Isaiah 42
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh’s Chosen Servant
42 “(A)Behold, My (B)Servant, whom I [a]uphold;
My (C)chosen one in whom My (D)soul is well-pleased.
I have put My (E)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth (F)justice to the [b]nations.
2 He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A crushed reed He will not break
And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will bring forth (G)justice in truth.
4 He will not be (H)faint or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the (I)coastlands will wait expectantly for His [c]law.”
5 Thus says the God, Yahweh,
Who (J)created the heavens and (K)stretched them out,
Who spread out the (L)earth and its [d]offspring,
Who (M)gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6 “I am Yahweh, I have (N)called You in righteousness;
I will also (O)take hold of You by the hand and (P)guard You,
And I will give You as a (Q)covenant to the people,
As a (R)light to the nations,
7 To (S)open blind eyes,
To (T)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who inhabit darkness from the prison.
8 (U)I am Yahweh, that is (V)My name;
I will not give My (W)glory to another,
Nor My praise to [e]graven images.
9 Behold, the (X)former things have come to pass;
Now I declare (Y)new things;
Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.”
10 Sing to Yahweh a (Z)new song,
Sing His praise from the (AA)end of the earth!
(AB)You who go down to the sea, (AC)as well as its fullness.
You (AD)coastlands, and those who inhabit them.
11 Let the (AE)wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The villages where (AF)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of (AG)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the (AH)mountains.
12 Let them (AI)give glory to Yahweh
And declare His praise in the (AJ)coastlands.
13 (AK)Yahweh will go forth like a warrior;
He will awaken His (AL)zeal like a man of war.
He will make a loud shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will (AM)prevail against His enemies.
Israel’s Blindness and Deafness
14 “(AN)I have kept silent for a long time;
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan;
I will both gasp and pant.
15 I will (AO)lay waste the mountains and hills
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will (AP)make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the pools of waters.
16 I will (AQ)lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will (AR)make darkness into light before them
And (AS)rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will (AT)not forsake them.”
17 They will be turned back and be (AU)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in graven images,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”
18 (AV)Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My (AW)servant,
Or so deaf as My (AX)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is [f](AY)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of Yahweh?
20 (AZ)You have seen many things, but you do not keep them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
21 Yahweh was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
That He make the law (BA)great and majestic.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged as spoil;
All of them are (BB)trapped in [g]caves,
Or are (BC)hidden away in prisons;
They have become a plunder with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Have them return!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and hear hereafter?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they (BD)were not willing to walk,
And whose law they did not (BE)obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the (BF)fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not know it;
And it burned him, but he did not (BG)set it upon his heart.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 Or hold fast
- Isaiah 42:1 Or Gentiles
- Isaiah 42:4 Or instruction
- Isaiah 42:5 Or vegetation
- Isaiah 42:8 Or idols
- Isaiah 42:19 Or the devoted one
- Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
Isaiah 42
Holman 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 islands will wait for His instruction.”(G)
5 This is what God, Yahweh, 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 life[b] to those who walk on it(J)—
6 “I, Yahweh, have called You
for a righteous purpose,[c](K)
and I will hold You by Your hand.(L)
I will keep You and 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 Yahweh, that is My name;
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 islands with your[d] 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 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 forsake them.(AD)
17 They will be turned back and utterly ashamed—
those who trust in idols
and say to metal-plated images:
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,[e]
or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 Though seeing many things,[f] you do not obey.
Though his ears are open, he does not listen.”(AH)
21 The Lord was pleased, because of His righteousness,
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 pay attention to this?
Let him listen and obey in the future.
24 Who gave Jacob to the robber,[g]
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 on Jacob His furious anger
and the power of war.
It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it;
it burned him, but he paid no attention.[h](AJ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 DSS read His justice
- Isaiah 42:5 Lit spirit
- Isaiah 42:6 Or you by [My] righteousness; lit you in righteousness
- Isaiah 42:10 Lit their
- Isaiah 42:19 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 42:20 Alt Hb tradition reads You see many things;
- Isaiah 42:24 Lit to loot
- Isaiah 42:25 Lit he did not put on heart
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