The Lord's Chosen Servant

42 (A)Behold (B)my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, (C)in whom my soul delights;
(D)I have put my Spirit upon him;
    (E)he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
    or make it heard in the street;
(F)a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
    (G)he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be discouraged[a]
    till he has established justice in the earth;
    and (H)the coastlands wait for his law.

Thus says God, the Lord,
    who created the heavens (I)and stretched them out,
    who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
(J)who gives breath to the people on it
    and spirit to those who walk in it:
“I am the Lord; (K)I have called you[b] in righteousness;
    I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you (L)as a covenant for the people,
    (M)a light for the nations,
    (N)to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    (O)from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
    (P)my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to carved idols.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
    (Q)and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
    I tell you of them.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 42:4 Or bruised
  2. Isaiah 42:6 The Hebrew for you is singular; four times in this verse

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.”

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I Am the True Vine

15 “I am the (A)true vine, and my Father is (B)the vinedresser. (C)Every branch in me that does not bear fruit (D)he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, (E)that it may bear more fruit. Already (F)you are clean (G)because of the word that I have spoken to you. (H)Abide (I)in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; (J)you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that (K)bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me (L)he is thrown away like a branch and withers; (M)and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If (N)you abide in me, and my words abide in you, (O)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (P)By this my Father is glorified, that you (Q)bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (R)As the Father has loved me, (S)so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 (T)If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as (U)I have kept (V)my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, (W)that my joy may be in you, and that (X)your joy may be full.

12 (Y)“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 (Z)Greater love has no one than this, (AA)that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are (AB)my friends (AC)if you do what I command you. 15 (AD)No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant (AE)does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for (AF)all that I have heard from my Father (AG)I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but (AH)I chose you and appointed you that you should go and (AI)bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that (AJ)whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am(A) the true vine,(B) and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,(C) while every branch that does bear fruit(D) he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.(E) Remain in me, as I also remain in you.(F) No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;(G) apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.(H) If you remain in me(I) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(J) This is to my Father’s glory,(K) that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(L)

“As the Father has loved me,(M) so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands,(N) you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.(O) 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.(P) 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(Q) 14 You are my friends(R) if you do what I command.(S) 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.(T) 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you(U) so that you might go and bear fruit(V)—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.(W)

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:2 The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.

17 These things I command you, (A)so that you will love one another.

The Hatred of the World

18 (B)“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 (C)If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because (D)you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: (E)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, (F)they will also persecute you. (G)If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But (H)all these things they will do to you (I)on account of my name, (J)because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, (K)they would not have been guilty of sin,[a] but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 (L)Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 (M)If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, (N)they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have (O)seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But (P)the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: (Q)‘They hated me without a cause.’

26 “But (R)when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, (S)he will bear witness about me. 27 And (T)you also will bear witness, (U)because you have been with me (V)from the beginning.

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24

17 This is my command: Love each other.(A)

The World Hates the Disciples

18 “If the world hates you,(B) keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you(C) out of the world. That is why the world hates you.(D) 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a](E) If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.(F) If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name,(G) for they do not know the one who sent me.(H) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them,(I) they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.(J) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did,(K) they would not be guilty of sin.(L) As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law:(M) ‘They hated me without reason.’[b](N)

The Work of the Holy Spirit

26 “When the Advocate(O) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father(P)—the Spirit of truth(Q) who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.(R) 27 And you also must testify,(S) for you have been with me from the beginning.(T)

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Footnotes

  1. John 15:20 John 13:16
  2. John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:4