📖 Isaiah — Chapter 49 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Isaiah 49:1 RListen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Isaiah 49:2 And Rhe hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
Isaiah 49:3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Isaiah 49:4 Then I said, RI have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and Tmy work with my God.
Isaiah 49:5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, Rto bring Jacob again to him, TThough Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
Isaiah 49:6 And he said, RTIt is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the Tpreserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isaiah 49:7 Thus saith the LORD, Rthe Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him Twhom 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.
Isaiah 49:8 Thus saith the LORD, RIn an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to Testablish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
Isaiah 49:9 That thou mayest say Rto the prisoners, 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.
Isaiah 49:10 They Rshall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
Isaiah 49:11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
Isaiah 49:12 Behold, Rthese shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
Isaiah 49:13 Sing, RO heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isaiah 49:14 But Zion said, RThe LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Isaiah 49:15 Can Ra woman forget her sucking child, Tthat she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isaiah 49:16 Behold, RI have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
Isaiah 49:17 Thy Rchildren shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
Isaiah 49:18 RLift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather 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.
Isaiah 49:19 For Rthy 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.
Isaiah 49:20 The Rchildren which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
Isaiah 49:21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, Rseeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
Isaiah 49:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, RBehold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their Tarms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
Isaiah 49:23 And Rkings shall be thy Tnursing fathers, and their Tqueens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow 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 ashamed that wait for me.
Isaiah 49:24 RShall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the Tlawful captive delivered?
Isaiah 49:25 But thus saith the LORD, REven the Tcaptives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
Isaiah 49:26 And RI will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with Tsweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Isaiah 49:1–9 — The servant’s work reaches the nations
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The servant speaks of his calling and apparent labor in vain, yet entrusts judgment to God. Restoring Israel is joined to becoming a light of salvation to the ends of the earth.
Key Truth: Trust God with faithful work beyond visible results.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… called me from the womb; from the bowels of my ____ hath he made mention of my name.” (Isaiah 49:1)
Find it in Isaiah 49:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “And said unto me, Thou art my ____ , O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Isaiah 49:3)
Find it in Isaiah 49:3 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “That thou ____ say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are …” (Isaiah 49:9)
Find it in Isaiah 49:9 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Isaiah 49:10–18 — Zion is not forgotten
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The Lord guides and comforts his people, but Zion fears abandonment. The mother-and-child image and engraved palms answer with enduring remembrance and a vision of gathered children.
Key Truth: Bring feelings of abandonment to God’s faithful care.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have ____ upon his afflicted.” (Isaiah 49:13)
Find it in Isaiah 49:13 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “But ____ said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath …” (Isaiah 49:14)
Find it in Isaiah 49:14 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “____ up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather …” (Isaiah 49:18)
Find it in Isaiah 49:18 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Isaiah 49:19–26 — A restored community and its Redeemer
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Formerly empty places become crowded with returning children. Nations assist the gathering, oppressors are confronted, and the Lord is acknowledged as Savior and Redeemer.
Key Truth: Hope in the Redeemer’s power to restore.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “For thy ____ and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, …” (Isaiah 49:19)
Find it in Isaiah 49:19 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “And ____ shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing …” (Isaiah 49:23)
Find it in Isaiah 49:23 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “And I will ____ them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they …” (Isaiah 49:26)
Find it in Isaiah 49:26 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Acts 13:47 — Paul and Barnabas cite the servant’s light to the Gentiles.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Where can you keep serving while leaving the outcome with God?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What purpose is attached to the named servant?
2. How does the servant’s mission extend beyond restoring Jacob?
3. What does the mother-and-child comparison assure?
4. What do engraved palms and continually seen walls convey?
5. What answer meets fear of mighty captors?
Notes
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