Isaiah 42
42
The Lord’s Special Servant
1“Here is my servant, the one I support.
He is the one I chose, and I am pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit in him.
And he will bring justice to all nations.
2He will not cry out or yell.
He will not speak loudly in the streets.
3He will not break a crushed blade of grass.
He will not put out even a weak flame.
He will bring justice and find what is true.
4He will not lose hope or give up
until he brings justice to the world.
And people far away will trust his teachings.”
5God, the Lord, said these things.
He created the skies and stretched them out.
He spread out the earth and everything on it.
He gives life to all people on earth.
He gives life to everyone who walks on the earth.
6The Lord says, “I called you to do right.
And I will hold your hand.
I will protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people.
You will be a light to shine for all people.
7You will help the blind to see.
You will free those who are in prison.
You will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8“I am the Lord. That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another.
I will not let idols take the praise that should be mine.
9The things I said would happen have happened.
And now I tell you about new things.
Before those things happen,
I tell you about them.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing his praise everywhere on the earth.
Praise him, you people who sail on the seas and you animals who live in them.
Praise him, you people living in faraway places.
11The deserts and their cities should praise him.
The settlements of Kedar should praise him.
The people living in Sela should sing for joy.
They should sing from the mountaintops.
12They should give glory to the Lord.
People in faraway lands should praise him.
13The Lord will march out like a strong soldier.
He will be excited like a man ready to fight a war.
He will shout out the battle cry.
And he will defeat his enemies.
14The Lord says, “For a long time I have said nothing.
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now I will cry out.
I will strain like a woman giving birth to a child.
15I will destroy the hills and mountains.
I will dry up all the plants that grow there.
I will make the rivers become dry land.
I will dry up the pools of water.
16Then I will lead the blind along a way they never knew.
I will guide them along paths they have not known.
I will make the darkness become light for them.
And I will make the rough ground smooth.
These are the things I will do.
I will not leave my people.
17But some people trust in idols.
They say to their statues,
‘You are our gods.’
Those people will be rejected in disgrace.
Israel Refused to Listen to God
18“You who are deaf, hear me.
You who are blind, look and see.
19No one is more blind than my servant Israel.
The messenger I send is the most deaf.
No one is more blind than the person I own.
No one is more blind than the servant of the Lord.
20Israel, you have seen much, but you have not obeyed.
You have heard, but you refuse to listen.”
21The Lord made his teachings wonderful.
He did this because he is good.
22These people have been defeated and robbed.
They are trapped in pits.
They are locked up in prison.
Like robbers, enemies have taken them away.
There is no one to save them.
Enemies carried them off.
And no one said, “Bring them back.”
23Will any of you listen to this?
Will you listen carefully in the future?
24Who let the people of Jacob be carried off?
Who let robbers take Israel away?
The Lord allowed this to happen
because we sinned against him.
We did not live the way the Lord wanted us to live.
We did not obey his teaching.
25So the Lord became very angry with us.
He brought terrible wars against us.
It was as if the people of Israel had fire all around them.
But they didn’t know what was happening.
It was as if they were burning.
But they didn’t pay any attention.
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Isaiah 42: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Isaiah 42
42
Here Is My Servant
(Matthew 12:15–21)
1“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold,
My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights.
I will put My Spirit on Him,
and He will bring justice to the nations.
2He will not cry out or raise His voice,
nor make His voice heard in the streets.
3A bruised reed He will not break
and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4He will not grow weak or discouraged #42:4 Or bruised
before He has established justice on the earth.
In His law the islands will put their hope.”#42:4 Or In His teaching the coastlands will put their hope; LXX In His name the nations will put their hope; cited in Matthew 12:18–21
5This is what God the Lord says—
He who created the heavens
and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and its offspring,
who gives breath to the people on it
and life to those who walk in it:
6“I, the Lord, have called you
for a righteous purpose,
and I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and appoint you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light to the nations,
7to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring prisoners out of the dungeon
and those sitting in darkness
out from the prison house.
8I am the Lord;
that is My name!
I will not yield My glory to another
or My praise to idols.
9Behold, the former things have happened,
and now I declare new things.
Before they spring forth
I proclaim them to you.”
A New Song of Praise
(Psalms 98:1–9; Psalms 149:1–9)
10Sing to the Lord a new song—
His praise from the ends of the earth—
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
you islands,#42:10 Or coastlands; also in verse 12 and all who dwell in them.
11Let the desert and its cities raise their voices;
let the villages of Kedar cry aloud.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
let them cry out from the mountaintops.
12Let them give glory to the Lord
and declare His praise in the islands.
13The Lord goes forth like a mighty one;
He stirs up His zeal like a warrior.
He shouts; yes, He roars
in triumph over His enemies:
14“I have kept silent from ages past;
I have remained quiet and restrained.
But now I will groan like a woman in labor;
I will at once gasp and pant.
15I will lay waste the mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn the rivers into dry land #42:15 Or coastlands or islands
and drain the marshes.
16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;
I will guide them on unfamiliar paths.
I will turn darkness into light before them
and rough places into level ground.
These things I will do for them,
and I will not forsake them.
17But those who trust in idols
and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’
will be turned back in utter shame.
Israel Is Deaf and Blind
18Listen, you deaf ones;
look, you blind ones, that you may see!
19Who is blind but My servant,
or deaf like the messenger I am sending?
Who is blind like My covenant partner,
or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20Though seeing many things, you do not keep watch.
Though your ears are open, you do not hear.”
21The Lord was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness,
to magnify His law and make it glorious.
22But this is a people plundered and looted,
all trapped in caves or imprisoned in dungeons.
They have become plunder with no one to rescue them,
and loot with no one to say, “Send them back!”
23Who among you will pay attention to this?
Who will listen and obey hereafter?
24Who gave Jacob up for spoil,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord,
against whom we have sinned?
They were unwilling to walk in His ways,
and they would not obey His law.
25So He poured out on them His furious anger
and the fierceness of battle.
It enveloped them in flames,
but they did not understand;
it consumed them,
but they did not take it to heart.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.