Isaiah 42
42
The Servant of the Lord
1Here is my servant#Servant: three other passages have been popularly called “servant of the Lord” poems: 49:1–7; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12. Whether the servant is an individual or a collectivity is not clear (e.g., contrast 49:3 with 49:5). More important is the description of the mission of the servant. In the early Church and throughout Christian tradition, these poems have been applied to Christ; cf. Mt 12:18–21. whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased.
Upon him I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations.#Is 45:6; 49:6.
2He will not cry out, nor shout,
nor make his voice heard in the street.
3A bruised reed#Bruised reed… : images to express the gentle manner of the servant’s mission. he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4He will not grow dim or be bruised
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands#Coastlands: for Israel, the world to the west: the islands and coastal nations of the Mediterranean. will wait for his teaching.
5Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and its produce,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
6I, the Lord, have called you for justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,#Is 45:13.
7To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
8I am the Lord, Lord is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
9See, the earlier things have come to pass,
new ones I now declare;
Before they spring forth
I announce them to you.
The Lord’s Purpose for Israel
10Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the ends of the earth:
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the coastlands, and those who dwell in them.
11Let the wilderness and its cities cry out,
the villages where Kedar#Kedar: cf. note on 21:16. Sela: Petra, the capital of Edom. dwells;
Let the inhabitants of Sela exult,
and shout from the top of the mountains.
12Let them give glory to the Lord,
and utter his praise in the coastlands.
13The Lord goes forth like a warrior,
like a man of war he stirs up his fury;
He shouts out his battle cry,
against his enemies he shows his might:#Ex 15:3.
14For a long time I have kept silent,
I have said nothing, holding myself back;
Now I cry out like a woman in labor,
gasping and panting.
15#Active once more, God will remove the obstacles that hinder the exiles’ return, and will lead them by new roads to Jerusalem; cf. 40:3–4. I will lay waste mountains and hills,
all their undergrowth I will dry up;
I will turn the rivers into marshes,
and the marshes I will dry up.#Ex 9:25; 10:15; 14:21; Ps 105:33–35.
16I will lead the blind on a way they do not know;
by paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them,
and make crooked ways straight.
These are my promises:
I made them, I will not forsake them.#Ex 13:21.
17They shall be turned back in utter shame
who trust in idols;
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”
18You deaf ones, listen,#The Lord rebukes his people for their failures, but their role and their mission endure: they remain his servant, his messenger to the nations.
you blind ones, look and see!
19Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one I restore,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20You see many things but do not observe;
ears open, but do not hear.
21It was the Lord’s will for the sake of his justice
to make his teaching great and glorious.
22This is a people#A people: Israel in exile. plundered and despoiled,
all of them trapped in holes,
hidden away in prisons.
They are taken as plunder, with no one to rescue them,
as spoil, with no one to say, “Give back!”
23Who among you will give ear to this,
listen and pay attention from now on?
24Who was it that gave Jacob to be despoiled,
Israel to the plunderers?#Plunderers: the Assyrians and Babylonians. We…they: the switch from first- to third-person speech, though puzzling, does not obscure the fact that “the people” is meant.
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned?
In his ways they refused to walk,
his teaching they would not heed.
25So he poured out wrath upon them,
his anger, and the fury of battle;
It blazed all around them, yet they did not realize,
it burned them, but they did not take it to heart.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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