Isaiah 42
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.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my spirit upon him; He shall cause law to go forth to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets.
He shall not cry aloud, nor lift up his voice, Nor cause it to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
The bruised reed shall he not break, And the glimmering flax shall he not quench; He shall send forth law according to truth.
4 He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”
He shall not fail, nor become weary, Until he shall have established justice in the earth. And distant nations shall wait for his law.
5 This 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:
Thus saith God Jehovah, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth, and that which springeth forth from it, Who gave breath to the people upon it, And spirit to them that walk thereon:
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,
I, Jehovah, have called thee for salvation; I will hold thee by the hand; I will defend thee, and make thee a covenant to the people, A light to the nations;
7 to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
To open the blind eyes, To bring out the prisoners from the prison, And them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.
8 I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.
I am Jehovah, that is my name; And my glory will I not give to another, Nor my praise to graven images.
9 Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”
The former things, behold! they are come to pass, And new things do I now declare; Before they spring forth, I make them known to you.
10 Sing 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, and all who dwell in them.
Sing to Jehovah a new song; His praise to the ends of the earth; Ye that go down upon the sea, and all that fill it; Ye distant coasts, and ye that dwell therein!
11 Let 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.
Let the desert cry aloud, and the cities thereof; The villages, that Kedar inhabiteth; Let the inhabitants of the rock sing; Let them shout from the top of the mountains!
12 Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.
Let them give glory to Jehovah, And proclaim his praise in distant lands!
13 The 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:
Jehovah shall march forth like a hero; Like a mighty warrior shall he rouse his indignation, He shall cry aloud; he shall shout the war-cry, And show himself mighty against 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.
“I have long held my peace; I have been still and refrained myself; But now will I cry like a woman in travail; I will destroy and swallow up at once.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.
I will lay waste mountains and hills, And dry up all their herbs. I will make the river solid land, And dry up the pools of water.
16 I 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.
Then will I lead the blind in a way which they know not, And in unknown paths will I guide them; I will make darkness light before them, And crooked paths straight; These things will I do for them, and not forsake them.”
17 But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.
Then shall they be turned back, and be put to shame, Who trust in graven images; Who say to molten images, “Ye are our gods!”
18 Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!
Hear, O ye deaf! And look, ye blind, and see!
19 Who 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?
Who is blind, if not my servant? And who so deaf as my messenger, whom I send? Who so blind as the friend of God, So blind as the servant of Jehovah?
20 Though seeing many things, you do not keep watch. Though your ears are open, you do not hear.”
Thou seest many things, but regardest them not; Thou hast thine ears open, but hearest not!
21 The LORD was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify His law and make it glorious.
It pleased Jehovah for his goodness' sake To give him a law, great and glorious;
22 But 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!”
And yet it is a robbed and plundered people; They are all of them bound in prisons, And hid in dungeons; They have become a spoil, and none delivereth; A prey, and none saith, “Restore!”
23 Who among you will pay attention to this? Who will listen and obey hereafter?
Who is there among you that will give ear to this, That will listen and attend for the time to come?
24 Who 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.
Who gave Jacob to be a spoil, And Israel to plunderers? Was it not Jehovah, against whom we sinned, In whose ways we would not walk, And whose laws we would not obey?
25 So 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.
Therefore hath he poured out upon Israel the fury of his wrath, and the violence of war; It kindled a flame around about him, yet he did not regard it; It set him on fire, yet he laid it not to heart.
