Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.

Audite, insulæ, et attendite, populi de longe: Dominus ab utero vocavit me; de ventre matris meæ recordatus est nominis mei.

Listen, remote islands; pay heed to me, nations from far away. Ere ever I was born, the Lord sent me his summons, kept me in mind already, when I lay in my mother’s womb.

And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow: in his quiver he hath hidden me.

Et posuit os meum quasi gladium acutum, in umbra manus suæ protexit me, et posuit me sicut sagittam electam: in pharetra sua abscondit me.

Word of mine is sword of his, ready sharpened, under cover of his hand; arrow he has chosen out carefully, hidden yet in his quiver.

And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory.

Et dixit mihi: Servus meus es tu Israël, quia in te gloriabor.

Thou art my servant, he whispers, thou art the Israel I claim for my own.

And I said: I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength without cause and in vain: therefore my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

Et ego dixi: In vacuum laboravi; sine causa et vane fortitudinem meam consumpsi: ergo judicium meum cum Domino, et opus meum cum Deo meo.

To me, all my labour seemed useless, my strength worn out in vain; his to judge me, he, my God, must reward my work as he would.

And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength.

Et nunc dicit Dominus, formans me ex utero servum sibi, ut reducam Jacob ad eum, et Israël non congregabitur; et glorificatus sum in oculis Domini, et Deus meus factus est fortitudo mea.

But now a new message he sends me; I am his servant, appointed ever since I lay in the womb, to bring Jacob back to him. What if Israel will not answer the summons? None the less, the Lord destines me to honour; none the less, he, my God, protects me.

And he said: It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.

Et dixit: Parum est ut sis mihi servus ad suscitandas tribus Jacob, et fæces Israël convertendas: ecce dedi te in lucem gentium, ut sis salus mea usque ad extremum terræ.

Use thee I will, he promises, nor with thy service be content, when the tribes of Jacob thou hast summoned, brought back the poor remnant of Israel; nay, I have appointed thee to be the light of the Gentiles, in thee I will send out my salvation to the furthest corners of the earth.

Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the soul that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord’s sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.

Hæc dicit Dominus, redemptor Israël, Sanctus ejus, ad contemptibilem animam, ad abominatam gentem, ad servum dominorum: Reges videbunt, et consurgent principes, et adorabunt propter Dominum, quia fidelis est, et Sanctum Israël qui elegit te.

A message from the Lord, Israel’s ransomer, Israel’s Holy One, to the despised one, to the nation that is abhorred, to the slave of tyrants: Kings, when they see this, shall rise up from their thrones, princes too, and fall down to worship, in honour of the Lord, that keeps his promise so faithfully, the Holy One of Israel, that claims thee still.

Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee: and I have preserved thee, and given thee to be a covenant of the people, that thou mightest raise up the earth, and possess the inheritances that were destroyed:

Hæc dicit Dominus: In tempore placito exaudivi te, et in die salutis auxiliatus sum tui: et servavi te, et dedi te in fœdus populi, ut suscitares terram, et possideres hæreditates dissipatas;

Thus says the Lord, Here is a time of pardon, when prayer of thine shall be answered, a day of salvation, when I will bring thee aid. I have kept thee in readiness, to make, by thy means, a covenant with my people. Thine to revive a ruined country, to parcel out the forfeited lands anew,

That thou mightest say to them that are bound: Come forth: and to them that are in darkness: Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in every plain.

ut diceres his qui vincti sunt: Exite, et his qui in tenebris: Revelamini. Super vias pascentur, et in omnibus planis pascua eorum.

men that are bound in darkness restoring to freedom and to the light. There shall be pasture for my flock by the wayside, feeding-grounds they shall have on all the barren uplands;

They shall not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun strike them: for he that is merciful to them, shall be their shepherd, and at the fountains of waters he shall give them drink.

Non esurient neque sitient, et non percutiet eos æstus et sol, quia miserator eorum reget eos, et ad fontes aquarum potabit eos.

they will hunger and thirst no more, noonday heat nor sun overpower them; theirs is a merciful shepherd, that will lead them to welling fountains and give them drink.

And I will make all my mountains a way, and my paths shall be exalted.

Et ponam omnes montes meos in viam, et semitæ meæ exaltabuntur.

And I will turn all these mountains of mine into a highroad for you; safe through the uplands my path shall lead.

Behold these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea, and these from the south country.

Ecce isti de longe venient, et ecce illi ab aquilone et mari, et isti de terra australi.

See how they come from far away! Exiles from north and west, exiles from the south country return.

Give praise, O ye heavens, and rejoice, O earth, ye mountains, give praise with jubilation: because the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his poor ones.

Laudate, cæli, et exsulta, terra; jubilate, montes, laudem, quia consolatus est Dominus populum suum, et pauperum suorum miserebitur.

Ring out, heaven, with praise; let earth keep holiday, and its mountains echo that praise again; the Lord brings consolation to his people, takes pity on their need.

