Isaiah 42:5-21

New American Standard Bible

⁵This is what God the Lord says,

Who ^(A)created the heavens and ^(B)stretched them out,
Who spread out the ^(C)earth and its ^[a]offspring,
Who ^(D)gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶“I am the Lord, I have ^(E)called You in righteousness,
I will also ^(F)hold You by the hand and ^(G)watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a ^(H)covenant to the people,
As a ^(I)light to the nations,
⁷To ^(J)open blind eyes,
To ^(K)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
⁸^(L)I am the Lord, that is ^(M)My name;
I will not give My ^(N)glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
⁹Behold, the ^(O)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare ^(P)new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

¹⁰Sing to the Lord a ^(Q)new song,
Sing His praise from the ^(R)end of the earth!
^(S)You who go down to the sea, and ^(T)all that is in it;
You ^(U)islands, and those who live on them.
¹¹Let the ^(V)wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which ^(W)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of ^(X)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ^(Y)mountains.
¹²Let them ^(Z)give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the ^(AA)coastlands.
¹³^(AB)The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His ^(AC)zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will ^(AD)prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

¹⁴“^(AE)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.
¹⁵I will ^(AF)lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will ^(AG)turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
¹⁶I will ^(AH)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will ^(AI)turn darkness into light before them
And ^(AJ)uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will ^(AK)not leave them undone.”
¹⁷They will be turned back and be ^(AL)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in ^[b]idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”

¹⁸^(AM)Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
¹⁹Who is blind but My ^(AN)servant,
Or so deaf as My ^(AO)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is ^[c]^(AP)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
²⁰^(AQ)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
²¹The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law ^(AR)great and glorious.