Hear, you islands, to me and pay attention, nations, from afar. יהוה from the womb called me; from my mother's insides he remembered my name.

And he made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me, and he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he concealed me.

And he said to me, 'You are my servant, Yisra'el, in whom I will be glorified.'

But I said, 'In vain I have labored; for emptiness and vanity I have spent my strength.' Surely my judgment is with יהוה, and my reward is with my Elohim.

And now says יהוה, the one forming me from the womb to be a servant to him, to bring Ya'aqov back to him, and Yisra'el will be gathered to him. And I will be honored in the eyes of יהוה, and my Elohim was my strength.

And he said, 'It is too little for you to be my servant to raise up the tribes of Ya'aqov, and to bring back the preserved of Yisra'el. And I will give you for a light of nations, to be my salvation to the end of the earth.'

Thus says יהוה, the Redeemer of Yisra'el, his Holy One, to the despised soul, to the nation abhorred, to the servant of rulers: Kings will see and rise, princes, and they will bow down, because of יהוה, who is faithful, the Holy One of Yisra'el, who chose you.

Thus says יהוה, 'In a time of favor I answered you, and in a day of salvation I helped you. And I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of people, to establish the land, to cause to inherit desolate inheritances.'

To say to the prisoners, 'Go out'; to those in darkness, 'Be revealed.' On the roads they will pasture, and on all bare heights their pasture.

They will not hunger and they will not thirst, and the heat and sun will not strike them. For he who has mercy on them will lead them, and to springs of water he will guide them.

And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways will be raised.

Look, these will come from afar, and look, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.

Sing, heavens, and rejoice, earth! And break forth, mountains, in singing! For יהוה has comforted his people, and will have mercy on his afflicted.

But Tsiyon said, 'יהוה has forsaken me, and Adonai has forgotten me.'

Can a woman forget her nursing child, to have mercy on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

Look, on my palms I have inscribed you; your walls are before me always.

Your builders will hurry; your destroyers and your devastators will go out from you.

Lift up your eyes all around and see; all of them are gathered, they have come to you. As I live, declares יהוה, you will surely put on all of them as an ornament, and bind them on like a bride.

For your ruins and your desolate places, and your land of destruction, for now you will be too narrow for the inhabitants, and those who swallowed you will be far away.

Still the children of your bereavement will say in your ears, 'The place is too narrow for me; give me space to dwell.'

And you will say in your heart, 'Who bore me these? And I was bereaved and a wanderer; exiled and turned away. And these, who raised them? Look, I was left alone; where are these?'

Thus says Adonai יהוה, 'Look, I will lift my hand to the nations, and I will raise my banner to the peoples. And they will bring your sons in their embrace, and your daughters will be carried on shoulders.'

And kings will be your nursing fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With faces to the earth they will bow down to you, and they will lick the dust of your feet. And you will know that I am יהוה, those who wait for me will not be ashamed.

Will the spoil be taken from the mighty man, or will the captive of the righteous be delivered?

For thus says יהוה, 'Even the spoil of the mighty man will be taken, and the prey of the terrible one will be delivered. And I will contend with your contender, and I will save your children.'

And I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and with their own blood they will get drunk. And all flesh will know that I am יהוה, your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Ya'aqov.