Daily Bread

⁵ And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb^(P) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel^(Q) to himself,
for I am^[a] honored^(R) in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength^(S)—
⁶ he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant^(T)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.^(U)
I will also make you a light^(V) for the Gentiles,^(W)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”^(X)

⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel^(Y)—
to him who was despised^(Z) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings^(AA) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,^(AB)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,^(AC)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen^(AD) you.”

“In the time of my favor^(AE) I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;^(AF)
I will keep^(AG) you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,^(AH)
to restore the land^(AI)
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,^(AJ)
9 to say to the captives,^(AK) ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness,^(AL) ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.^(AM)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,^(AN)
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.^(AO)
He who has compassion^(AP) on them will guide^(AQ) them
    and lead them beside springs^(AR) of water.
¹¹ I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways^(AS) will be raised up.^(AT)
12 See, they will come from afar^(AU)—
    some from the north, some from the west,^(AV)
    some from the region of Aswan.^[b]”

¹³ Shout for joy,^(AW) you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;^(AX)
    burst into song, you mountains!^(AY)
For the Lord comforts^(AZ) his people
    and will have compassion^(BA) on his afflicted ones.^(BB)

¹⁴ But Zion^(BC) said, “The Lord has forsaken^(BD) me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵ “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child^(BE) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!^(BF)
16 See, I have engraved^(BG) you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls^(BH) are ever before me.
¹⁷ Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste^(BI) depart from you.
¹⁸ Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather^(BJ) and come to you.
As surely as I live,^(BK)” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear^(BL) them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

¹⁹ “Though you were ruined and made desolate^(BM)
    and your land laid waste,^(BN)
now you will be too small for your people,^(BO)
    and those who devoured^(BP) you will be far away.
²⁰ The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’^(BQ)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?^(BR)
I was bereaved^(BS) and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.^(BT)
    Who brought these^(BU) up?
I was left^(BV) all alone,^(BW)
    but these—where have they come from?’”

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner^(BY) to the peoples;
they will bring^(BZ) your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.^(CA)
23 Kings^(CB) will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.^(CC)
They will bow down^(CD) before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust^(CE) at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;^(CF)
    those who hope^(CG) in me will not be disappointed.^(CH)”

²⁴ Can plunder be taken from warriors,^(CI)
    or captives be rescued from the fierce^[c]?

“Yes, captives^(CJ) will be taken from warriors,^(CK)
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;^(CL)
I will contend with those who contend with you,^(CM)
    and your children I will save.^(CN)
26 I will make your oppressors^(CO) eat^(CP) their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood,^(CQ) as with wine.
Then all mankind will know^(CR)
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,^(CS)
    your Redeemer,^(CT) the Mighty One of Jacob.^(CU)”