Isa 49:1 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
Isa 49:2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.
Isa 49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.”
Isa 49:4 But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”
Isa 49:5 And now the LORD says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength—
Isa 49:6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Isa 49:7 This is what the LORD says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
The Restoration of Israel
Isa 49:8 This is what the LORD says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
Isa 49:9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.
Isa 49:10 They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
Isa 49:11 I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up.
Isa 49:12 See, they will come from afar— some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.”
Isa 49:13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
Isa 49:14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
Isa 49:15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
Isa 49:16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
Isa 49:17 Your children hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you.
Isa 49:18 Lift up your eyes and look around; all your children gather and come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.
Isa 49:19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.
Isa 49:20 The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’
Isa 49:21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?'”
Isa 49:22 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips.
Isa 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
Isa 49:24 Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives be rescued from the fierce?
Isa 49:25 But this is what the LORD says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.
Isa 49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
1 Christ, being sent to the Jews, complains of them. 5 He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises. 13 God’s love is perpetual to his church. 18 The ample restoration of the church. 24 The powerful deliverance out of captivity.
Isa 49:1 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
Isaiah addresses the Gentile nations bordering on the Mediterranean. This verse begins an important section of the book of Isaiah (chs. 49–53) in which the “servant” of the Lord is primarily Christ (see on ch. 41:8).
The theme of this section is the glorious mission of God’s “servant” and His ministry in this world. Israel is to be restored and the Gentiles are to be gathered in.
Called from my mother’s womb. From the moment of conception Christ was set apart for one purpose, to bring salvation to men (Matt. 1:20, 21). The prophetic picture of Messiah and His work is unsurpassed.
Isa 49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.
Like a sharp sword. That is, Messiah’s message would be effective. The sword is a fitting symbol of the cutting, penetrating power of the Word of God (see Hosea 6:5; Eph. 6:17; 2 Thess. 2:8; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16; 19:15, 21).
In his quiver.
Christ was kept by God till the hour of His mission had fully come (Mark 1:15; Gal. 4:4). With the arrival of the time foretold by Daniel (see on Dan. 9:25; Mark 1:5), Christ came into the world and swiftly accomplished His mission.
Isa 49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.”
Isa 49:4 But I said, “I have laboured in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”
I have laboured in vain. Israel, addressed in v. 3, now replies. Misfortune discouraged the faithful in Israel, and the culmination yet to come in the Babylonian captivity would make them feel that it was futile to hope longer for the glorious destiny promised Israel.
The days were prolonged and that every vision had failed (see Eze. 12:22–28). In a similar way it was also true that Christ, at times, felt keenly disappointed that His ministry for men was so little appreciated.
Isa 49:5 And now the LORD says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honoured in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength—
And now. Messiah is again the speaker. Christ came to bring Israel back again to God (see Eze. 34:11–16; Matt. 15:24).
Isa 49:6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
A light for the Gentiles. Though Messiah came as a Shepherd to gather the lost sheep of Israel (see on v. 5), He had “other sheep … not of this fold” (John 10:16). He came to be the Saviour, not alone of Israel, but of the world (John 3:16). National barriers were to be broken down (Eph. 2:14) and His message of hope was to go to the ends of the earth (Matt. 24:14). For a comprehensive discussion of Israel’s mission to the world see pp. 25–38.
Isa 49:7 This is what the LORD says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Messiah was to come as a “servant” (chs. 49:5; 52:13; see on ch. 41:8), and to be despised by men (chs. 52:14; 53:2, 3), but the hour would come when the most honored men of earth would fall on their knees before Him and do Him homage (see Ps. 72:10, 11; see on Isa. 45:23; 52:13–15; see also pp. 28–30).
No man was ever more hated than He, and none more loved. Because He humbled Himself He was given “a name which is above every name,” that before Him “every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:8–10).
The Restoration of Israel
Isa 49:8 This is what the LORD says: “In the time of my favour I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
Time of my favour. Literally, “in a time of [divine] favour,” here referring to the life and ministry of Christ (see Isa. 61:2; cf. Luke 4:19). Christ came into the world to mediate the new covenant between God and man (see Jer. 31:31–34; Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:6–13).
Desolate inheritances.
A figurative expression. Messiah would bring to His people a realization of all the promises made to the fathers. They were to become “joint-heirs” with Him (Rom. 8:17; cf. Gal. 3:29; Eph. 3:6; Heb. 1:14). The earth had become spiritually desolate and barren because of sin (see DA 36, 37), but when the time came God sent His Son into the world (Gal. 4:4), and through Him poured “upon the world a flood of healing grace that was never to be obstructed or withdrawn till the plan of salvation should be fulfilled” (DA 37).
