Isaiah 42
World English Bible
42 “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights:
I have put my Spirit on him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout,
nor raise his voice,
nor cause it to be heard in the street.
3 He won’t break a bruised reed.
He won’t quench a dimly burning wick.
He will faithfully bring justice.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
until he has set justice in the earth,
and the islands wait for his law.”
5 God Yahweh,
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it,
he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it, says:
6 “I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness.
I will hold your hand.
I will keep you,
and make you a covenant for the people,
as a light for the nations,
7 to open the blind eyes,
to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon,
and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
8 “I am Yahweh.
That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another,
nor my praise to engraved images.
9 Behold, the former things have happened
and I declare new things.
I tell you about them before they come up.”
10 Sing to Yahweh a new song,
and his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea,
and all that is therein,
the islands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
with 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 Yahweh,
and declare his praise in the islands.
13 Yahweh will go out like a mighty man.
He will stir up zeal like a man of war.
He will raise a war cry.
Yes, he will shout aloud.
He will triumph over his enemies.
14 “I have been silent a long time.
I have been quiet and restrained myself.
Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant.
15 I will destroy mountains and hills,
and dry up all their herbs.
I will make the rivers islands,
and will dry up the pools.
16 I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know.
I will lead them in paths that they don’t know.
I will make darkness light before them,
and crooked places straight.
I will do these things,
and I will not forsake them.
17 “Those who trust in engraved images,
who tell molten images,
‘You are our gods,’
will be turned back.
They will be utterly disappointed.
18 “Hear, you deaf,
and look, you blind,
that you may see.
19 Who is blind, but my servant?
Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send?
Who is as blind as he who is at peace,
and as blind as Yahweh’s servant?
20 You see many things, but don’t observe.
His ears are open, but he doesn’t listen.
21 It pleased Yahweh, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify the law
and make it honorable.
22 But this is a robbed and plundered people.
All of them are snared in holes,
and they are hidden in prisons.
They have become captives, and no one delivers,
and a plunder, and no one says, ‘Restore them!’
23 Who is there among you who will give ear to this?
Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob as plunder,
and Israel to the robbers?
Didn’t Yahweh, he against whom we have sinned?
For they would not walk in his ways,
and they disobeyed his law.
25 Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him,
and the strength of battle.
It set him on fire all around, but he didn’t know.
It burned him, but he didn’t take it to heart.”
Isaiah 42
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
42 Behold my [a]Servant, Whom I uphold, My elect in Whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice and right and reveal truth to the nations.(A)
2 He will not cry or shout aloud or cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench; He will bring forth justice in truth.(B)
4 He will not fail or become weak or be crushed and discouraged till He has established justice in the earth; and the islands and coastal regions shall wait hopefully for Him and expect His direction and law.(C)
5 Thus says God the Lord—He Who created the heavens and stretched them forth, He Who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it, He Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I the Lord have called You [the Messiah] for a righteous purpose and in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and will keep You; I will give You for a covenant to the people [Israel], for a light to the nations [Gentiles],
7 To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison.(D)
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 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
10 Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the islands and coastal regions and the inhabitants of them [sing a song such as has never been heard in the heathen world]!
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of the rock [Sela or Petra] sing; let them shout from the tops of the mountains!
12 Let them give glory to the Lord and declare His praise in the islands and coastal regions.
13 The Lord will go forth like a mighty man, He will rouse up His zealous indignation and vengeance like a warrior; He will cry, yes, He will shout aloud, He will do mightily against His enemies.
14 [Thus says the Lord] I have for a long time held My peace, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry out like a woman in travail, I will gasp and pant together.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and I will dry up the pools.
16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them and make uneven places into a plain. These things I have determined to do [for them]; and I will not leave them forsaken.
17 They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, who trust in graven images, who say to molten images, You are our gods.
18 Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see!
19 Who is blind but My servant [Israel]? Or deaf like My messenger whom I send? Who is blind like the one who is at peace with Me [who has been admitted to covenant relationship with Me]? Yes, who is blind like the Lord’s servant?
20 You have seen many things, but you do not observe or apprehend their true meaning. His ears are open, but he hears not!
21 It was the Lord’s pleasure for His righteousness’ sake [in accordance with a steadfast and consistent purpose] to magnify instruction and revelation and glorify them.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes and hidden in houses of bondage. They have become a prey, with no one to deliver them, a spoil, with no one to say, Restore them! [This shows the condition that will ensue as Israel’s punishment for not recognizing the Servant of the Lord and the day of His visit among them.] [Luke19:41-44.]
23 Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear in the time to come?
24 Who gave up Jacob [the kingdom of Judah] for spoil, and [the kingdom of] Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against Whom we [of Judah] have sinned and in Whose ways they [of Israel] would not walk, neither were they obedient to His law or His teaching?
25 Therefore He poured out upon [Israel] the fierceness of His anger and the strength of battle. And it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach]; it burned him, but he did not lay it to heart.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 This is the first of the famous prophecies concerning the great future “Servant of the Lord” (Isa. 42:1-7; 49:1-9a; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). Interpreters have struggled with the question, “Who is meant by ‘the servant’?” Some think the “servant of the Lord” is the people of Israel. Others think it makes reference to the faithful part of the people, the “ideal” people of Israel. Still others think of the prophets as a group. Another large group of scholars believes that the “Servant of the Lord” is the Messiah, the One Who will establish God’s kingdom on earth.
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