Isaiah 49:12-14
The Voice
12 Look! Even now, they are coming from lands far away,
some from the north, others from the west, these from the land of Sinim.[a]
13 Oh joy! Be glad—sky! Take joy—earth! Burst into song—mountains!
For the Eternal, moved to compassion, has comforted and consoled His people.
There are many kinds of love—and not enough words to tell the differences. Hebrew has a word for “love” that is related to its word for a woman’s womb. English has no such word. It is too bad, for it is difficult to describe womb-love, the bearing-and-birthing love of a mother, the kind of love that the Lord has for the people of God’s promise, Jacob’s children. God shaped this people as His own and bound them with no ordinary promise. God loves them in the same way a mother loves the child growing in her womb. It can’t be said so neatly and completely with one “love” word, but that is the idea that threads its way through this text.
14 Zion: The Eternal One has abandoned me. God has walked out the door;
my Lord left me alone. He has forgotten all about me.
Footnotes
- 49:12 Likely a reference to southern Egypt
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
