Isaiah 42
Christian Standard Bible
The Servant’s Mission
42 “This(A) is my servant;(B) I strengthen him,
this is my chosen one;(C) I delight in him.(D)
I have put my Spirit on him;(E)
he will bring justice[a] to the nations.(F)
2 He will not cry out or shout
or make his voice heard in the streets.
3 He will not break a bruised reed,
and he will not put out a smoldering wick;
he will faithfully bring justice.
4 He will not grow weak or be discouraged
until he has established justice on earth.
The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction.”(G)
5 This is what God, the Lord, says—
who created the heavens and stretched them out,(H)
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,(I)
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk on it(J)—
6 “I am the Lord. I have called you
for a righteous purpose,[b](K)
and I will hold you by your hand.(L)
I will watch over you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people(M)
and a light to the nations,(N)
7 in order to open blind eyes,(O)
to bring out prisoners from the dungeon,(P)
and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.
8 I am the Lord. That is my name,
and I will not give my glory to another(Q)
or my praise to idols.
9 The past events have indeed happened.
Now I declare new events;(R)
I announce them to you before they occur.”
A Song of Praise
10 Sing a new song to the Lord;(S)
sing his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea with all that fills it,(T)
you coasts and islands with your[c] inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its cities shout,
the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud.(U)
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy;(V)
let them cry out from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
and declare his praise in the coasts and islands.
13 The Lord advances like a warrior;
he stirs up his zeal like a soldier.(W)
He shouts, he roars aloud,
he prevails over his enemies.
14 “I have kept silent from ages past;
I have been quiet and restrained myself.(X)
But now, I will groan like a woman in labor,(Y)
gasping breathlessly.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up marshes.(Z)
16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;(AA)
I will guide them on paths they have not known.
I will turn darkness to light in front of them(AB)
and rough places into level ground.(AC)
This is what I will do for them,
and I will not abandon them.(AD)
17 They will be turned back and utterly ashamed—
those who trust in an idol
and say to a cast image,
‘You are our gods!’ (AE)
Israel’s Blindness and Deafness
18 “Listen, you deaf!
Look, you blind, so that you may see.(AF)
19 Who is blind but my servant,(AG)
or deaf like my messenger I am sending?
Who is blind like my dedicated one,[d]
or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 Though seeing many things,[e] you pay no attention.
Though his ears are open, he does not listen.”(AH)
21 Because of his righteousness, the Lord was pleased
to magnify his instruction and make it glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted,
all of them trapped in holes
or imprisoned in dungeons.
They have become plunder(AI)
with no one to rescue them
and loot, with no one saying, “Give it back!”
23 Who among you will hear this?
Let him listen and obey in the future.
24 Who gave Jacob to the robber,[f]
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord?
Have we not sinned against him?
They were not willing to walk in his ways,
and they would not listen to his instruction.
25 So he poured out his furious anger
and the power of war on Jacob.
It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it;
it burned him, but he didn’t take it to heart.(AJ)
Isaiah 42
Common English Bible
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.
2 He won’t cry out or shout aloud
or make his voice heard in public.
3 He won’t break a bruised reed;
he won’t extinguish a faint wick,
but he will surely bring justice.
4 He won’t be extinguished or broken
until he has established justice in the land.
The coastlands await his teaching.
5 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—
6 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,
7 to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
8 I am the Lord;
that is my name;
I don’t hand out my glory to others
or my praise to idols.
9 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
- Isaiah 42:15 Or islands
- Isaiah 42:19 Heb Meshullam, possibly a proper name
- Isaiah 42:20 Or he does not hear
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