Add parallel Print Page Options

God’s servant described

42 But here is my servant, the one I uphold;
    my chosen, who brings me delight.
I’ve put my spirit upon him;
    he will bring justice to the nations.
He won’t cry out or shout aloud
    or make his voice heard in public.
He won’t break a bruised reed;
    he won’t extinguish a faint wick,
    but he will surely bring justice.
He won’t be extinguished or broken
    until he has established justice in the land.
The coastlands await his teaching.

God the Lord says—
    the one who created the heavens,
    the one who stretched them out,
    the one who spread out the earth and its offspring,
    the one who gave breath to its people
    and life to those who walk on it—
I, the Lord, have called you for a good reason.
    I will grasp your hand and guard you,
    and give you as a covenant to the people,
    as a light to the nations,
    to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
    and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
I am the Lord;
    that is my name;
    I don’t hand out my glory to others
        or my praise to idols.
The things announced in the past—look—they’ve already happened,
    but I’m declaring new things.
    Before they even appear,
    I tell you about them.

Warrior and mother

10 Sing to the Lord a new song!
    Sing his praise from the ends of the earth!
You who sail the sea and all that fills it,
    the coastlands and their residents.
11 Let the desert and its towns shout aloud,
    the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the cliff dwellers sing;
    from the top of the mountains let them shout.
12 Let them give the Lord glory
    and declare God’s praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord will go out like a soldier;
    like a warrior God will stir up rage.
God will shout, will roar;
    over enemies he will prevail.
14 I’ve kept still for a very long time.
    I’ve been silent and restrained myself.
Like a woman in labor I will moan;
    I will pant, I will gasp.
15 I will wither mountains and valleys,
    and I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into deserts,[a]
    and I will dry up pools.
16 I will make the blind walk a road they don’t know,
    and I will guide them in paths they don’t know.
But I will make darkness before them into light
    and rough places into level ground.
These things I will do;
    I won’t abandon them.

Blindness and deafness

17 Turned backward, utterly shamed
    are those who trust in idols,
    who say to a cast image,
    “You are our god!”
18 Hear, deaf ones,
    and blind ones, look and see!
19 Who is blind if not my servant
    and deaf like my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like the restored one,[b]
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but don’t keep watch.
    With ears open, you don’t hear.[c]
21 The Lord desired for the sake of his righteousness
    to expand and glorify the Instruction.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted,
    everyone trapped in holes and hidden in dungeons.
They have become plunder with no one to rescue,
    loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”

23 Which of you will listen to this,
    will pay attention and respond from now on?
24 Who gave Jacob to the looter,
    and Israel to the plunderers?
Wasn’t it the Lord,
    the one we sinned against?
They were not willing to walk in God’s ways,
    and wouldn’t listen to his teaching.
25 So God poured out on Jacob the heat of his anger
    and the fury of battle.
It scorched him, and he didn’t know it;
    it burned him, but he didn’t give it much thought.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 42:15 Or islands
  2. Isaiah 42:19 Heb Meshullam, possibly a proper name
  3. Isaiah 42:20 Or he does not hear

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Here is my servant,(A) whom I uphold,
    my chosen one(B) in whom I delight;(C)
I will put my Spirit(D) on him,
    and he will bring justice(E) to the nations.(F)
He will not shout or cry out,(G)
    or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed(H) he will not break,(I)
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.(J)
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;(K)
    he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice(L) on earth.
    In his teaching(M) the islands(N) will put their hope.”(O)

This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,(P) who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth(Q) with all that springs from it,(R)
    who gives breath(S) to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called(T) you in righteousness;(U)
    I will take hold of your hand.(V)
I will keep(W) you and will make you
    to be a covenant(X) for the people
    and a light(Y) for the Gentiles,(Z)
to open eyes that are blind,(AA)
    to free(AB) captives from prison(AC)
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.(AD)

“I am the Lord;(AE) that is my name!(AF)
    I will not yield my glory to another(AG)
    or my praise to idols.(AH)
See, the former things(AI) have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce(AJ) them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

10 Sing(AK) to the Lord a new song,(AL)
    his praise(AM) from the ends of the earth,(AN)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,(AO)
    you islands,(AP) and all who live in them.
11 Let the wilderness(AQ) and its towns raise their voices;
    let the settlements where Kedar(AR) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela(AS) sing for joy;
    let them shout from the mountaintops.(AT)
12 Let them give glory(AU) to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise(AV) in the islands.(AW)
13 The Lord will march out like a champion,(AX)
    like a warrior(AY) he will stir up his zeal;(AZ)
with a shout(BA) he will raise the battle cry
    and will triumph over his enemies.(BB)

14 “For a long time I have kept silent,(BC)
    I have been quiet and held myself back.(BD)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.(BE)
15 I will lay waste(BF) the mountains(BG) and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up(BH) the pools.
16 I will lead(BI) the blind(BJ) by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light(BK) before them
    and make the rough places smooth.(BL)
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake(BM) them.
17 But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’(BN)
    will be turned back in utter shame.(BO)

Israel Blind and Deaf

18 “Hear, you deaf;(BP)
    look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind(BQ) but my servant,(BR)
    and deaf like the messenger(BS) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant(BT) with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”(BU)
21 It pleased the Lord
    for the sake(BV) of his righteousness
    to make his law(BW) great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered(BX) and looted,
    all of them trapped in pits(BY)
    or hidden away in prisons.(BZ)
They have become plunder,
    with no one to rescue them;(CA)
they have been made loot,
    with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23 Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention(CB) in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?(CC)
Was it not the Lord,(CD)
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow(CE) his ways;
    they did not obey his law.(CF)
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,(CG)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,(CH) yet they did not understand;(CI)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.(CJ)