The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

 1 ^aListen, O isles, unto me; and ^bhearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath ^ccalled 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 ^asword; 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 ^aservant, O Israel, in whom I will be ^bglorified.

 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 ^aformed 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 ^alight to the ^bGentiles, that thou mayest be my ^csalvation 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 ^atime have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a ^bcovenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to ^cinherit the desolate heritages;

 9 That thou mayest say to the ^aprisoners, 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 ^athirst; neither shall the heat nor ^bsun 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 ^ahighways shall be exalted.

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

 13 ¶^aSing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into ^bsinging, O mountains: for the Lord hath ^ccomforted his people, and will have ^dmercy upon his ^eafflicted.

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

 15 Can a ^awoman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not ^bforget 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 ^agather 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 ^astrait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.

 21 Then shalt ^athou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am ^bdesolate, 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 ^alift up mine hand to the ^bGentiles, and set up my ^cstandard to the people: and they shall bring thy ^dsons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

 23 And kings shall be thy ^anursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing ^bmothers: they shall ^cbow 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 ^dashamed 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 ^acontend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

 26 And I will feed them that ^aoppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall ^bknow that I the Lord am thy ^cSaviour and thy ^dRedeemer, the ^emighty One of Jacob.