Isaiah 42
1 Behold my servant, I will uphold him, my elect, with him my soul is well-pleased. I have sent my Spirit upon him. He will offer judgment to the nations.
Behold, My servant, I take hold on Him, My Chosen One—My soul has accepted, I have put My Spirit on Him, He brings forth judgment to nations.
2 He will not cry out, and he will not show favoritism to anyone; neither will his voice be heard abroad.
He does not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 The bruised reed he will not break, and the smoldering wick he will not extinguish. He will lead forth judgment unto truth.
A bruised reed He does not break, And faded flax He does not quench, He brings forth judgment to truth.
4 He will not be saddened or troubled, until he establishes judgment on earth. And the islands will await his law.
He does not become weak nor bruised, Until He sets judgment in the earth, And islands wait with hope for His law.
5 Thus says the Lord God, who created the heavens and expanded it, who formed the earth and all that springs from it, who gives breath to the people in it, and spirit to those walking on it.
Thus said God, YHWH, Creating the heavens, and stretching them out, Spreading out the earth and its productions, Giving breath to the people on it, And spirit to those walking in it.
6 I, the Lord, have called you in justice, and I have taken your hand and preserved you. And I have presented you as a covenant of the people, as a light to the Gentiles,
I, YHWH, called you in righteousness, And I lay hold on your hand, and keep you, And I give you for a covenant of a people, And a light of nations.
7 so that you may open the eyes of the blind, and lead out the prisoner from confinement and those sitting in darkness from the house of incarceration.
To open the eyes of the blind, To bring forth the bound one from prison, Those sitting in darkness from the house of restraint.
8 I am the Lord; this is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.
I [am] YHWH, this [is] My Name, And I do not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
9 The things that were first, behold, they have arrived. And I also announce what is new. Before these things arise, I will cause you to hear about them.
The former things, behold, have come, And I am declaring new things, Before they spring up I cause you to hear.
10 Sing to the Lord a new canticle, sing his praise from the ends of the earth, you who descend into the sea and all its fullness, the islands and their inhabitants.
Sing a new song to YHWH, His praise from the end of the earth, You who are going down to the sea, and its fullness, Islands, and their inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its cities be lifted up. Kedar will dwell in houses. O inhabitants of the rock, give praise! They will cry out from the top of the mountains.
The wilderness and its cities lift up [their voice], Kedar inhabits the villages, The inhabitants of Sela sing, They cry from the top of mountains.
12 They will give glory to the Lord, and they will announce his praise to the islands.
They ascribe to YHWH glory, And they declare His praise in the islands.
13 The Lord will go forth like a strong man; like a man of battle, he will stir up zeal. He will shout and cry out. He will prevail against his enemies.
YHWH goes forth as a mighty one. He stirs up zeal as a man of war, He cries, indeed, He shrieks, He shows Himself mighty against His enemies.
14 I have always been quiet; I have been silent; I have been patient. I will speak like a woman giving birth. I will destroy and consume, all at once.
I have kept silent from of old, I keep silent, I refrain Myself, I cry out as a travailing woman, I desolate and swallow up together.
15 I will desolate the mountains and the hills, and I will wither all their grass. And I will turn rivers into islands, and I will dry up the pools of water.
I make desolate mountains and hills, And I dry up all their herbs, And I have made rivers become islands, And I dry up ponds.
16 And I will lead the blind along a way which they do not know. And I will cause them to walk along paths with which they were unfamiliar. I will turn darkness into light before them, and crooked into straight. These things I have done for them. For I have not abandoned them.
And I have caused the blind to go, In a way they have not known, I cause them to tread in paths they have not known, I make a dark place become light before them, And unleveled places become a plain, These [are] the things I have done to them, And I have not forsaken them.
17 They have been converted again. Let those who trust in graven idols be greatly confounded, for they say to a molten thing, “You are our god.”
Removed backward—utterly ashamed, Are those trusting in a carved image, Those saying to a molten image, “You [are] our gods.”
18 You who are deaf, hear! You who are blind, turn your gaze and see!
You deaf, hear; and you blind, look to see.
19 Who is blind, except my servant? Who is deaf, except the one to whom I have sent my messengers? Who is blind, except the one who has been sold? And who is blind, except the servant of the Lord?
Who [is] blind but My servant? And deaf as My messenger I send? Who [is] blind as he who is at peace, Indeed, blind, as the servant of YHWH?
20 You who see many things, will you not keep them? You who have open ears, will you not listen?
Seeing many things, and you do not observe, Opening ears, and he does not hear.
21 And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and to exalt him.
YHWH has delight for the sake of His righteousness, He magnifies law, and makes honorable.
22 But this same people has robbed and laid waste. All their youth are a snare, and they have been hidden in houses of confinement. They have become victims; there is no one who may rescue them. They have been plundered; there is no one who may say, “Restore.”
And this [is] a people seized and spoiled, Snared in holes—all of them, And they were hidden in houses of restraint, They have been for a prey, And there is no deliverer, A spoil, and none is saying, “Restore.”
23 Who is there among you who will hear this, who will listen closely and heed this in the future?
Who among you gives ear [to] this? Attends, and hears afterward?
24 Who has handed over Jacob into plunder, and Israel into devastation? Is it not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned? And they were not willing to walk in his ways, and they have not listened to his law.
Who has given Jacob for a spoil, And Israel to the spoilers? Is it not YHWH—He against whom we sinned? Indeed, they have not been willing to walk in His ways, Nor have they listened to His law.
25 And so, he poured out over him the indignation of his fury and a strong battle. And he burned him all around, and he did not realize it. And he set him on fire, and he did not understand it.
And He pours fury on him, His anger, and the strength of battle, And it sets him on fire all around, And he has not known, And it burns against him, and he does not lay it to heart!
