The Meaning of Isaiah 49:6 Explained

Isaiah 49:6

KJV: And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

YLT: And He saith, 'It hath been a light thing That thou art to Me for a servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And the preserved of Israel to bring back, And I have given thee for a light of nations, To be My salvation unto the end of the earth.'

Darby: and he saith, It is a small thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I have even given thee for a light of the nations, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

ASV: yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said,  It is a light thing  that thou shouldest be my servant  to raise up  the tribes  of Jacob,  and to restore  the preserved  {08675;05336> of Israel:  I will also give  thee for a light  to the Gentiles,  that thou mayest be my salvation  unto the end  of the earth. 

What does Isaiah 49:6 Mean?

Study Notes

Gentiles
for a light of the Gentiles
The prophets connect the Gentiles with Christ in a threefold way"
(1) as the Light He brings salvation to the Gentiles Luke 2:32 ; Acts 13:47 ; Acts 13:48
(2) as the "Root of Jesse" He is to reign over the Gentiles in His kingdom. Isaiah 11:10 ; Romans 15:12 . He saves the Gentiles, which is the distinctive feature of this present age.; Romans 11:17-24 ; Ephesians 2:11 ; Ephesians 2:12 He reigns over the Gentiles in the kingdom-age, to follow this. See "Kingdom (O.T.),"; Genesis 1:26-28 ; Zechariah 12:8 .
(3) Believing Gentiles in the present age, together with believing Jews, constitute "the church which is His body." (See Scofield " Ephesians 3:6 ")

Context Summary

Isaiah 49:1-13 - "a Light To The Gentiles"
The first division of this second part of Isaiah closes at Isaiah 48:22, with the phrase there is no peace to the wicked. The second division of part 2 closes with a similar phrase, Isaiah 57:21. The first division here ends with the proclamation for Israel to leave Babylon. They need never have gone there. If only they have been obedient in every particular theirs would have been the happy lot of Isaiah 48:18, as contrasted with Isaiah 48:22. But even under such circumstances, in captivity and as slaves of the Chaldeans the redeeming grace of God would triumph, Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:5.
The second great division of Part 2 opens with Isaiah 49:1. In their first and immediate reference, these verses evidently apply to our Lord. See Acts 13:47, etc. In the mission of Jesus, the ideal of the Hebrew race was realized. As the white flower on the stalk He revealed the essential beauty and glory of the root, Isaiah 49:6. See Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:1-2; Matthew 2:14-15, etc.
There is a secondary sense, also, in which the Christian worker may appropriate many things in this glowing paragraph. Our mouth must be surrendered to God, that He may use it for His own high purposes. But do not dread the shadow of His hand. It is the quiver case in which He keeps His chosen arrows against the battle! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 49

1  Christ being sent to the Jews, complains of them
5  He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises
13  God's love is perpetual to his church
18  The ample restoration of the church
24  The powerful deliverance out of captivity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 49:6 mean?

And indeed He says it is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up - the tribes of Jacob - and the preserved ones of Israel to restore and I will give You as a light to the Gentiles that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth -
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר נָקֵ֨ל מִֽהְיוֹתְךָ֥ לִי֙ עֶ֔בֶד לְהָקִים֙ אֶת־ שִׁבְטֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֔ב [ונצירי] (וּנְצוּרֵ֥י) יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְהָשִׁ֑יב וּנְתַתִּ֙יךָ֙ לְא֣וֹר גּוֹיִ֔ם לִֽהְי֥וֹת יְשׁוּעָתִ֖י עַד־ קְצֵ֥ה הָאָֽרֶץ ס

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר  And  indeed  He  says 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
נָקֵ֨ל  it  is  too  small  a  thing 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.
מִֽהְיוֹתְךָ֥  that  You  should  be 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לִי֙  My 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
עֶ֔בֶד  Servant 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
לְהָקִים֙  to  raise  up 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שִׁבְטֵ֣י  the  tribes 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: שֵׁבֶט  
Sense: rod, staff, branch, offshoot, club, sceptre, tribe.
יַעֲקֹ֔ב  of  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
[ונצירי]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine plural construct
(וּנְצוּרֵ֥י)  and  the  preserved  ones  of 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural construct
Root: נָצִיר  
Sense: preserved.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
לְהָשִׁ֑יב  to  restore 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
וּנְתַתִּ֙יךָ֙  and  I  will  give  You 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לְא֣וֹר  as  a  light  to 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common singular construct
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
גּוֹיִ֔ם  the  Gentiles 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
לִֽהְי֥וֹת  that  You  should  be 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
יְשׁוּעָתִ֖י  My  salvation 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יְשׁוּעָה  
Sense: salvation, deliverance.
קְצֵ֥ה  the  ends 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קָצֶה 
Sense: end, extremity.
הָאָֽרֶץ  of  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation