1. Listen to me, you coastlands!Pay attention, you people who live far away!The Lord summoned me from birth;he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world.
2. He made my mouth like a sharp sword,he hid me in the hollow of his hand;he made me like a sharpened arrow,he hid me in his quiver.
3. He said to me, “You are my servant,Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.”
4. But I thought, “I have worked in vain;I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.”But the Lord will vindicate me;my God will reward me.
5. So now the Lord says,the one who formed me from birth to be his servant – he did this to restore Jacob to himself,so that Israel might be gathered to him;and I will be honored in the Lord’s sight,for my God is my source of strength –
6. he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,and restore the remnant of Israel?I will make you a light to the nations,so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
7. This is what the Lord,the protector of Israel, their Holy One, saysto the one who is despised and rejected by nations,a servant of rulers:“Kings will see and rise in respect,princes will bow down,because of the faithful Lord,the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
8. This is what the Lord says:“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;in the day of deliverance I will help you;I will protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people,to rebuild the landand to reassign the desolate property.