Isaiah 42
42
God’s servant described
1But here is my servant, the one I uphold;
my chosen, who brings me delight.
I’ve put my spirit upon him;
he will bring justice to the nations.
2He won’t cry out or shout aloud
or make his voice heard in public.
3He won’t break a bruised reed;
he won’t extinguish a faint wick,
but he will surely bring justice.
4He won’t be extinguished or broken
until he has established justice in the land.
The coastlands await his teaching.
5God the LORD says—
the one who created the heavens,
the one who stretched them out,
the one who spread out the earth and its offspring,
the one who gave breath to its people
and life to those who walk on it—
6I, the LORD, have called you for a good reason.
I will grasp your hand and guard you,
and give you as a covenant to the people,
as a light to the nations,
7to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
8I am the LORD;
that is my name;
I don’t hand out my glory to others
or my praise to idols.
9The things announced in the past—look—they’ve already happened,
but I’m declaring new things.
Before they even appear,
I tell you about them.
Warrior and mother
10Sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing his praise from the ends of the earth!
You who sail the sea and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their residents.
11Let the desert and its towns shout aloud,
the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the cliff dwellers sing;
from the top of the mountains let them shout.
12Let them give the LORD glory
and declare God’s praise in the coastlands.
13The LORD will go out like a soldier;
like a warrior God will stir up rage.
God will shout, will roar;
over enemies he will prevail.
14I’ve kept still for a very long time.
I’ve been silent and restrained myself.
Like a woman in labor I will moan;
I will pant, I will gasp.
15I will wither mountains and valleys,
and I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into deserts,#42.15 Or islands
and I will dry up pools.
16I will make the blind walk a road they don’t know,
and I will guide them in paths they don’t know.
But I will make darkness before them into light
and rough places into level ground.
These things I will do;
I won’t abandon them.
Blindness and deafness
17Turned backward, utterly shamed
are those who trust in idols,
who say to a cast image,
“You are our god!”
18Hear, deaf ones,
and blind ones, look and see!
19Who is blind if not my servant
and deaf like my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like the restored one,#42.19 Heb Meshullam, possibly a proper name
blind like the servant of the LORD?
20You have seen many things, but don’t keep watch.
With ears open, you don’t hear.#42.20 Or he does not hear
21The LORD desired for the sake of his righteousness
to expand and glorify the Instruction.
22But this is a people plundered and looted,
everyone trapped in holes and hidden in dungeons.
They have become plunder with no one to rescue,
loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
23Which of you will listen to this,
will pay attention and respond from now on?
24Who gave Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Wasn’t it the LORD,
the one we sinned against?
They were not willing to walk in God’s ways,
and wouldn’t listen to his teaching.
25So God poured out on Jacob the heat of his anger
and the fury of battle.
It scorched him, and he didn’t know it;
it burned him, but he didn’t give it much thought.
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Isaiah 42: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. 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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