Isaiah 42
1 Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one, in him I take delight. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring justice to the nations.
Lo, My servant, I take hold on him, My chosen one — My soul hath accepted, I have put My Spirit upon him, Judgment to nations he bringeth forth.
2 He will not cry out nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the streets.
He doth not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause his voice to be heard, in the street.
3 A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench: he will faithfully execute justice.
A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment.
4 He will not grow faint nor be discouraged until he has established justice on the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.
He doth not become weak nor bruised, Till he setteth judgment in the earth, And for his law isles wait with hope.
5 This is what God Yahweh says— the one who created the heavens and stretched them out, the one who made the earth and all that it produces, the one who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who live on it:
Thus said God, Jehovah, preparing 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, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and set you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the Gentiles,
I, Jehovah, did call thee in righteousness, And I lay hold on thy hand, and keep thee, And I give thee for a covenant of a people, And a light of nations.
7 to open the eyes of the blind, to release the prisoners from the dungeon, and from the house of confinement those who sit in darkness.
To open the eyes of the blind, To bring forth from prison the bound one, From the house of restraint those sitting in darkness.
8 I am Yahweh, that is my name; and my glory I will not share with another nor my praise with carved idols.
I [am] Jehovah, this [is] My name, And Mine honour to another I give not, Nor My praise to graven images.
9 See, the previous things came to pass, now I am about to declare new events. Before they begin to occur I will tell you about them.”
The former things, lo, have come, And new things I am declaring, Before they spring up I cause you to hear.
10 Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the coastlands, and those who live there.
Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, Ye who are going down to the sea, and its fulness, Isles, and their inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and the cities cry out, the villages where Kedar lives, shout for joy! Let the inhabitants of Sela sing; let them shout from the mountaintops.
The wilderness and its cities do lift up [the voice], The villages Kedar doth inhabit, Sing do the inhabitants of Sela, From the top of mountains they cry.
12 Let them give glory to Yahweh and declare his praise in the coastlands.
They ascribe to Jehovah honour, And His praise in the isles they declare.
13 Yahweh will go out as a warrior; as a man of war he will stir up his zeal. He will shout, yes, he will roar his battle cries; he will show his enemies his power.
Jehovah as a mighty one goeth forth. As a man of war He stirreth up zeal, He crieth, yea, He shrieketh, Against His enemies He showeth Himself mighty.
14 I have kept quiet for a long time; I have been still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.
I have kept silent from of old, I keep silent, I refrain myself, As a travailing woman I cry out, I desolate and swallow up together.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; and I will turn the rivers into islands and will dry up the marshes.
I make waste mountains and hills, And all their herbs I dry up, And I have made rivers become isles, And ponds I dry up.
16 I will bring the blind by a way that they do not know; in paths that they do not know I will lead them. I will turn the darkness into light before them, and make the crooked places straight. These things I will do, and I will not abandon them.
And I have caused the blind to go, In a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I cause them to tread, I make a dark place before them become light, And unlevelled places become a plain, These [are] the things I have done to them, And I have not forsaken them.
17 They will be turned back, they will be completely put to shame, those who trust in carved figures, who say to cast metal figures, “You are our gods.”
Removed backward — utterly ashamed, Are those trusting in a graven image, Those saying to a molten image, 'Ye [are] our gods.'
18 Listen, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see.
Ye deaf, hear; and ye blind, look to see.
19 Who is blind but my servant? Or deaf like my messenger I send? Who is as blind as my covenant partner, or blind as Yahweh's servant?
Who [is] blind but My servant? And deaf as My messenger I send? Who [is] blind as he who is at peace, Yea, blind, as the servant of Jehovah?
20 You see many things, but do not comprehend; ears are open, but no one hears.
Seeing many things, and thou observest not, Opening ears, and he heareth not.
21 It pleased Yahweh to praise his justice and to make his law glorious.
Jehovah hath delight for the sake of His righteousness, He magnifieth law, and maketh honourable.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all trapped in pits, held captive in prisons; they have become a plunder with no one to rescue them, and no one says, “Bring them back!”
And this [is] a people seized and spoiled, Snared in holes — all of them, And in houses of restraint they were hidden, They have been for a prey, And there is no deliverer, A spoil, and none is saying, 'Restore.'
23 Who among you will listen to this? Who will listen and hear in the future?
Who among you giveth ear [to] this? Attendeth, and heareth afterwards.
24 Who gave Jacob over to the robber, and Israel to the looters? Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they refused to walk, and whose law they refused to obey?
Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, And Israel to the spoilers? Is it not Jehovah — He against whom we sinned? Yea, they have not been willing in His ways to walk, Nor have they hearkened to His law.
25 Therefore he poured out on them his fierce anger and the violence of war, Its flames encircled them, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
And He poureth on him fury, His anger, and the strength of battle, And it setteth him on fire round about, And he hath not known, And it burneth against him, and he layeth it not to heart!
