Haftarah Torah Portion Eikev
Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3

Isaiah 49 (Haftarah Torah Portion Eikev)

14 But Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me; my Lord has forgotten me.”

15 Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    fail to pity the child of her womb?
        Even these may forget,
        but I won’t forget you.
16 Look, on my palms I’ve inscribed you;
    your walls are before me continually.
17 Your builders come quickly;
    those who destroy and demolish you will depart from you.
18 Look up all around and see:
    they are all gathered;
    they come to you.
As surely as I live, says the Lord,
    you will put them all on like ornaments,
    bind them on like a bride.

19 As for your ruins and desolate places and destroyed land - you will soon be crowded with settlers, and those who swallowed you will be far away.

20 You will again hear the children who were born bereaved say,
    “The place is too crowded for me;
    make room for me to settle.”
21 And you will think to yourself,
    Who bore me these?
    I was bereaved and desolate, exiled and sent off.
So who raised these?
    I was left behind, I was alone;
    where were these?

22 The Lord God says:

Look, I will raise my hand to the nations,
    and to the peoples I will lift up my signal.
They will bring your sons in their arms,
    and will carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your attendants,
    and their queens your nursemaids.
With faces to the ground they will bow down to you;
    they will lick the dust from your feet.
You will know that I am the Lord;
    the one who hopes in me won’t be ashamed.
24 Can loot be taken from warriors?
    Can a tyrant’s captives escape?
25 The Lord says:
Even the captives of warriors will be taken,
    and the tyrant’s loot will escape.
I myself will oppose those who oppose you,
    and I myself will save your children.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
    and as with wine, with their own blood they will be drunk,
    so that all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your savior,
    and the mighty one of Jacob is your redeemer.

Isaiah 50 (Haftarah Torah Portion Eikev)

1 The Lord says:
Where’s your mother’s divorce decree,
    with which I sent her away?
Or to which lender did I sell you?
    On account of your sins you were sold;
    on account of your transgressions
    your mother was sent away.
2 Why did I come and find no one?
    Why did I call when no one answered?
Is my hand too small to redeem you?
    Don’t I have enough power to save?
With my rebuke I dry up the sea
    and make the rivers into wilderness.
Their fish stink from lack of water;
    they die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness
    and cover them with funeral clothing.

4 The Lord God gave me an educated tongue
    to know how to respond to the weary
    with a word that will awaken them in the morning.
    God awakens my ear in the morning to listen,
    as educated people do.
5 The Lord God opened my ear;
    I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back.
6 Instead, I gave my body to attackers,
    and my cheeks to beard pluckers.
I didn’t hide my face
    from insults and spitting.
7 The Lord God will help me;
    therefore, I haven’t been insulted.
Therefore, I set my face like flint,
    and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed.
8 The one who will declare me innocent is near.
    Who will argue with me?
Let’s stand up together.
    Who will bring judgment against me?
    Let him approach me.
9 Look! The Lord God will help me.
    Who will condemn me?
Look, they will wear out like clothing;
    the moth will eat them.

10 Who among you fears the Lord?
    Who listens to the voice of his servant,
    who walks in darkness
    and has no light?
They will trust in the Lord’s name,
    and rely upon their God.
11 Look! All of you are kindling fire,
    igniting torches.
    Walk by the light of your fire,
    by the torches you have ignited.
    This is what will happen to you by my hand:
    you will lie down in grief.

Isaiah 51 (Haftarah Torah Portion Eikev)

1 Listen to me, you who look for righteousness, you who seek the Lord:

Look to the rock from which you were cut
    and to the quarry where you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your ancestor,
    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
They were alone when I called them, but I blessed them
    and made them many.
3 The Lord will comfort Zion;
    he will comfort all her ruins.
He will make her desert like Eden
    and her wilderness like the Lord’s garden.
Happiness and joy will be found in her—
    thanks and the sound of singing.