49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 1 of Israel? 2
I will make you a light to the nations, 3
so you can bring 4 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
49:22 This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“Look I will raise my hand to the nations;
I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
49:23 Kings will be your children’s 5 guardians;
their princesses will nurse your children. 6
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt on 7 your feet.
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
1 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
2 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
3 tn See the note at 42:6.
4 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
5 tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).
6 tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.
7 tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”