The coming of the Messiah ushered in that “acceptable year of the Lord” that was destined to “raise up the former desolations” and to “repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations” (Isa. 61:1–4; cf. Luke 4:18, 19).
Isa 49:9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.
In darkness. That is, the darkness of ignorance and sin. Christ came to earth as the Light of the world, to lead men out of darkness into the glorious, saving light of His gospel (John 1:4, 5, 9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35, 36, 46; 1 Peter 2:9).
Isa 49:10 They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
The picture is that of a flock cared for by a kindly shepherd, lacking neither pasture nor water (see Ps. 23; John 10:11, 14).
Heat. That is, “parching heat,” as of a dry wind off the desert.
Isa 49:11 I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up.
Highways. These “highways” were to serve for the proclamation of the gospel to all nations, and for men to journey to Jerusalem to worship the true God (see on chs. 11:16; 35:8; 40:3; 62:10; see pp. 28, 29).
Isa 49:12 See, they will come from afar— some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan.”
From afar. From all lands the exiles of Israel would return to their homeland, and from the ends of the earth men would come to the true light (see on v. 11; see ch. 56:6–8).
Isa 49:13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion
Isa 49:14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
God had great plans for His people, but they thought He had forgotten them (see on Isa. 40:27; 54:6, 7; cf. Ps. 137:1–4).
Isa 49:15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
The strongest love known to human beings is that of a mother for her child, and this love Isaiah uses to illustrate the love of God for His people.
Isa 49:16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
Graven you. Or, “inscribed” or “engraved.” Israel feared that God had forgotten the covenant promises made to the fathers (see on v. 14). The state of Israel in Isaiah’s time may seem to imply such forgetfulness. But Isaiah declares that they have no conception of the depth and enduring quality of His love for them as a people (see Deut. 7:7, 8). Throughout eternity the nail prints in the hands of Christ will be a perpetual reminder of His love for sinners (see John 15:13).
Your walls. That is, the walls of Zion, symbolic of the strength and welfare of the nation.
Isa 49:17 Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you.
That is, the Jews of the Exile, who would return to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:10).
Your destroyers. The Assyrians, and, more specifically, the Babylonians. The destroyers of Jerusalem would themselves be destroyed.
Isa 49:18 Lift up your eyes and look around; all your children gather and come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.
This refers to the returning exiles (see ch. 60:4, 5), who, together with Gentile proselytes, would once more rear the walls of Zion (ch. 60:3,4).
Zion is represented as covered with her inhabitants like a bride arrayed in her finery. The returning exiles and the proselytes would be to her as an ornament of grace and beauty (see Isa. 62:3; Mal. 3:17).
Isa 49:19 “For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, Will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away.
Too small. Judah would be restored and repopulated. If the restored nation had been faithful, the increase in population would have made the original territory far too small (see Isa. 54:2, 3; Zech. 10:10).
Isa 49:20 The children you will have, After you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.’
The first two clauses of v. 20 are from two Hebrew words meaning, literally, “the children of your bereavement,” that is, “the children born in the time of your bereavement” (RSV). Zion had lost her sons and daughters, and had been put away by her husband, Jehovah; nevertheless, she would again have children (see ch. 54:1).
Isa 49:21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?’
Zion, thinking herself forsaken and desolate (see on v. 14), is overwhelmed at her latter state (see ch. 54:1).
In anticipation of the Babylonian captivity, Isaiah looks forward by inspiration and hears captive Israel speak of the experience that was to come to her by “the rivers of Babylon” (Ps. 137:1).
Isa 49:22 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips.
The nations would assist in the return of the Jews to their homeland and in the restoration of Zion after the Captivity (see on Ezra 7:15; 8:25–27).
Isa 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
The rulers of earth would assist in the return of the Jews from Babylon and the restoration of Zion.
Isa 49:24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered?
A rhetorical question, the answer to which is provided in vs. 25, 26.
Isa 49:25 But thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children.
The captives. First, the Hebrew captives, those who had been carried off by the Assyrians, and those who were to be taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and then, figuratively, all who have been held captive by Satan.
Will be saved. The answer is emphatic—God can save and will save. His people have nothing to fear. They are not to focus their attention on the strength of those who oppress them, but on the might of their Great Deliverer.
Your children. That is, Zion’s children (see vs. 14–22). Here Isaiah refers specifically to the Hebrew exiles scattered in foreign lands. In common Hebrew usage “children,” literally, “sons,” is synonymous with “descendants.”
Isaiah is not speaking particularly of “children” in the sense the English word commonly conveys (2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7, 15; Ps. 149:2; etc.). Those who oppose God and His people will turn against one another (Eze. 38:21; Zech. 14:13), and thus destroy themselves. It is the privilege of parents today to claim for their children the promise here made to ancient Israel, for our little ones are objects of divine love.
Isa 49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”