Isaiah 42
Modern English Version
The Servant of the Lord
42 Here is My servant, whom I uphold,
My chosen one, in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon him;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He shall not cry out, nor lift up his voice,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed he shall not break,
and the smoking flax he shall not quench;
he shall bring forth justice faithfully.
4 He shall not be disheartened nor be discouraged,
until he has set justice in the earth;
and the coastlands shall wait for his law.
5 Thus says God the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread forth the earth and that which comes out of it,
who gives breath to the people on it,
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I the Lord have called You in righteousness,
and will hold Your hand,
and will keep You and appoint You
for a covenant of the people,
for a light of the nations,
7 to open the blind eyes,
to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
and those who sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
and My glory I will not give to another,
nor My praise to graven images.
9 See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.
A Song of Praise
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
and His praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
the coastlands, and the inhabitants.
11 Let the wilderness and the cities lift up their voices,
the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare His praise in the islands.
13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, yes, raise a war cry;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
The Lord’s Help Is Promised
14 I have for a long time held My peace;
I have been still and refrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a travailing woman;
I will destroy and devour at once.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation,
and I will make the rivers islands,
and I will dry up the pools.
16 I will bring the blind by a way that they did not know;
I will lead them in paths that they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them
and crooked things straight.
These things I will do for them
and not forsake them.
17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed,
who trust in graven images,
who say to the molded images, “You are our gods.”
Israel’s Disobedience
18 Hear, you deaf;
look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind, but My servant?
Or deaf, as My messenger whom I sent?
Who is blind as he who is at peace with Me,
and blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The Lord is well pleased
for His righteousness’ sake
to magnify the law and make it honorable.
22 But this is a people robbed and despoiled;
they are all snared in holes,
and they are hidden in prison houses;
they are for a prey,
and no one delivers,
for a spoil,
and no one says, “Restore them.”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave up Jacob as spoil,
and Israel to the robbers?
Did not the Lord,
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not walk in His ways,
nor were they obedient to His law.
25 Therefore, He has poured on him the fury of His anger
and the strength of battle;
and it has set him on fire all around, yet he did not recognize it;
and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
Isaiah 42
Lexham English Bible
The Mission of Yahweh’s Servant
42 Look! here is my servant; I hold him,
my chosen one, in whom my soul delights.
I have put[a] my spirit on him;
he will bring justice forth to the nations.
2 He will not cry out and lift up
and make his voice heard in the street.
3 He will not break a broken reed,
and he not will extinguish a dim wick.
He will bring justice forth in[b] faithfulness.
4 He will not grow faint,
and he will not be broken
until he has established justice in the earth.
And the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5 Thus says the God, Yahweh,
who created the heavens
and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and its offspring,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it.
6 “I am Yahweh; I have called you in righteousness,
and I have grasped your hand and watched over you;
and I have given you as a covenant of the people,
as a light of the nations,
7 to open the blind eyes,
to bring the prisoner out from the dungeon,
those who sit in darkness from the house of imprisonment.
8 I am Yahweh; that is my name,
and I do not give my glory to another,
nor[c] my praise to the idols.
9 Look! the former things have come,
and I declare new things.
I announce[d] them to you before they sprout up.”
A Song of Praise to Yahweh
10 Sing a new song to Yahweh;
praise him from the end of the earth,
you[e] who go down to the sea and that which fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy;
let them shout loudly from the top[f] of the mountains.
12 Let them give[g] glory to Yahweh
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13 Yahweh goes forth like a mighty warrior;
he stirs up zeal like a man of war.
He raises the war cry, indeed he raises the battle shout;
he prevails against his foes.
14 I have been silent for a long time;
I have kept silent;
I have restrained myself like one giving birth;
I will moan, pant, and gasp together.
15 I will cause mountains and hills to dry up,
and I will cause all their herbage to wither;
and I will make rivers like islands,
and I will cause pools to dry up.
16 And I will lead the blind by a road they do not know;
I will cause them to tread on paths they have not known.
I will make darkness in their presence[h] into light
and rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
and I will not forsake them.
17 They shall turn back;
they shall be greatly ashamed,[i]
those who trust in an image,
who say to a cast image, “You are our gods.”
Blind and Deaf Israel
18 Deaf people, listen!
And blind people, look to see!
19 Who is blind but my servant
or[j] deaf like my messenger whom I sent?
Who is blind like the one who is repaid
or[k] blind like the servant of Yahweh?
20 You see many things, but[l] you do not observe.
His ears are open, but[m] he does not hear.
21 Yahweh was willing for the sake of his righteousness;
he showed his teaching to be great and proved it to be glorious.
22 But[n] this is a people plundered and looted; all of them are trapped in holes,
and they are kept hidden in houses of imprisonment.
They have become like plunder, and there is no one who saves;
like booty, and there is no one who says, “Restore!”
23 Who among you will heed this,
will listen attentively and listen, for the time to come?[o]
24 Who gave Jacob to a plunderer[p]
and Israel to those who plunder?
Was it not Yahweh, against whom[q] we have sinned?
And they were not willing to walk in his ways,
and they would not obey[r] his law.
25 So[s] he poured the wrath of his anger upon him
and the strength of war.
And it set him afire all around, but[t] he did not understand;[u]
and it burned him, but[v] he did not take it to heart.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 Literally “given”
- Isaiah 42:3 Or “to”
- Isaiah 42:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 42:9 Literally “cause to hear”
- Isaiah 42:10 Or “those”
- Isaiah 42:11 Literally “head”
- Isaiah 42:12 Or “establish”
- Isaiah 42:16 Literally “before their face”
- Isaiah 42:17 Literally “ashamed with shame”
- Isaiah 42:19 Or “and”
- Isaiah 42:19 Or “and”
- Isaiah 42:20 Or “and”
- Isaiah 42:20 Or “and”
- Isaiah 42:22 Or “And”
- Isaiah 42:23 Literally “later”
- Isaiah 42:24 The reading tradition (Qere) has “as plunder”
- Isaiah 42:24 Or “this”
- Isaiah 42:24 Literally “hear”
- Isaiah 42:25 Or “and”
- Isaiah 42:25 Or “and”
- Isaiah 42:25 Or “did not know”
- Isaiah 42:25 Or “and”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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