Isaiah 42
New American Standard Bible
God’s Promise concerning His Servant
42 “(A)Behold, My (B)Servant, whom I [a]uphold;
My (C)chosen one in whom My (D)soul delights.
I have put My (E)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth (F)justice to the [b]nations.
2 He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth (G)justice.
4 He will not be (H)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the (I)coastlands will wait expectantly for His [c]law.”
5 This is what God the Lord says,
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 the Lord, I have (N)called You in righteousness,
I will also (O)hold You by the hand and (P)watch over You,
And I will appoint 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 dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 (U)I am the Lord, that is (V)My name;
I will not give My (W)glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
9 Behold, the (X)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare (Y)new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a (Z)new song,
Sing His praise from the (AA)end of the earth!
(AB)You who go down to the sea, and (AC)all that is in it;
You (AD)islands, and those who live on them.
11 Let the (AE)wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which (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 the Lord
And declare His praise in the (AJ)coastlands.
13 (AK)The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His (AL)zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will (AM)prevail against His enemies.
The Blindness of the People
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 wither all their vegetation;
I will (AP)turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 I will (AQ)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will (AR)turn darkness into light before them
And (AS)uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will (AT)not leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be (AU)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in [e]idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”
18 (AV)Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so 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 one who is [f](AY)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 (AZ)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law (BA)great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are (BB)trapped in [g]caves,
Or are (BC)hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, 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 recognize it;
And it burned him, but he [h](BG)paid no attention.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 Or hold fast
- Isaiah 42:1 Or Gentiles
- Isaiah 42:4 Or instruction
- Isaiah 42:5 Or vegetation
- Isaiah 42:17 Or carved images
- Isaiah 42:19 Or the devoted one
- Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
- Isaiah 42:25 Lit did not lay it to heart
Isaiah 42
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Servant, a Light to the Nations
42 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.(A)
2 He will not cry out or lift up his voice
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.(B)
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.(C)
5 Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:(D)
6 I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,[a]
a light to the nations,(E)
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.(F)
8 I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.(G)
9 See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.(H)
A Hymn of Praise
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth!
Let the sea roar[b] and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.(I)
11 Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the inhabitants of Sela shout for joy;
let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
and declare his praise in the coastlands.(J)
13 The Lord goes forth like a soldier;
like a warrior he stirs up his fury;
he cries out; he shouts aloud;
he shows himself mighty against his foes.(K)
14 For a long time I have held my peace;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
I will gasp and pant.(L)
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills
and dry up all their herbage;
I will turn the rivers into islands
and dry up the pools.(M)
16 I will lead the blind
by a road they do not know;
by paths they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
and I will not forsake them.(N)
17 They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame—
those who trust in carved images,
who say to cast images,
“You are our gods.”(O)
18 Listen, you who are deaf,
and you who are blind, look up and see!
19 Who is blind but my servant
or deaf like my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like my dedicated one
or blind like the servant of the Lord?(P)
20 He sees many things, but he does[c] not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.(Q)
Israel’s Disobedience
21 The Lord was pleased, for the sake of his righteousness,
to magnify his teaching and make it glorious.(R)
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered;
all of them are trapped in holes
and hidden in prisons;
they have become a prey with no one to rescue,
a spoil with no one to say, “Restore!”(S)
23 Who among you will give heed to this;
who will attend and listen for the time to come?
24 Who gave up Jacob to the spoiler
and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom they sinned,[d]
in whose ways they would not walk,
and whose law they would not obey?(T)
25 So he poured upon him the heat of his anger
and the fury of war;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.(U)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.