Isaiah 42
42
The Lord’s Special Servant
1“Here is my servant,
the one I support.
He is the one I have chosen,
and I am very pleased with him.
I have filled him with my Spirit,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2He will not cry out or shout
or try to make himself heard in the streets.
3He will not break even a crushed reed.#42:3 reed A plant that grows near water.
He will not put out even the weakest flame.
He will bring true justice.
4He will not grow weak or give up
until he has brought justice to the world.
And people in faraway places will hope to receive his teachings.”
The Lord Is Ruler and Maker of the World
5The Lord, the true God, said these things. (He created the sky and spread it out over the earth. He formed the earth and everything it produced. He breathes life into all the people on earth. He gives a spirit to everyone who walks on the earth.)
6“I, the Lord, was right to call you.
I will hold your hand and protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people.
You will be a light for the other nations.
7You will make the blind able to see.
You will free those who are held as captives.
You will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8“I am YAHWEH.
That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another.
I will not let statues take the praise that should be mine.
9In the past, I told you what would happen,
and it happened!
Now I am telling you something new,
and I am telling you now, before it happens.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10Sing a new song#42:10 new song Whenever God did a new and wonderful thing for his people, they would write a new song about it. to the Lord;
praise him everywhere on earth—
all you who sail on the seas,
everything in the sea,
and all you people in faraway places!
11Deserts and cities, villages of Kedar,
praise the Lord!
People living in Sela, sing for joy!
Sing from the top of your mountain.
12Give glory to the Lord.
Praise him, all you people in faraway lands!
13The Lord will go out like a strong soldier.
Like a man going into battle, he will be full of excitement.
He will shout with a loud cry,
and he will defeat his enemies.
God Is Very Patient
14“For a long time I have said nothing.
I have controlled myself and kept quiet.
But now I will cry out like a woman giving birth.
My breathing is getting faster and louder.
15I will destroy the hills and mountains.
I will dry up all the plants that grow there.
I will change rivers to dry land
and dry up pools of water.
16Then I will lead the blind along a path they never knew
to places where they have never been before.
I will change darkness into light for them.
I will make the rough ground smooth.
I will do these things for them;
I will not abandon my people.
17But some of them have left me.
They say to their gold statues, ‘You are my gods.’
They trust their false gods,
but they will be disappointed and shamed.
Israel Refused to Listen to God
18“Deaf people, listen to me!
Blind people, look and see!
19In all the world, no one is more blind than my servant.#42:19 my servant Here, this probably means the people of Israel.
No one is more deaf than my messenger.
No one is more blind than my chosen people,
the servant of the Lord.
20My people see what they should do,
but they do not obey me.
They can hear with their ears,
but they refuse to listen to me.”
21The Lord wants them to do what is right.
He wants them to honor his wonderful teachings.#42:21 Or “The Lord will make his teachings very wonderful. He will do this because he is good.”
22But look at his people.
Others have defeated them and have stolen from them.
The young men are afraid.
They are locked in prisons.
People have taken advantage of them,
and there is no one to protect them.
Others take their money,
and there is no one to say, “Give it back!”
23Will any of you pay attention to this warning? Will you ever learn to listen? 24Who let Jacob be defeated? Who let others take what belonged to Israel? The Lord allowed them to do this. We sinned against him, so he let people take away our wealth. The people did not want to live the way he wanted. They refused to listen to his teaching. 25So he poured out his anger on them and brought wars against them. It was as if there were fires all around them, but they didn’t know what was happening. It was as if they were burning, but they didn’t try to understand.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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