Isaiah 42

1 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.

“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.

2 He does not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.

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

3 A bruised reed He does not break, And faded flax He does not quench, He brings forth judgment to truth.

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

4 He does not become weak nor bruised, Until He sets judgment in the earth, And islands wait with hope for His law.

He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”

5 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.

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:

6 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.

“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,

7 To open the eyes of the blind, To bring forth the bound one from prison, Those sitting in darkness from the house of restraint.

to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

8 I [am] YHWH, this [is] My Name, And I do not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

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

9 The former things, behold, have come, And I am declaring new things, Before they spring up I cause you to hear.

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

10 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.

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.

11 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.

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.

12 They ascribe to YHWH glory, And they declare His praise in the islands.

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

13 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.

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:

14 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.

“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.

15 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.

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.

16 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.

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.

17 Removed backward—utterly ashamed, Are those trusting in a carved image, Those saying to a molten image, “You [are] our gods.”

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

18 You deaf, hear; and you blind, look to see.

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

19 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?

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?

20 Seeing many things, and you do not observe, Opening ears, and he does not hear.

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

21 YHWH has delight for the sake of His righteousness, He magnifies law, and makes honorable.

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

22 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.”

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!”

23 Who among you gives ear [to] this? Attends, and hears afterward?

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

24 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.

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.

25 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!

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.