Isaiah 42
42
The Lord’s Chosen Servant
1“Here is my servant. I take good care of him.
I have chosen him. I am very pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit on him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2He will not shout or cry out.
He will not raise his voice in the streets.
3He will not break a bent twig.
He will not put out a dimly burning flame.
He will be faithful and make everything right.
4He will not grow weak or lose hope.
He will not give up until he brings justice to the earth.
The islands will put their hope in his teaching.”
5God created the heavens and stretches them out.
The Lord spreads out the earth with everything that grows on it.
He gives breath to its people.
He gives life to those who walk on it.
He says to his servant,
6“I, the Lord, have chosen you to do what is right.
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you safe.
You will put into effect my covenant with the people of Israel.
And you will be a light for the Gentiles.
7You will open eyes that can’t see.
You will set prisoners free.
Those who sit in darkness will come out of their cells.
8“I am the Lord. That is my name!
I will not let any other god share my glory.
I will not let statues of gods share my praise.
9What I said would happen has taken place.
Now I announce new things to you.
Before they even begin to happen,
I announce them to you.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing praise to him from one end of the earth to the other.
Sing, you who sail out on the ocean.
Sing, all you creatures in it.
Sing, you islands.
Sing, all you who live there.
11Let the desert and its towns raise their voices.
Let those who live in the settlements of Kedar be glad.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy.
Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12Let them give glory to the Lord.
Let them praise him in the islands.
13The Lord will march out like a mighty warrior.
He will stir up his anger like a soldier getting ready to fight.
He will shout the battle cry.
And he will win the battle over his enemies.
14The Lord says, “For a long time I have kept silent.
I have been calm and quiet.
But now, like a woman having a baby,
I cry out. I gasp and pant.
15I will completely destroy the mountains and hills.
I will dry up everything that grows there.
I will turn rivers into dry land.
I will dry up the pools.
16Israel is blind.
So I will lead them along paths
they had not known before.
I will guide them on roads they are not familiar with.
I will turn the darkness into light as they travel.
I will make the rough places smooth.
Those are the things I will do.
I will not desert my people.
17Some people trust in statues of gods.
They say to them, ‘You are our gods.’
But they will be dishonored.
They will be put to shame.
Israel Can’t See or Hear
18“Israel, listen to me! You can hear,
but you do not understand.
Look to me! You can see,
but you do not know what you are seeing.
19The people of Israel serve me. But who is more blind than they are?
Who is more deaf than the messengers I send?
Who is more blind than the one who has promised to be faithful to me?
Who is more blind than the servant of the Lord?
20Israel, you have seen many things.
But you do not pay any attention to me.
Your ears are open.
But you do not listen to anything I say.”
21The Lord wanted his people to see
how great and glorious his law is.
He wanted to show them
that he always does what is right.
22Enemies have carried off everything they own.
All my people are trapped in pits
or hidden away in prisons.
They themselves have become like stolen goods.
No one can save them.
They have been carried off.
And there is no one who will say, “Send them back.”
23Family of Jacob, who among you will listen to what I’m saying?
People of Israel, which one of you will pay close attention in days to come?
24Who allowed you to be carried off like stolen goods?
Who handed you over to robbers?
The Lord did it!
We have sinned against him.
Israel, you wouldn’t follow his ways.
You didn’t obey his law.
25So he poured out his great anger on you.
He had many of you killed in battle.
You were surrounded by flames.
But you didn’t realize what was happening.
Many of you were destroyed.
But you didn’t learn anything from it.
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Isaiah 42: NIrV
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Isaiah 42
42
The Servant’s Mission
1“This#Mt 12:18–21 is my servant;#Is 49:3–7; 50:10 I strengthen him,
this is my chosen one;#Is 41:8–9; Lk 9:35; 23:35; 1Pt 2:4,6 I delight in him.#Mt 3:17; 17:5; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22; 2Pt 1:17
I have put my Spirit on him;#Nm 11:16–17; 1Sm 16:13; Ps 33:6; 139:7; Is 11:2; 40:7; 59:21; Lk 4:18–21
he will bring justice#42:1 DSS read his justice to the nations.#Is 2:4; 51:4–5
2He will not cry out or shout
or make his voice heard in the streets.
