Isaiah 42-43

New International Version

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)
²He will not shout or cry out,^(G)
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³A 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)
⁴    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)

⁵This 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:
⁶“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)
⁷to 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)

⁸“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)
⁹See, 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

¹⁰Sing^(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.
¹¹Let 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)
¹²Let them give glory^(AU) to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise^(AV) in the islands.^(AW)
¹³The 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)
¹⁵I 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.
¹⁶I 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.
¹⁷But 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!
¹⁹Who 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?
²⁰You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”^(BU)
²¹It pleased the Lord
    for the sake^(BV) of his righteousness
    to make his law^(BW) great and glorious.
²²But 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.”

²³Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention^(CB) in time to come?
²⁴Who 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)
²⁵So 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)

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created^(CK) you, Jacob,
    he who formed^(CL) you, Israel:^(CM)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed^(CN) you;
    I have summoned you by name;^(CO) you are mine.^(CP)
²When you pass through the waters,^(CQ)
    I will be with you;^(CR)
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,^(CS)
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.^(CT)
³For I am the Lord your God,^(CU)
    the Holy One^(CV) of Israel, your Savior;^(CW)
I give Egypt^(CX) for your ransom,
    Cush^[a]^(CY) and Seba^(CZ) in your stead.^(DA)
⁴Since you are precious and honored^(DB) in my sight,
    and because I love^(DC) you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
⁵Do not be afraid,^(DD) for I am with you;^(DE)
    I will bring your children^(DF) from the east
    and gather^(DG) you from the west.^(DH)
⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south,^(DI) ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters^(DJ) from the ends of the earth^(DK)—
⁷everyone who is called by my name,^(DL)
    whom I created^(DM) for my glory,^(DN)
    whom I formed and made.^(DO)”

⁸Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,^(DP)
    who have ears but are deaf.^(DQ)
⁹All the nations gather together^(DR)
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold^(DS) this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰“You are my witnesses,^(DT)” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant^(DU) whom I have chosen,
so that you may know^(DV) and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god^(DW) was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.^(DX)
¹¹I, even I, am the Lord,^(DY)
    and apart from me there is no savior.^(DZ)
¹²I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god^(EA) among you.
You are my witnesses,^(EB)” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
¹³    Yes, and from ancient days^(EC) I am he.^(ED)
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”^(EE)

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

¹⁴This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,^(EF) the Holy One^(EG) of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
    and bring down as fugitives^(EH) all the Babylonians,^[b]^(EI)
    in the ships in which they took pride.
¹⁵I am the Lord,^(EJ) your Holy One,
    Israel’s Creator,^(EK) your King.^(EL)”

¹⁶This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,^(EM)
¹⁷who drew out^(EN) the chariots and horses,^(EO)
    the army and reinforcements together,^(EP)
and they lay^(EQ) there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:^(ER)
¹⁸“Forget the former things;^(ES)
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹See, I am doing a new thing!^(ET)
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness^(EU)
    and streams in the wasteland.^(EV)
²⁰The wild animals^(EW) honor me,
    the jackals^(EX) and the owls,
because I provide water^(EY) in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
²¹    the people I formed^(EZ) for myself^(FA)
    that they may proclaim my praise.^(FB)

²²“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
    you have not wearied^(FC) yourselves for^[c] me, Israel.^(FD)
²³You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,^(FE)
    nor honored^(FF) me with your sacrifices.^(FG)
I have not burdened^(FH) you with grain offerings
    nor wearied you with demands^(FI) for incense.^(FJ)
²⁴You have not bought any fragrant calamus^(FK) for me,
    or lavished on me the fat^(FL) of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
    and wearied^(FM) me with your offenses.^(FN)

²⁵“I, even I, am he who blots out
    your transgressions,^(FO) for my own sake,^(FP)
    and remembers your sins^(FQ) no more.^(FR)
²⁶Review the past for me,
    let us argue the matter together;^(FS)
    state the case^(FT) for your innocence.
²⁷Your first father^(FU) sinned;
    those I sent to teach^(FV) you rebelled^(FW) against me.
²⁸So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
    I consigned Jacob to destruction^[d]^(FX)
    and Israel to scorn.^(FY)

Footnotes

Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region
Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans
Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of
Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.