Isaiah 42
42
The Servant of the Lord
1“Behold! #Is. 43:10; 49:3, 6; Matt. 12:18; (Phil. 2:7)My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul #Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; Eph. 1:6delights!
#(Is. 11:2); Matt. 3:16; (Luke 4:18, 19, 21); John 3:34I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
#(Gen. 49:10)And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
5Thus says God the Lord,
#Is. 44:24; Zech. 12:1Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
#Job 12:10; 33:4; Is. 57:16; Dan. 5:23; Acts 17:25Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
6“I,#Is. 43:1 the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You #Is. 49:8and give You as a covenant to the people,
As #Is. 49:6; Luke 2:32; (Acts 10:45; 13:47; Gal. 3:14)a light to the Gentiles,
7#Is. 35:5To open blind eyes,
To #Is. 61:1; Luke 4:18; (2 Tim. 2:26; Heb. 2:14)bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in #Is. 9:2darkness from the prison house.
8I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My #Ex. 20:3–5; Is. 48:11glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Praise to the Lord
10#Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 98:1Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
#Ps. 107:23You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12Let them give glory to the Lord,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, #Is. 31:4yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
Promise of the Lord’s Help
14“I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
15I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
16I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
17They shall be #Ps. 97:7; Is. 1:29; 44:11; 45:16turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’
18“Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19#Is. 43:8; Ezek. 12:2; (John 9:39, 41)Who is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as he who is perfect,
And blind as the Lord’s servant?
20Seeing many things, #Rom. 2:21but you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
Israel’s Obstinate Disobedience
21The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;
He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
22But this is a people robbed and plundered;
All of them are snared in holes,
And they are hidden in prison houses;
They are for prey, and no one delivers;
For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”
23Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the Lord,
He against whom we have sinned?
#Is. 65:2For they would not walk in His ways,
Nor were they obedient to His law.
25Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger
And the strength of battle;
#2 Kin. 25:9It has set him on fire all around,
#Is. 1:3; 5:13; Hos. 7:9Yet he did not know;
And it burned him,
Yet he did not take it to #Is. 29:13heart.
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Isaiah 42: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 42
42
The Lord’s Chosen Servant
1“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
He is my chosen one, who pleases me.
I have put my Spirit upon him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2He will not shout
or raise his voice in public.
3He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
4He will not falter or lose heart
until justice prevails throughout the earth.
Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.#42:4 Greek version reads And his name will be the hope of all the world. Compare Matt 12:21.”
5God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.
He created the earth and everything in it.
He gives breath to everyone,
life to everyone who walks the earth.
And it is he who says,
6“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people, Israel,
as a symbol of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide the nations.
7You will open the eyes of the blind.
You will free the captives from prison,
releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
8“I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to anyone else,
nor share my praise with carved idols.
9Everything I prophesied has come true,
and now I will prophesy again.
I will tell you the future before it happens.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10Sing a new song to the Lord!
Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!
Sing, all you who sail the seas,
all you who live in distant coastlands.
11Join in the chorus, you desert towns;
let the villages of Kedar rejoice!
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
shout praises from the mountaintops!
12Let the whole world glorify the Lord;
let it sing his praise.
13The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero;
he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.
He will shout his battle cry
and crush all his enemies.
14He will say, “I have long been silent;
yes, I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman in labor,
I will cry and groan and pant.
15I will level the mountains and hills
and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
and will dry up all the pools.
16I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
I will not forsake them.
17But those who trust in idols,
who say, ‘You are our gods,’
will be turned away in shame.
Israel’s Failure to Listen and See
18“Listen, you who are deaf!
Look and see, you blind!
19Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?
Who is as deaf as my messenger?
Who is as blind as my chosen people,
the servant of the Lord?
20You see and recognize what is right
but refuse to act on it.
You hear with your ears,
but you don’t really listen.”
21Because he is righteous,
the Lord has exalted his glorious law.
22But his own people have been robbed and plundered,
enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.
They are fair game for anyone
and have no one to protect them,
no one to take them back home.
23Who will hear these lessons from the past
and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
24Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt?
It was the Lord, against whom we sinned,
for the people would not walk in his path,
nor would they obey his law.
25Therefore, he poured out his fury on them
and destroyed them in battle.
They were enveloped in flames,
but they still refused to understand.
They were consumed by fire,
but they did not learn their lesson.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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