3He will not break a bruised reed,
and he will not put out a smoldering wick;
he will faithfully bring justice.
4He will not grow weak or be discouraged
until he has established justice on earth.
The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction.”#Is 11:11; 24:15; 42:10,12; 49:1; 51:5; 60:9; 66:19
5This is what God, the Lord, says —
who created the heavens and stretched them out,#Ps 104:2; Is 40:22
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,#Ps 136:6; Is 34:1
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk on it#Jb 12:10; 33:4; Is 57:16; Dn 5:23; Ac 17:25 —
6“I am the Lord. I have called you
for a righteous purpose,#42:6 Or you by my righteousness; lit you in righteousness#Is 5:7,16; 9:7; 11:4–5; 32:1; 41:2; 45:8,13; 51:5–8; 56:1; 60:21; Jr 23:5–6
and I will hold you by your hand.#Is 41:10,13
I will watch over you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people#Is 49:8
and a light to the nations,#Is 49:6
7in order to open blind eyes,#Ac 26:17–18
to bring out prisoners from the dungeon,#Is 35:5; 49:9; 61:1; Heb 2:14–15
and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.
8I am the Lord. That is my name,
and I will not give my glory to another#Ex 20:3–5; Is 48:11
or my praise to idols.
9The past events have indeed happened.
Now I declare new events;#Is 43:19; 48:3,6; Rv 21:4
I announce them to you before they occur.”
A Song of Praise
10Sing a new song to the Lord;#Ps 33:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9
sing his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea with all that fills it,#Ps 96:11; 98:7
you coasts and islands with your#42:10 Lit their inhabitants.
11Let the desert and its cities shout,
the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud.#Is 21:16; 60:7
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy;#Is 16:1
let them cry out from the mountaintops.
12Let them give glory to the Lord
and declare his praise in the coasts and islands.
13The Lord advances like a warrior;
he stirs up his zeal like a soldier.#Is 9:7; 26:11; 37:32; 59:17
He shouts, he roars aloud,
he prevails over his enemies.
14“I have kept silent from ages past;
I have been quiet and restrained myself.#Ps 50:21; Is 57:11; 62:1; 64:12; 65:6
But now, I will groan like a woman in labor,#Is 13:8
gasping breathlessly.
15I will lay waste mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up marshes.#Is 44:27; 50:2; Nah 1:4–6
16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;#Is 29:18; 30:21; 32:3; Jr 31:8–9; Lk 1:78–79
I will guide them on paths they have not known.
I will turn darkness to light in front of them#Eph 5:8
and rough places into level ground.#Is 40:4; Lk 3:5
This is what I will do for them,
and I will not abandon them.#Jos 1:5; Ps 94:14; Is 41:17; Heb 13:5
17They will be turned back and utterly ashamed —
those who trust in an idol
and say to a cast image,
‘You are our gods! ’ #Ps 97:7; Is 1:29; 44:9,11; 45:16
Israel’s Blindness and Deafness
18“Listen, you deaf!
Look, you blind, so that you may see.#Is 35:5
19Who is blind but my servant,#Is 41:8–9; 43:10; 44:1–2,21; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3; 54:17; Ezk 28:25; 37:25; Lk 1:54
or deaf like my messenger I am sending?
Who is blind like my dedicated one,#42:19 Hb obscure
or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20Though seeing many things,#42:20 Alt Hb tradition reads You see many things; you pay no attention.
Though his ears are open, he does not listen.”#Rm 2:21–23
21Because of his righteousness, the Lord was pleased
to magnify his instruction and make it glorious.
22But this is a people plundered and looted,
all of them trapped in holes
or imprisoned in dungeons.
They have become plunder#Dt 1:39; Jr 2:14; Ezk 34:8; 36:4
with no one to rescue them
and loot, with no one saying, “Give it back!”
23Who among you will hear this?
Let him listen and obey in the future.
24Who gave Jacob to the robber,#42:24 Lit to loot
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord?
Have we not sinned against him?
They were not willing to walk in his ways,
and they would not listen to his instruction.
25So he poured out his furious anger
and the power of war on Jacob.
It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it;
it burned him, but he didn’t take it to heart.#Is 29:13; 47:7; 57:1; Jr 12:11; Hs 7:9
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