Isaiah 49:24-26

Context

49:24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,

or captives be rescued from a conqueror?¹

49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,

“captives will be taken from a warrior;

spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.

I will oppose your adversary

and I will rescue your children.

49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine.²

Then all humankind³ will recognize that

I am the Lord, your deliverer,

your protector,⁴ the powerful ruler of Jacob.”⁵

[49:24] ¹tc The Hebrew text has צָדִיק (tsadiq, “a righteous [one]”), but this makes no sense in the parallelism. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly עריץ (“violent [one], tyrant”; see v. 25).

[49:26] ²sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.

[49:26] ³tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:26] ⁴tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[49:26] ⁵tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.