Isaiah 49

Isaiah 49 belongs to the prophecies of comfort that begin in Isaiah 40. It follows Isaiah 48, with its summons to go forth from Babylon, and here the Servant of the LORD speaks directly in the first person. The chapter contains the second of the four passages that scholars call the "Servant Songs."

Outline

• Verses 1–4 The Servant addresses the isles and the peoples from far. The LORD called him from the womb, made his mouth like a sharp sword and himself like a polished shaft, and said, "Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified." The Servant laments that he has labored in vain, yet confesses that his reward is with his God.
• Verses 5–7 The LORD declares that, beyond restoring Jacob, he will make the Servant a light to the Gentiles so that his salvation may reach to the end of the earth, and that kings will rise before the one who is despised.
• Verses 8–13 In an acceptable time the prisoners are set free and return from far, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Sinim. The section closes with a call for the heavens and the earth to sing.
• Verses 14–21 When Zion says she has been forsaken, the LORD answers that even if a mother should forget her nursing child, he will not forget Zion, for he has graven her upon the palms of his hands. The desolate land becomes too narrow for the children who return.
• Verses 22–26 The nations carry Zion's children back in their arms, and the LORD delivers the captives of the mighty, so that all flesh will know him as Savior and Redeemer.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 49:6 "I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth" — shows the scope of salvation extending beyond Israel to the nations.
• Isaiah 49:8 "In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee" — a verse quoted directly in the New Testament.
• Isaiah 49:15 "Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee" — portrays the love of God as greater than a mother's love.

People and Places

• The Servant of the LORD: The speaker in this chapter, called by God to bring Israel back and to be a light to the Gentiles.
• The LORD, Jacob: Here Jacob refers to the people of Israel.
• Zion: A name for Jerusalem, personified here as a mother bereaved of her children.
• The land of Sinim: Its location is uncertain. Some modern translations render it as the region of Aswan in southern Egypt.

Points for Reflection

The identity of the Servant is a long-standing question. Verse 3 calls the Servant "Israel," yet verses 5–6 give him a mission to bring Israel back, seemingly distinguishing the two. Jewish interpretation generally identifies the Servant with the people of Israel or its remnant, while some interpreters identify him with the prophet himself. Christian tradition reads the Servant as Jesus Christ and connects him with the Suffering Servant. Views on the authorship of Isaiah 40–55 are divided: some attribute these chapters to a different prophet of the exilic period, while others regard them as the work of Isaiah himself.

The chapter's connections with the New Testament are also clear. In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas quote verse 6 as the basis for their mission to the Gentiles, and the song of Simeon (Luke 2:32) uses the expression "a light to lighten the Gentiles." Second Corinthians 6:2 quotes verse 8, and Revelation 7:9–17 echoes the language of verse 10. In Galatians 1:15–16, Paul describes his own calling in terms that resemble verse 1.

In Korean Churches

Verses 15–16 are frequently cited in sermons on the theme of comfort and during pastoral visits, and verse 6 is often used as a sermon text on Mission Sunday or at the commissioning of missionaries.