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, 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, and he will not show favoritism to anyone; neither will his voice be heard abroad.
He shall not cry aloud, nor lift up his voice, Nor cause it 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.
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 be saddened or troubled, until he establishes judgment on earth. And the islands will await his law.
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 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 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 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, 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 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 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; this is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.
I am Jehovah, that is my name; And my glory will I not give to another, Nor my praise to graven 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! 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 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 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 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.
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 They will give glory to the Lord, and they will announce his praise to the islands.
Let them give glory to Jehovah, And proclaim his praise in distant lands!
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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.”
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 You who are deaf, hear! You who are blind, turn your gaze and see!
Hear, O ye deaf! And look, ye blind, and 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, 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 You who see many things, will you not keep them? You who have open ears, will you not listen?
Thou seest many things, but regardest them not; Thou hast thine ears open, but hearest not!
21 And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and to exalt him.
It pleased Jehovah for his goodness' sake To give him a law, great and glorious;
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 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 is there among you who will hear this, who will listen closely and heed this in the future?
Who is there among you that will give ear to this, That will listen and attend for the time to come?
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 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 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.
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.
