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 one, in him I take delight. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets.

He will not cry out nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the streets.

3 A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench: he will faithfully execute justice.

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 will not grow faint nor be discouraged until he has established justice on the earth; and the coastlands 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:

This is what God Yahweh says— the one who created the heavens and stretched them out, the one who made the earth and all that it produces, the one who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who live on 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,

“I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and set you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the Gentiles,

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 eyes of the blind, to release the prisoners from the dungeon, and from the house of confinement those who sit in darkness.

8 I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.

I am Yahweh, that is my name; and my glory I will not share with another nor my praise with carved idols.

9 Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

See, the previous things came to pass, now I am about to declare new events. Before they begin to occur I will tell you about them.”

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 Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the coastlands, and those who live there.

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 and the cities cry out, the villages where Kedar lives, shout for joy! Let the inhabitants of Sela sing; let them shout from the mountaintops.

12 Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.

Let them give glory to Yahweh and declare his praise in the coastlands.

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:

Yahweh will go out as a warrior; as a man of war he will stir up his zeal. He will shout, yes, he will roar his battle cries; he will show his enemies his power.

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 kept quiet for a long time; I have been still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.

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 vegetation; and I will turn the rivers into islands and will dry up the marshes.

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.

I will bring the blind by a way that they do not know; in paths that they do not know I will lead them. I will turn the darkness into light before them, and make the crooked places straight. These things I will do, and I will not abandon them.

17 But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.

They will be turned back, they will be completely put to shame, those who trust in carved figures, who say to cast metal figures, “You are our gods.”

18 Listen, you deaf ones; look, you blind ones, that you may see!

Listen, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may 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 but my servant? Or deaf like my messenger I send? Who is as blind as my covenant partner, or blind as Yahweh's servant?

20 Though seeing many things, you do not keep watch. Though your ears are open, you do not hear.”

You see many things, but do not comprehend; ears are open, but no one hears.

21 The LORD was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness, to magnify His law and make it glorious.

It pleased Yahweh to praise his justice and to make his law 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!”

But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all trapped in pits, held captive in prisons; they have become a plunder with no one to rescue them, and no one says, “Bring them back!”

23 Who among you will pay attention to this? Who will listen and obey hereafter?

Who among you will listen to this? Who will listen and hear in the future?

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 over to the robber, and Israel to the looters? Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they refused to walk, and whose law they refused to 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 he poured out on them his fierce anger and the violence of war, Its flames encircled them, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.