I will not forget you," said the Lord.
16 ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τῶν χειρῶν μου ἐζωγράφησά σου τὰ τείχη, καὶ ἐνώπιόν μου εἶ διὰ παντός·1 17 καὶ ταχὺ οἰκοδομηθήσῃ ὑφ' ὧν καθῃρέθης, καὶ οἱ ἐρημώσαντές σὲ ἐκ σου ἐξελεύσονται. 16 "Behold, I have painted your walls upon my hands, and you are before me always. 17 And you shall quickly be rebuilt by those by whom you were torn down, and those who desolated you shall depart from you."
The Ingathering of Children
18 ἆρον κύκλῳ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου καὶ ἰδὲ πάντας, ἰδοὺ συνήχθησαν καὶ ἤλθοσαν πρὸς σέ· ζῶ ἐγώ, λέγει κύριος, ὅτι πάντας αὐτοὺς ἐνδύσῃ καὶ περιθήσῃ αὐτοὺς ὡς κόσμον νύμφης. 19 ὅτι τὰ ἔρημά σου καὶ τὰ διεφθαρμένα καὶ τὰ πεπτωκότα νῦν στενοχωρήσει ἀπὸ τῶν κατοικούντων, καὶ μακρυνθήσονται ἀπὸ σου οἱ καταπίνοντές σε. 20 ἐροῦσιν γὰρ εἰς τὰ ὦτά σου οἱ υἱοί σου οὓς ἀπολώλεκας στενός μοι ὁ τόπος, ποίησόν μοι τόπον ἵνα κατοικήσω. 21 καὶ ἐρεῖς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου τίς ἐγέννησέν μοι τούτους; ἐγὼ δὲ ἄτεκνος καὶ χήρα, τούτους δὲ τίς ἐξέθρεψέν μοι; ἐγὼ δὲ κατελείφθην μόνη, οὗτοι δέ μοι ποῦ ἦσαν; 18 Lift up your eyes in a circle and see them all; behold, they have gathered and come to you. "As I live," says the Lord, "you shall put them all on [like a garment] and clothe yourself with them like the ornament of a bride." 19 For your desert places and the corrupted and the fallen places shall now be too narrow for those inhabiting [them], and those who swallowed you up shall be far away. 20 For your sons, whom you had lost, shall say in your ears, "The place is narrow for me; make a place for me that I may dwell." 21 And you will say in your heart, "Who begot these for me? I was childless and a widow, but who reared these for me? I was left alone; where were these for me?"
22 οὕτως λέγει κύριος ἰδοὺ αἴρω εἰς τὰ ἔθνη τὴν χεῖρά μου καὶ εἰς τὰς νήσους ἀρῶ σύσσημόν μου, καὶ ἄξουσιν τοὺς υἱούς σου ἐν κόλπῳ, τὰς δὲ θυγατέρας σου ἐπ' ὤμων ἀροῦσιν, 23 καὶ ἔσονται βασιλεῖς τιθηνοί σου, αἱ δὲ ἄρχουσαι τροφοί σου· ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς προσκυνήσουσίν σοί καὶ τὸν χοῦν τῶν ποδῶν σου λείξουσιν· καὶ γνώσῃ ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσῃ. 22 Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I lift up my hand to the nations and I will raise my signal-flag to the islands; and they shall bring your sons in [their] bosom, and they shall carry your daughters on [their] shoulders. 23 And kings shall be your foster-fathers, and their princesses your nurses; they shall bow down to you upon the face of the earth and lick the dust of your feet. And you shall know that I am the Lord, and you shall not be ashamed."
The Mighty Rescuer
24 μὴ λήμψεταί τις παρὰ γίγαντος σκῦλα; καὶ ἐὰν αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ τις ἀδίκως, σωθήσεται; 25 οὕτως λέγει κύριος ἐάν τις αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ γίγαντα, λήμψεται σκῦλα· λαμβάνων δὲ παρὰ ἰσχύοντος σωθήσεται· ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν κρίσιν, σου κρινῶ καὶ ἐγὼ τοὺς υἱούς σου ῥύσομαι· 26 καὶ φάγονται οἱ θλίψαντές σὲ τὰς σάρκας αὐτῶν καὶ πίονται ὡς οἶνον νέον τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν καὶ μεθυσθήσονται, καὶ αἰσθανθήσεται πᾶσα σὰρξ ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ ῥυσάμενός σὲ καὶ ἀντιλαμβανόμενος ἰσχύος Ἰακώβ. 24 Shall anyone take spoils from a giant? And if anyone takes a captive unjustly, shall he be saved? 25 Thus says the Lord: "If anyone should take a giant captive, he shall receive spoils; and taking [them] from a strong man, he shall be saved. I will judge your case, and I will rescue your sons. 26 And those who afflicted you shall eat their own flesh, and they shall drink their own blood like new wine and be drunk; and all flesh shall perceive that I am the Lord who rescued you and the one who takes hold of the strength of Jacob."