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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.

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?

22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?

25 But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

<html><b>called me from the womb</b> When I was still in the womb, the thought came before Him that my name should be Isaiah (יְשַׁעְיָה) to prophesy salvations (יְשׁוּעוֹת) and consolations.</html>

<html><b>And He made my mouth like a sharp sword</b> to castigate the wicked and to prophesy retribution upon them. <b>He concealed me in the shadow of His hand</b> that they be unable to harm me. <b>into a polished arrow</b> Heb. בָּרוּר, [lit. clear,] polished, kler in O.F. <b>in His quiver</b> A receptacle used as a case for arrows, called koujjbre in O.F.</html>

<html><b>And I said, I toiled in vain</b> when I saw that I admonish them and they do not obey. <b>Yet surely my right is with the Lord</b> He knows that it is not from me but from them [i.e., He knows that their failure to obey is not due to my laziness, but to their obstinacy].</html>

<html><b>shall be gathered to Him</b> To Him they shall return in repentance.</html>

<html><b>And He said, “It is too light for you to be, etc.”</b> In My eyes, it is too small a gift that you should have this alone, that you be My servant to establish Jacob and to bring back to Me the besieged of Israel, and behold I add more to you, “And I will make you a light for the nations,” to prophesy concerning the downfall of Babylon, which will be a joy for the whole world. <b>and the besieged of Israel</b> Heb. וּנְצוּרֵי. Comp. (Prov. 7:10) “With a heart surrounded by evil thoughts (וּנְצֻרַת),” that their heart is surrounded by the inclination of sinful thoughts, like a city besieged by a bulwark of those who besiege it.</html>

<html><b>about him who is despised of men</b> Heb. לִבְזֹה נֶפֶשׁ, a despised soul, about Israel, who are despised. <b>about him whom the nation abhors</b> About him whom the nation abhors, and he is a slave to those who rule over him. <b>Kings shall see</b> him and rise. <b>Who is faithful</b> to keep His promise that He promised Abraham concerning the kingdoms, as the matter is stated (Gen. 15:17): “And behold a smoking stove, etc.” <b>the Holy One of Israel</b> is He, and He chose you.</html>

<html><b>In a time of favor</b> In the time of prayer, when you seek My favor and appease Me. <b>and on a day of salvation</b> When you need salvation. <b>and I will watch you</b> Heb. וְאֶצָּרְךָ, and I will watch you. <b>for a people of a covenant</b> to be a people of a covenant to Me. <b>to establish a land</b> The land of Israel, chosen by Me from all lands.</html>

<html><b>To say to the prisoners, “Go out!”</b> At the time I will say to the prisoners of the exile, “Go out!” <b>rivers</b> Jonathan renders: נַגְדִּין, streams of water.</html>

<html><b>heat</b> Heb. שָׁרָב, heat.</html>

<html><b>And I will make all My mountains into a road</b> In contrast to what he said concerning the days of its ruin (supra 33:8) “The wayfarer has stopped,” now the wayfarers shall return and go therein. <b>and My highways shall be raised</b> In contrast to what he said (ibid.): “Highways have become desolate,” deteriorated with no one to repair them, now My highways shall be raised, they shall repair the deterioration of the roads and raise them as is customary, with smooth pebbles and earth.</html>

<html><b>from the land of Sinim</b> [Jonathan renders:] from the southland.</html>

<html><b>for the Lord has consoled</b> His people.</html>

<html><b>And Zion said</b> She thought that I had forgotten her.</html>

<html><b>Shall a woman forget her sucking child</b> Heb. עוּלָהּ, similar to עוֹלֵל. <b>from having mercy on the child of her womb</b> Heb. מֵרֶחֶם בֶּן-בִּטְנָהּ. <b>These too shall forget</b> Even if these forget, I will not forget you.</html>

<html><b>Behold on [My] hands</b> Heb. עַל-כַּפַּיִם [lit. on hands]. I see you as though you are engraved on My hands, to see you and always to remember you. Another explanation is: עַל-כַּפַּיִם “from upon the clouds of glory.” Comp. (Job 36:32) “On the clouds (כַּפַּיִם) He covered the rain.”</html>

<html><b>Your sons have hastened</b> to return.</html>

<html><b>you shall be crowded by the inhabitants</b> You shall be crowded by the multitude of inhabitants that shall come into your midst. The place shall be too narrow for them to build houses for themselves.</html>

<html><b>Your children of whom you were bereaved</b> [lit. the children of your bereavements.] The children of whom you were bereaved. <b>move over for me</b> [lit. approach for me.] Draw closer to another side for me, and I will dwell.</html>

<html><b>and solitary</b> solede in O.F. <b>rejected</b> Rejected by everyone. All say about me, “Turn away from her.”</html>

<html><b>My hand…My standard</b> A signal to bring the exiles. <b>a standard</b> Perka in O.F., [perche in modern French,] a pole. Comp. (supra 30:17) “And like a flagpole (וְכַנֵּס) on a hill.” It is a signal for gathering, and they place a cloth [a flag] on the end of it. <b>in their armpits</b> Ajjsela [aisela] in O.F., [aisselle in modern French]. Comp. Ezra (Neh. 5:13): “Also I shook out my armpit (חָצְנִי).”</html>

<html><b>Shall prey be taken from a mighty warrior</b> You think that it is impossible to take from Esau those captured from Jacob the righteous one.</html>

<html><b>and with your contender</b> Heb. יְרִיבֵךְ. And with your contender I will contend.</html>

<html><b>And those who taunt you I will feed</b> their flesh to the beasts of the field. The word מוֹנַיִךְ is an expression akin to (Lev. 25:14) “You shall not taunt (אַל תּוֹנוּ).” This denotes taunting with words, those who anger you with their revilings. <b>and as with sweet wine</b> Heb. וְכֶעָסִיס. The sweetness of wine. <b>they shall become drunk [from] their blood</b> So shall those accustomed to drink blood become drunk from their blood. Now who are they? These are the fowl of the heavens. So did Jonathan render this.</html>