< Isaiah 42 >

1 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.
Jacob is my servant, I will help him: Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgement to the Gentiles.
2 He doth not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause his voice to be heard, in the street.
He shall not cry, nor lift up [his voice], nor shall his voice be heard without.
3 A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; but he shall bring forth judgement to truth.
4 He doth not become weak nor bruised, Till he setteth judgment in the earth, And for his law isles wait with hope.
He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged, until he have set judgement on the earth: and in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
5 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.
Thus says the Lord God, who made the heaven, and established it; who settled the earth, and the things in it, and gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to them that tread on it:
6 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.
I the Lord God have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will strengthen you: and I have given you for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles:
7 To open the eyes of the blind, To bring forth from prison the bound one, From the house of restraint those sitting in darkness.
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the bound and them that sit in darkness out of bonds and the prison-house.
8 I [am] Jehovah, this [is] My name, And Mine honour to another I give not, Nor My praise to graven images.
I am the Lord God: that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praises to graven images.
9 The former things, lo, have come, And new things I am declaring, Before they spring up I cause you to hear.
Behold, the ancient things have come to pass, and [so will] the new things which I tell you: yes, before I tell [them] they are made known to you.
10 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.
Sing a new hymn to the Lord: you [who are] his dominion, glorify his name from the end of the earth: you that go down to the sea, and sail upon it; the islands, and they that dwell in them.
11 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.
Rejoice, you wilderness, and the villages thereof, the hamlets, and the dwellers in Kedar: the inhabitants of the rock shall rejoice, they shall shout from the top of the mountains.
12 They ascribe to Jehovah honour, And His praise in the isles they declare.
They shall give glory to God, [and] shall proclaim his praises in the islands.
13 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.
The Lord God of hosts shall go forth, and crush the war: he shall stir up jealousy, and shall shout mightily against his enemies.
14 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.
I have been silent: shall I also always be silent and forbear: I have endured like a travailing [woman]: I will [now] amaze and wither at once.
15 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.
I will make desolate mountains and hills, and will dry up all their grass; and I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools.
16 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.
And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and I will cause them to tread paths which they have not known: I will turn darkness into light for them, and crooked things into straight. These things will I do, and will not forsake them.
17 Removed backward — utterly ashamed, Are those trusting in a graven image, Those saying to a molten image, 'Ye [are] our gods.'
But they are turned back: be you utterly ashamed that trust in graven [images], who say to the molten [images], You are our gods.
18 Ye deaf, hear; and ye blind, look to see.
Hear, you deaf, and look up, you blind, to see.
19 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?
And who is blind, but my servants? and deaf, but they that rule over them? yes, the servants of God have been made blind.
20 Seeing many things, and thou observest not, Opening ears, and he heareth not.
You have often seen, and have not taken heed; [your] ears have been opened, and you have not heard.
21 Jehovah hath delight for the sake of His righteousness, He magnifieth law, and maketh honourable.
The Lord God has taken counsel that he might be justified, and might magnify [his] praise.
22 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.'
And I saw, and the people were spoiled and plundered: for [there is] a snare in the secret chambers everywhere, and in the houses also, where they have hidden them: they became a spoil, and there was no one that delivered the prey, and there was none who said, Restore.
23 Who among you giveth ear [to] this? Attendeth, and heareth afterwards.
Who [is there] amongst you that will give ear to these things? listen you to the things which are coming to pass.
24 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.
For what did he give to Jacob up to spoil, and Israel to them that plundered him? Did not God [do it] against whom they sinned? [and] they would not walk in his ways, nor listen to his law.
25 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!
So he brought upon them the fury of his wrath; and the war, and those that burnt round about them, prevailed against them; yet no one of them knew [it], neither did they lay [it] to heart.

< Isaiah 42 >