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.
Look! Here is my servant, the one I support; my chosen one who pleases me. I have placed my Spirit on him, and he will show the nations what is right.
2 He does not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
He won't shout or cry out; he won't raise his voice in the street.
3 A bruised reed He does not break, And faded flax He does not quench, He brings forth judgment to truth.
He won't break a damaged reed; he won't snuff out a smoldering wick. He will faithfully make sure everyone is treated fairly.
4 He does not become weak nor bruised, Until He sets judgment in the earth, And islands wait with hope for His law.
He won't give up or become discouraged until he has made sure that justice is upheld throughout the world. Even lands overseas will look forward to his teachings.
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, the one who created the heavens and stretched them out, who made the earth and everything in it, who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live there:
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 to demonstrate what's right, and I will hold your hand. I will take care of you, and give you as a sign of my agreement with the people and as 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.
You will make the blind see, set free those who are locked up, and lead those who sit in darkness out from prison.
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 do not give my honor to anyone else; I do not give 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.
Notice that what I foretold has come true, as will the new things I'm saying to you now. I tell you what will happen before it does.”
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 a new song to the Lord! Sing praise from everywhere on earth, you who sail on the sea and everything in it, you islands and everyone who lives 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 people in the desert and its towns shout; let the people of the villages of Kedar cry out loud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
12 They ascribe to YHWH glory, And they declare His praise in the islands.
Let them glorify the Lord and praise him 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.
Like a mighty warrior the Lord will march out, like a seasoned soldier he goes out with courage. He gives his war-cry, shouting as he battles and defeats 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 didn't say anything for a long time, I kept quiet and restrained myself. But now like a woman giving birth, I will moan and 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 dry up the mountains and the hills, and make all their greenery wither. I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.
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 along a road they don't know; I will guide them along paths they don't know. I will turn darkness into light before them, and smooth out the rough places. This is what I'm going to do for them; I won't let them down.
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 images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be rejected in humiliation and shame.
18 You deaf, hear; and you blind, look to see.
Listen, you deaf people! Look and see, you blind people!
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 like my servant? Who is deaf like my messenger that I send? Who is as blind as the people of the agreement? Who is as blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 Seeing many things, and you do not observe, Opening ears, and he does not hear.
You've looked at many things but have not really seen; you've heard but never really listened.”
21 YHWH has delight for the sake of His righteousness, He magnifies law, and makes honorable.
Because the Lord does what is right he wanted to show how important and wonderful his instructions were.
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 people ended up robbed and raided, all of them trapped in holes or hidden in prisons. They have been stolen like loot, with no one to save them from being someone's prize, no one to say “Give them back!”
23 Who among you gives ear [to] this? Attends, and hears afterward?
Who of you is going to listen to this, or pay attention later on?
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 let Jacob be taken as loot; who let Israel be taken by robbers? Wasn't it the Lord who we sinned against? The people weren't willing to follow his ways, and they refused to 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 his furious anger on them, and the violence of war. Even though they were surrounded by flames, but they still didn't understand. The fire burned them up, but they still did not take the situation seriously.
