Isaiah 42
1 [Yahweh says, “I want you people to know about] my servant, whom I encourage. I have chosen him, and I am pleased with him. I have given him my Spirit, and he will make certain that all the people-groups do what is right/just.
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.
2 He will not [show his power by] shouting [DOU] or by talking very loudly.
He will not cry out, and he will not show favoritism to anyone; neither will his voice be heard abroad.
3 He will not get rid of [anyone who is weak like] [MET] a smashed reed, and he will not [end the life of anyone who is helpless like] [MET] someone would extinguish a dimly burning wick [of an oil lamp]. He will faithfully/continually make sure that judges decide cases justly.
The bruised reed he will not break, and the smoldering wick he will not extinguish. He will lead forth judgment unto truth.
4 He will not become exhausted or discouraged all during the time that he is causing things to be done justly throughout the earth. Even [people living on the islands in] [MTY] the oceans will confidently wait for [him to teach them] his laws.”
He will not be saddened or troubled, until he establishes judgment on earth. And the islands will await his law.
5 Yahweh our God created the sky and spread it out. He also created the earth and everything on it. He gives breath to all the people on the earth; he causes them to live [DOU]. [And he is the one who says to his special servant],
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.
6 “I, Yahweh, have chosen you to show people that I always act righteously/fairly. I will grasp your hand and protect you, and I will present you to [my Israeli] people to be the one who will put into effect my agreement with them. [You will be like] a light to the [other] nations.
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,
7 You will enable blind [IDM] people to see, you will free those who are in prison (OR, who are bound [by the guilt of their sins]) [MET] and release those who are in dark dungeons.
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.
8 I am Yahweh; that is my name. I will not allow anyone else to receive the honor that only I deserve. And I will not allow idols to be praised like only I should be praised.
I am the Lord; this is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.
9 Everything that I have prophesied has happened, and now I will tell about other things that will happen. I will tell you things that will happen before they happen.”
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.
10 Sing a new song to Yahweh! Sing to praise him throughout the world! All you people who sail across the oceans, and all you creatures that live in the oceans, and all you people who live on islands far away, sing!
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.
11 You people who live in towns in the desert, sing loudly! You people who live in the Kedar [area in the north of Arabia], you rejoice also! You people in Sela [city in Edom], you also should sing joyfully; shout [to praise him] from the tops of your mountains!
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.
12 Even people who live on distant islands should honor Yahweh and sing to praise him.
They will give glory to the Lord, and they will announce his praise to the islands.
13 [It will be as though] Yahweh will march out like [SIM] a mighty soldier; he will show that he is very angry. He will shout a battle-cry, and [then] he will defeat all his enemies.
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.
14 [He will say], “I have remained silent [DOU] for a long time; I have restrained myself [from doing what I need to do]. But now, like [SIM] a woman who is giving birth to a baby, I will cry out and gasp and pant.
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.
15 I will level off the hills and mountains, and I will cause all the plants and trees to dry up. I will cause the rivers to become small streams, and little islands will appear in them, and I will cause all the pools to become dry.
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.
16 [My people who have been taken to Babylonia are like] [MET] blind people, [but] I will lead them along a road on which they have not walked before, on a road that they have not seen before. They have felt [very helpless, as though] they were walking in the darkness, but I will take away that darkness and I will make smooth the road that is in front of them. Those are the things that I will do for them; I will not abandon them.
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.
17 But those who trust in carved idols, and say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be completely humiliated/disgraced.”
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.”
18 You [Israeli people who have acted toward God like] deaf [people], listen [to what Yahweh says]! “You [who have been like] [MET] blind [people], look!
You who are deaf, hear! You who are blind, turn your gaze and see!
19 No people are [RHQ] as blind as my people, who [should have been] serving me. No people are [RHQ] as much like [MET] deaf people as [the Israelis, who should have been] my messengers. No people are [RHQ] as much like [MET] blind people as those whom I chose to serve me.
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?
20 You see and know what are the right things to do, but you do not do them. You hear [what I say to you], but you do not pay attention.”
You who see many things, will you not keep them? You who have open ears, will you not listen?
21 Because Yahweh is righteous, he has honored his glorious laws.
And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and to exalt him.
22 But [the armies of Babylon have destroyed Jerusalem] and have completely (plundered/taken away) [DOU] all the valuable things, and they have captured Yahweh’s people and taken them away and put them in prison. They have been captured easily, because there was no one to protect them; there was no one to say that they should be allowed to return home.
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.”
23 Who among you will listen carefully to these things? Who will pay attention from now on?
Who is there among you who will hear this, who will listen closely and heed this in the future?
24 Who allowed the valuable possessions of the people of Israel to be stolen [RHQ, DOU]? It was Yahweh, because he is he one against whom we had sinned; we did not conduct our lives like he wanted us to, and we did not obey his laws.
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.
25 Therefore, he was extremely angry with us, and he caused our soldiers to be destroyed in battles. [It was as though] [MET] he lit a fire around us, but we did not understand [what he was trying to tell us]. [His being angry with us was like] a fire that would burn us up, but we did not pay attention [IDM].
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.
