Isaiah 49

²He has made my mouth like a sharp sword.

³He said to me, “You are my servant,

⁴But I said, “I have labored in vain.

⁵Now the LORD, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,

⁶Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob,

⁷The LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One,

⁸The LORD says, “I have answered you in an acceptable time.

⁹saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’;

¹⁰They shall not hunger nor thirst;

¹¹I will make all my mountains a road,

¹²Behold, these shall come from afar,

¹³Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth!

¹⁴But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

¹⁶Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.

¹⁷Your children hurry.

¹⁸Lift up your eyes all around, and see:

¹⁹“For, as for your waste and your desolate places,

²⁰The children of your bereavement will say in your ears,

²¹Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children

²²The Lord GOD says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,

²³Kings shall be your foster fathers,

²⁴Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty,

²⁵But the LORD says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,

²⁶I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh;