The Servant and Light to the Gentiles (Acts 13:42–52)
1 Brenton Hearken to me, ye islands; and attend, ye Gentiles; after a long time it shall come to pass, saith the Lord: from my mother's womb he has called my name: BSB BSB: Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
2 Brenton and he has made my mouth as a sharp sword, and he has hid me under the shadow of his hand; he has made me as a choice shaft, and he has hid me in his quiver; BSB BSB: He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.
4 Brenton Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have given my strength for vanity and for nothing: therefore is my judgment with the Lord, and my labour before my God. BSB BSB: But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”
7 Brenton Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the God of Israel, Sanctify him that despises his life, him that is abhorred by the nations that are the servants of princes: kings shall behold him, and princes shall arise, and shall worship him, for the Lord's sake: for the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen thee. BSB BSB: Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”
8 Brenton Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I succoured thee: and I have formed thee, and given thee for a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, and to cause to inherit the desert heritages: BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to apportion its desolate inheritances,
9 Brenton saying to them that are in bonds, Go forth; and bidding them that are in darkness shew themselves. They shall be fed in all the ways, and in all the paths shall be their pasture. BSB BSB: to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 Brenton They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst; neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; but he that has mercy on them shall comfort them , and by fountains of waters shall he lead them. BSB BSB: They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
11 Brenton And I will make every mountain a way, and every path a pasture to them. BSB BSB: I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up.
12 Brenton Behold, these shall come from far: and these from the north and the west, and others from the land of the Persians. BSB BSB: Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”
13 Brenton Rejoice, ye heavens; and let the earth be glad: let the mountains break forth with joy; for the Lord has had mercy on his people, and has comforted the lowly ones of his people. BSB BSB: Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
14 Brenton But Sion said, The Lord has forsaken me, and, The Lord has forgotten me. BSB BSB: But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!”
15 Brenton Will a woman forget her child, so as not to have compassion upon the offspring of her womb? but if a woman should even forget these, yet I will not forget thee, saith the Lord. BSB BSB: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
16 Brenton Behold, I have painted thy walls on my hands, and thou art continually before me. BSB BSB: Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.
17 Brenton And thou shalt soon be built by those by whom thou wert destroyed, and they that made thee desolate shall go forth of thee. BSB BSB: Your builders hasten back; your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.
18 Brenton Lift up thine eyes round about, and look on them all; behold, they are gathered together, and are come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt clothe thyself with them all as with an ornament, and put them on as a bride her attire. BSB BSB: Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.
19 Brenton For thy desert and marred and ruined places shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that devoured thee shall be removed far from thee. BSB BSB: For your ruined and desolate places and your ravaged land will now indeed be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.
20 Brenton For thy sons whom thou hast lost shall say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me: make room for me that I may dwell. BSB BSB: Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; make room for us to live here.’
21 Brenton And thou shalt say in thine heart, Who has begotten me these? whereas I was childless, and a widow; but who has brought up these for me? and I was left alone; but whence came these to me? BSB BSB: Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. So who has reared them? Look, I was left all alone, so where did they come from?’”
22 Brenton Thus saith the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lift up mine hand to the nations, and I will lift up my signal to the islands: and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and shall bear thy daughters on their shoulders. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and raise My banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Brenton And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their princesses thy nurses, they shall bow down to thee on the face of the earth, and shall lick the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and they that wait on me shall not be ashamed. BSB BSB: Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”
24 Brenton Will any one take spoils from a giant? and if one should take a man captive unjustly, shall he be delivered? BSB BSB: Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?
25 Brenton For thus saith the Lord, If one should take a giant captive, he shall take spoils, and he who takes them from a mighty man shall be delivered: for I will plead thy cause, and I will deliver thy children. BSB BSB: Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.
26 Brenton And they that afflicted thee shall eat their own flesh; and they shall drink their own blood as new wine, and shall be drunken: and all flesh shall perceive that I am the Lord that delivers thee, and that upholds the strength of Jacob. BSB BSB: I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.