1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| Isaiah 49:1 | 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. Jeremias 1:5.; Galatians 1:15. | Give. This fresh discourse continues to Isaias 56:9., relating to the Messias, who is introduced speaking to all the world, Acts 13:47., and 2 Corinthians 6:2. Some apply a part to Cyrus, Isaias, or John the Baptist, as to his figures. (Calmet) --- The prophet has foretold the conversion of the Gentiles, as he now does, like an evangelist. (St. Jerome) --- Many Jews will embrace the gospel at the end of time. (Worthington) |
| Isaiah 49:2 | *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. Isaias 51:16.; Ephesians 6:16.; Hebrews 4:12.; Apocalypse 1:16. | Sword, penetrating the very soul, (Hebrews 4:12.) and slaying the wicked, Apocalypse 1:16., and 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Without Christ, his ministers can apply this sword to little purpose. Cyrus cut asunder the bonds of the captives by his decree. (Calmet) --- Grotius improperly explains all of Isaias. (Houbigant) |
| Isaiah 49:3 | And he said to me: Thou art my servant, Israel, for in thee will I glory. | Glory. In the Church, God is adored in spirit and truth. Isaias is ordered thus to address the Israelites. |
| Isaiah 49:4 | 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. | God. He will reward the labours of his ministers, though the people be obstinate. The prophets and our Saviour frequently complain, Isaias 65:2., and Mark 9:18. |
| Isaiah 49:5 | 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. | Will not. Hebrew, Septuagint, etc., "to be gathered." (Haydock) --- The original text, independent of the Masorets, may have the sense of the Vulgate. Yet there are other proofs of the synagogue's rejection. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "though Israel be not gathered, yet," etc. Marginal note, or "that Israel may be gathered, and I may," etc. (Haydock) |
| Isaiah 49:6 | 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. Isaias 42:6.; Acts 13:47. | Earth. St. Paul, explains this of Christ, (Acts xiii.) who said, Go teach all nations, Matthew xxviii. Isaias was one of his first preachers. |
| Isaiah 49:7 | 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. | Despised, Christ, Cyrus, or Isaias; though it refer chiefly to our Saviour. |
| Isaiah 49:8 | 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: 2 Corinthians 6:2. | |
| Isaiah 49:9 | 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. | Ways. The captives shall find every convenience. (Calmet) |
| Isaiah 49:10 | *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. Apocalypse 7:16. | |
| Isaiah 49:11 | And I will make all my mountains a way, and my paths shall be exalted. | |
| Isaiah 49:12 | Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea, and these from the south country. | South. Hebrew Sinim; (Haydock) China, (St. Jerome) or rather Sin, or Pelusium, and Sinai, in Egypt and Arabia. Septuagint, "Persians." (Calmet) |
| Isaiah 49:13 | 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. | |
| Isaiah 49:14 | And Sion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. | Sion, the Jews, who will at last be converted in great numbers. (Houbigant) |
| Isaiah 49:15 | 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. | |
| Isaiah 49:16 | Behold, I have graven thee in my hands: *thy walls are always before my eyes. Exodus 13:9. | Hands, which were nailed to the cross. Septuagint, "I have delineated thy walls on my hands, and thou art before me always." (Haydock) --- The Assyrians wore such characters on their hands or necks. (Lucian) (Leviticus 19:28.) (Calmet) --- Christ will always love his Church, which is of all times and nations. (Worthington) |
| Isaiah 49:17 | Thy builders are come: they that destroy thee and make thee waste, shall go out of thee. | Of thee. Sanballat, etc., shall yield to Zorobabel, Nehemias, etc. |
| Isaiah 49:18 | *Lift up thy eyes round about, and see all these are gathered together, they are come to thee: as 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. Isaias 60:4. | |
| Isaiah 49:19 | 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. | Inhabitants. The country was better peopled, (Calmet) and Jerusalem enlarged under the Machabees. (Josephus, Jewish Wars 5:6.) |
| Isaiah 49:20 | The children of thy barrenness shall still say in thy ears: The place is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in. | Barrenness, of which thou complainest. He alludes to the captives who returned, and to Christian converts. (Menochius) |
| Isaiah 49:21 | 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? | |
| Isaiah 49:22 | 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. | Shoulders. Thus the Syrians commonly carried children astride. (Cotovic. xiv.) |
| Isaiah 49:23 | 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. Psalm 71:9.; Isaias 40:14. | Nurses. The Persian kings favoured the captives. The greatest monarchs bow before the prelates of the Church, (Menochius) and kiss the Pope's toe. They venerate relics, (Haydock) and greatly enrich the Church. (Calmet) |
| Isaiah 49:24 | Shall the prey be taken from the strong? or can that which was taken by the mighty be delivered? | Strong. Can I force the Babylonians to yield? Surely, and the devil also, Luke 11:21. --- Mighty. Hebrew, "just," in lawful war. Septuagint, "unjustly." |
| Isaiah 49:25 | 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. | |
| Isaiah 49:26 | 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. | Flesh. They shall attack one another. (Calmet) --- Neriglissor slew Evil-merodac. (Berosus, apud Josephus, contra Apion i.) --- Gobrias and Gadatas betrayed and killed Baltassar. (Xenophon 4:5, 7.) (Calmet) --- In their fury they shall tear their own flesh. (Menochius) |