Esias 42

1 Jacob is my servant, I will help him: Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

"Look, my servant I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He shall not cry, nor lift up [his voice], nor shall his voice be heard without.

He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.

3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; but he shall bring forth judgment to truth.

He won't break a bruised reed. And he won't extinguish a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.

4 He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged, until he have set judgment on the earth: and in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

He will not grow dim or be crushed, until he has established justice on the earth, and in his name the coastlands will hope."

5 Thus saith the Lord God, who made the heaven, and established it; who settled the earth, and the things in it, and gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to them that tread on it:

Thus says God, the LORD, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it.

6 I the Lord God have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will strengthen thee: and I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles:

"I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations;

7 to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the bound and them that sit in darkness out of bonds and the prison-house.

to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.

8 I am the Lord God: that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praises to graven images.

"I am the LORD. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images.

9 Behold, the ancient things have come to pass, and [so will] the new things which I tell you: yea, before I tell [them] they are made known to you.

Look, the former things have happened, and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up."

10 Sing a new hymn to the Lord: ye [who are] his dominion, glorify his name from the end of the earth: ye that go down to the sea, and sail upon it; the islands, and they that dwell in them.

Sing to the LORD a new song, and his praise from the remotest parts of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the islands and their inhabitants.

11 Rejoice, thou wilderness, and the villages thereof, the hamlets, and the dwellers in Kedar: the inhabitants of the rock shall rejoice, they shall shout from the top of the mountains.

Let the desert and its cities cry out, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains.

12 They shall give glory to God, [and] shall proclaim his praises in the islands.

Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.

13 The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, and crush the war: he shall stir up jealousy, and shall shout mightily against his enemies.

The LORD will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.

14 I have been silent: shall I also always be silent and forbear: I have endured like a travailing [woman]: I will [now] amaze and wither at once.

"I have been silent a long time. I have been quiet and restrained myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant.

15 I will make desolate mountains and hills, and will dry up all their grass; and I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools.

I will destroy mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.

16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will cause them to tread paths which they have not known: I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight. These things will I do, and will not forsake them.

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

17 But they are turned back: be ye utterly ashamed that trust in graven [images], who say to the molten [images], Ye are our gods.

"Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, 'You are our gods' will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.

18 Hear, ye deaf, and look up, ye blind, to see.

"Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.

19 And who is blind, but my servants? and deaf, but they that rule over them? yea, the servants of God have been made blind.

Who is blind, but my servant? Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is as blind as he who is at peace, and as blind as the LORD's servant?

20 Ye have often seen, and have not taken heed; [your] ears have been opened, and ye have not heard.

You see many things, but do not observe. His ears are open, but he doesn't listen.

21 The Lord God has taken counsel that he might be justified, and might magnify [his] praise.

It pleased the LORD, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable.

22 And I beheld, and the people were spoiled and plundered: for [there is] a snare in the secret chambers everywhere, and in the houses also, where they have hidden them: they became a spoil, and there was no one that delivered the prey, and there was none who said, Restore.

But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become a prey, and no one delivers; and a spoil, and no one says, 'Restore them.'

23 Who [is there] among you that will give ear to these things? hearken ye to the things which are coming to pass.

Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?

24 For what did he give to Jacob up to spoil, and Israel to them that plundered him? Did not God [do it] against whom they sinned? [and] they would not walk in his ways, nor hearken to his law.

Who gave Jacob as plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, and they disobeyed his law.

25 So he brought upon them the fury of his wrath; and the war, and those that burnt round about them, prevailed against them; yet no one of them knew [it], neither did they lay [it] to heart.

Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire all around, but he did not know; and it burned him, but he did not take it to heart."