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
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.