And Sion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

Et dixit Sion: Dereliquit me Dominus, et Dominus oblitus est mei.

Did Sion complain, the Lord has forsaken me, my own Master gives me never a thought?

Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.

Numquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misereatur filio uteri sui? Etsi illa oblita fuerit, ego tamen non obliviscar tui.

What, can a woman forget her child that is still unweaned, pity no longer the son she bore in her womb? Let her forget; I will not be forgetful of thee.

Behold, I have graven thee in my hands: thy walls are always before my eyes.

Ecce in manibus meis descripsi te; muri tui coram oculis meis semper.

Why, I have cut thy image on the palms of my hands; those walls of thine dwell before my eyes continually.

Thy builders are come: they that destroy thee and make thee waste shall go out of thee.

Venerunt structores tui; destruentes te et dissipantes a te exibunt.

Here are craftsmen ready to build thee again; vanished, now, the spoilers that plundered thee.

Lift up thy eyes round about, and see all these are gathered together, they are come to thee: I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt be clothed with all these as with an ornament, and as a bride thou shalt put them about thee.

Leva in circuitu oculos tuos, et vide: omnes isti congregati sunt, venerunt tibi. Vivo ego, dicit Dominus, quia omnibus his velut ornamento vestieris, et circumdabis tibi eos quasi sponsa;

Look about thee, and see thy children met together, coming back to thee; As I am living God, the Lord says, all these shall be a robe to deck thee, shall ring thee round like a bride’s jewels;

For thy deserts, and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be chased far away.

quia deserta tua, et solitudines tuæ, et terra ruinæ tuæ, nunc angusta erunt præ habitatoribus; et longe fugabuntur qui absorbebant te.

the silent homes, the lonely places of a ruined country-side, shall have no room, now, for thy many inhabitants, when all that robbed thee of thy lands have fled far away.

The children of thy barrenness shall still say in thy ears: The place is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in.

Adhuc dicent in auribus tuis filii sterilitatis tuæ: Angustus est mihi locus; fac spatium mihi ut habitem.

Sons born to thee in the days of thy barrenness shall cry out, Here all is confined, give me room to live!

And thou shalt say in thy heart: Who hath begotten these? I was barren and brought not forth, led away, and captive: and who hath brought up these? I was destitute and alone: and these, where were they?

Et dices in corde tuo: Quis genuit mihi istos? ego sterilis et non pariens, transmigrata, et captiva; et istos quis enutrivit? ego destituta et sola; et isti ubi erant?

Who has begotten me these? thou wilt ask. Barren days of exile, when I could not give birth; who has reared me these, when I was left solitary? Where were these all the while?

Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and will set up my standard to the people. And they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and carry thy daughters upon their shoulders.

Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce levabo ad gentes manum meam, et ad populos exaltabo signum meum: et afferent filios tuos in ulnis, et filias tuas super humeros portabunt.

Even now, says the Lord God, I will beckon to the nations, lift up a signal for all the world to see; son and daughter of thine shall be nursed in their arms, carried on their shoulders.

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nurses: they shall worship thee with their face toward the earth, and they shall lick up the dust of thy feet. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be confounded that wait for him.

Et erunt reges nutritii tui, et reginæ nutrices tuæ; vultu in terram demisso adorabunt te, et pulverem pedum tuorum lingent. Et scies quia ego Dominus, super quo non confundentur qui exspectant eum.

Thou shalt have kings to foster them, queens to nurse them for thee; kings and queens shall bow to earth before thee, kissing the dust thy feet have trodden. And thou shalt know at last what a Lord I am, a Lord none ever trusted in vain.

Shall the prey be taken from the strong? or can that which was taken by the mighty be delivered?

Numquid tolletur a forti præda? aut quod captum fuerit a robusto, salvum esse poterit?

Shall the strong be robbed of his spoil? Who shall deliver the captives from a warrior’s hand?

For thus saith the Lord: Yea verily, even the captivity shall be taken away from the strong: and that which was taken by the mighty, shall be delivered. But I will judge those that have judged thee, and thy children I will save.

Quia hæc dicit Dominus: Equidem, et captivitas a forti tolletur, et quod ablatum fuerit a robusto, salvabitur. Eos vero qui judicaverunt te, ego judicabo, et filios tuos ego salvabo.

Captives of the strong, the Lord says, shall be taken away from him, the valiant warrior shall lose his spoil. I will pass judgement on the men who have been thy judges, and thy own children shall escape.

And I will feed thy enemies with their own flesh: and they shall be made drunk with their own blood, as with new wine: and all flesh shall know, that I am the Lord that save thee, and thy Redeemer the Mighty One of Jacob.

Et cibabo hostes tuos carnibus suis, et quasi musto, sanguine suo inebriabuntur, et sciet omnis caro quia ego Dominus salvans te, et redemptor tuus fortis Jacob.

I will feed thy enemies on their own flesh, give them their own blood to make them drunk, and all mankind shall know that I, the Lord, have delivered thee, that I, the Prince of Israel, have brought thee rescue.