Isaiah 42
42
The Servant, a Light to the Nations
1Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,#42.6 Meaning of Heb uncertain
a light to the nations,
7to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8I am the Lord, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
9See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.
A Hymn of Praise
10Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth!
Let the sea roar#42.10 Cn Compare Ps 96.11; 98.7: Heb Those who go down to the sea and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
11Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13The Lord goes forth like a soldier,
like a warrior he stirs up his fury;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.
14For a long time I have held my peace,
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor,
I will gasp and pant.
15I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their herbage;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
and dry up the pools.
16I will lead the blind
by a road they do not know,
by paths they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
and I will not forsake them.
17They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame—
those who trust in carved images,
who say to cast images,
“You are our gods.”
18Listen, you that are deaf;
and you that are blind, look up and see!
19Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf like my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like my dedicated one,
or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20He sees many things, but does#42.20 Heb You see many things but do not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.
Israel's Disobedience
21The Lord was pleased, for the sake of his righteousness,
to magnify his teaching and make it glorious.
22But this is a people robbed and plundered,
all of them are trapped in holes
and hidden in prisons;
they have become a prey with no one to rescue,
a spoil with no one to say, “Restore!”
23Who among you will give heed to this,
who will attend and listen for the time to come?
24Who gave up Jacob to the spoiler,
and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk,
and whose law they would not obey?
25So he poured upon him the heat of his anger
and the fury of war;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.
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Isaiah 42: NRSV
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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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