Isaiah 42
1 Lo! my seruaunt, Y schal vptake hym, my chosun, my soule pleside to it silf in hym. I yaf my spirit on hym, he schal brynge forth doom to hethene men.
See my servant, whom I am supporting, my loved one, in whom I take delight: I have put my spirit on him; he will give the knowledge of the true God to the nations.
2 He schal not crie, nether he schal take a persoone, nether his vois schal be herd withoutforth.
He will make no cry, his voice will not be loud: his words will not come to men's ears in the streets.
3 He schal not breke a schakun rehed, and he schal not quenche smokynge flax; he schal brynge out doom in treuthe.
He will not let a crushed stem be quite broken, and he will not let a feebly burning light be put out: he will go on sending out the true word to the peoples.
4 He schal not be sorewful, nether troblid, til he sette doom in erthe, and ilis schulen abide his lawe.
His light will not be put out, and he will not be crushed, till he has given the knowledge of the true God to the earth, and the sea-lands will be waiting for his teaching.
5 The Lord God seith these thingis, makynge heuenes of noyt, and stretchynge forth tho, makynge stidfast the erthe, and tho thingis that buriownen of it, yyuynge breeth to the puple, that is on it, and yyuynge spirit to hem that treden on it.
God the Lord, even he who made the heavens, measuring them out on high; stretching out the earth, and giving its produce; he who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who go about on it, says:
6 Y the Lord haue clepid thee in riytfulnesse, and Y took thin hond, and kepte thee, and Y yaf thee in to a boond of pees of the puple, and in to liyt of folkis.
I the Lord have made you the vessel of my purpose, I have taken you by the hand, and kept you safe, and I have given you to be an agreement to the people, and a light to the nations:
7 That thou schuldist opene the iyen of blynde men; that thou schuldist lede out of closyng togidere a boundun man, fro the hous of prisoun men sittynge in derknessis.
To give eyes to the blind, to make free the prisoners from the prison, to let out those who are shut up in the dark.
8 Y am the Lord, this is my name; Y schal not yyue my glorie to an othere, and my preisyng to grauun ymagis.
I am the Lord; that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, or my praise to pictured images.
9 Lo! tho thingis that weren the firste, ben comun, and Y telle newe thingis; Y schal make herd to you, bifore that tho bigynnen to be maad.
See, the things said before have come about, and now I give word of new things: before they come I give you news of them.
10 Synge ye a newe song to the Lord; his heriyng is fro the laste partis of erthe; ye that goon doun in to the see, and the fulnesse therof, ilis, and the dwelleris of tho.
Make a new song to the Lord, and let his praise be sounded from the end of the earth; you who go down to the sea, and everything in it, the sea-lands and their people.
11 The desert be reisid, and the citees therof; he schal dwelle in the housis of Cedar; ye dwelleris of the stoon, herie ye; thei schulen crie fro the cop of hillis.
Let the waste land and its flocks be glad, the tent-circles of Kedar; let the people of the rock give a glad cry, from the top of the mountains let them make a sound of joy.
12 Thei schulen sette glorie to the Lord, and they schulen telle his heriyng in ilis.
Let them give glory to the Lord, sounding his praise in the sea-lands.
13 The Lord as a strong man schal go out, as a man a werryour he schal reise feruent loue; he schal speke, and schal crie; he schal be coumfortid on hise enemyes.
The Lord will go out as a man of war, he will be moved to wrath like a fighting-man: his voice will be strong, he will give a loud cry; he will go against his attackers like a man of war.
14 Y was stille, euere Y helde silence; Y was pacient, Y schal speke as a womman trauelynge of child; Y schal scatere, and Y schal swolowe togidere.
I have long been quiet, I have kept myself in and done nothing: now I will make sounds of pain like a woman in childbirth, breathing hard and quickly.
15 Y schal make desert hiy mounteyns and litle hillis, and Y schal drie vp al the buriownyng of tho; and Y schal sette floodis in to ilis, and Y schal make poondis drie.
I will make waste mountains and hills, drying up all their plants; and I will make rivers dry, and pools dry land.
16 And Y schal lede out blynde men in to the weie, which thei knowen not, and Y schal make hem to go in pathis, whiche thei knewen not; Y schal sette the derknessis of hem bifore hem in to liyt, and schrewid thingis in to riytful thingis; Y dide these wordis to hem, and Y forsook not hem.
And I will take the blind by a way of which they had no knowledge, guiding them by roads strange to them: I will make the dark places light before them, and the rough places level. These things will I do and will not give them up.
17 Thei ben turned abac; be thei schent with schenschipe, that trusten in a grauun ymage; whiche seien to a yotun ymage, Ye ben oure goddis.
They will be turned back and be greatly shamed who put their hope in pictured images, who say to metal images, You are our gods.
18 Ye deef men, here; and ye blynde men, biholde to se.
Give ear, you whose ears are shut; and let your eyes be open, you blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blynd, no but my seruaunt? and deef, no but he to whom Y sente my messangeris? Who is blynd, no but he that is seeld? and who is blynd, no but the seruaunt of the Lord?
Who is blind, but my servant? who has his ears stopped, but he whom I send? who is blind as my true one, or who has his ears shut like the Lord's servant?
20 Whether thou that seest many thingis, schalt not kepe? Whether thou that hast open eeris, schalt not here?
Seeing much, but keeping nothing in mind; his ears are open, but there is no hearing.
21 And the Lord wolde, that he schulde halewe it, and magnefie the lawe, and enhaunse it.
It was the Lord's pleasure, because of his righteousness, to make the teaching great and give it honour.
22 But thilke puple was rauyschid, and wastid; alle thei ben the snare of yonge men, and ben hid in the housis of prisouns. Thei ben maad in to raueyn, and noon is that delyuereth; in to rauyschyng, and noon is that seith, Yelde thou.
But this is a people whose property has been taken away from them by force; they are all taken in holes, and shut up in prisons: they are made prisoners, and no one makes them free; they are taken by force and no one says, Give them back.
23 Who is among you, that herith this, perseyueth, and herkneth thingis to comynge?
Who is there among you who will give ear to this? who will give attention to it for the time to come?
24 Who yaf Jacob in to rauyschyng, and Israel to distrieris? Whether not the Lord? He it is, ayens whom thei synneden; and thei nolden go in hise weies, and thei herden not his lawe.
Who gave up Jacob to those who took away his goods, and Israel to his attackers? Did not the Lord? he against whom they did wrong, and in whose ways they would not go, turning away from his teaching.
25 And he schedde out on hem the indignacioun of his strong veniaunce, and strong batel; and thei brenten it in cumpas, and it knewe not; and he brente it, and it vndurstood not.
For this reason he let loose on him the heat of his wrath, and his strength was like a flame; and it put fire round about him, but he did not see it; he was burned, but did not take it to heart.
