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Isaiah 42
New International Version
Isaiah 42
New International Version
The Servant of the Lord
42 “Here is my servant,(A) whom I uphold,
my chosen one(B) in whom I delight;(C)
I will put my Spirit(D) on him,
and he will bring justice(E) to the nations.(F)
2 He will not shout or cry out,(G)
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed(H) he will not break,(I)
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.(J)
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;(K)
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice(L) on earth.
In his teaching(M) the islands(N) will put their hope.”(O)
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,(P) who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth(Q) with all that springs from it,(R)
who gives breath(S) to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called(T) you in righteousness;(U)
I will take hold of your hand.(V)
I will keep(W) you and will make you
to be a covenant(X) for the people
and a light(Y) for the Gentiles,(Z)
7 to open eyes that are blind,(AA)
to free(AB) captives from prison(AC)
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.(AD)
8 “I am the Lord;(AE) that is my name!(AF)
I will not yield my glory to another(AG)
or my praise to idols.(AH)
9 See, the former things(AI) have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce(AJ) them to you.”
Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing(AK) to the Lord a new song,(AL)
his praise(AM) from the ends of the earth,(AN)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,(AO)
you islands,(AP) and all who live in them.
11 Let the wilderness(AQ) and its towns raise their voices;
let the settlements where Kedar(AR) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela(AS) sing for joy;
let them shout from the mountaintops.(AT)
12 Let them give glory(AU) to the Lord
and proclaim his praise(AV) in the islands.(AW)
13 The Lord will march out like a champion,(AX)
like a warrior(AY) he will stir up his zeal;(AZ)
with a shout(BA) he will raise the battle cry
and will triumph over his enemies.(BB)
14 “For a long time I have kept silent,(BC)
I have been quiet and held myself back.(BD)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant.(BE)
15 I will lay waste(BF) the mountains(BG) and hills
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up(BH) the pools.
16 I will lead(BI) the blind(BJ) by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light(BK) before them
and make the rough places smooth.(BL)
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake(BM) them.
17 But those who trust in idols,
who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’(BN)
will be turned back in utter shame.(BO)
Israel Blind and Deaf
18 “Hear, you deaf;(BP)
look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind(BQ) but my servant,(BR)
and deaf like the messenger(BS) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant(BT) with me,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
your ears are open, but you do not listen.”(BU)
21 It pleased the Lord
for the sake(BV) of his righteousness
to make his law(BW) great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered(BX) and looted,
all of them trapped in pits(BY)
or hidden away in prisons.(BZ)
They have become plunder,
with no one to rescue them;(CA)
they have been made loot,
with no one to say, “Send them back.”
23 Which of you will listen to this
or pay close attention(CB) in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
and Israel to the plunderers?(CC)
Was it not the Lord,(CD)
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow(CE) his ways;
they did not obey his law.(CF)
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,(CG)
the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,(CH) yet they did not understand;(CI)
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.(CJ)
Isaiah 42
Good News Translation
Isaiah 42
Good News Translation
The Lord's Servant
42 (A)The Lord says,
“Here is my servant, whom I strengthen—
the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased.
I have filled him with my Spirit,
and he will bring justice to every nation.
2 He will not shout or raise his voice
or make loud speeches in the streets.
3 He will not break off a bent reed
nor put out a flickering lamp.
He will bring lasting justice to all.
4 He will not lose hope or courage;
he will establish justice on the earth.
Distant lands eagerly wait for his teaching.”
5 (B)God created the heavens and stretched them out;
he fashioned the earth and all that lives there;
he gave life and breath to all its people.
And now the Lord God says to his servant,
6 (C)“I, the Lord, have called you and given you power
to see that justice is done on earth.
Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples;
through you I will bring light to the nations.
7 You will open the eyes of the blind
and set free those who sit in dark prisons.
8 “I alone am the Lord your God.
No other god may share my glory;
I will not let idols share my praise.
9 The things I predicted have now come true.
Now I will tell you of new things
even before they begin to happen.”
A Song of Praise
10 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing his praise, all the world!
Praise him, you that sail the sea;
praise him, all creatures of the sea!
Sing, distant lands and all who live there!
11 Let the desert and its towns praise God;
let the people of Kedar praise him!
Let those who live in the city of Sela
shout for joy from the tops of the mountains!
12 Let those who live in distant lands
give praise and glory to the Lord!
13 The Lord goes out to fight like a warrior;
he is ready and eager for battle.
He gives a war cry, a battle shout;
he shows his power against his enemies.
God Promises to Help His People
14 God says,
“For a long time I kept silent;
I did not answer my people.
But now the time to act has come;
I cry out like a woman in labor.
15 I will destroy the hills and mountains
and dry up the grass and trees.
I will turn the river valleys into deserts[a]
and dry up the pools of water.
16 “I will lead my blind people
by roads they have never traveled.
I will turn their darkness into light
and make rough country smooth before them.
These are my promises,
and I will keep them without fail.
17 All who trust in idols,
who call images their gods,
will be humiliated and disgraced.”
Israel's Failure to Learn
18 The Lord says,
“Listen, you deaf people!
Look closely, you that are blind!
19 Is anyone more blind than my servant,
more deaf than the messenger I send?
20 Israel, you have seen so much,
but what has it meant to you?
You have ears to hear with,
but what have you really heard?”
21 The Lord is a God who is eager to save,
so he exalted his laws and teachings,
and he wanted his people to honor them.
22 But now his people have been plundered;
they are locked up in dungeons
and hidden away in prisons.
They were robbed and plundered,
with no one to come to their rescue.
23 Will any of you listen to this?
From now on will you listen with care?
24 Who gave Israel up to the looters?
It was the Lord himself, against whom we sinned!
We would not live as he wanted us to live
or obey the teachings he gave us.
25 So he made us feel the force of his anger
and suffer the violence of war.
Like fire his anger burned throughout Israel,
but we never knew what was happening;
we learned nothing at all from it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:15 Probable text deserts; Hebrew coastlands.
Isaiah 42
Common English Bible
Isaiah 42
Common English Bible
God’s servant described
42 But here is my servant, the one I uphold;
my chosen, who brings me delight.
I’ve put my spirit upon him;
he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He won’t cry out or shout aloud
or make his voice heard in public.
3 He won’t break a bruised reed;
he won’t extinguish a faint wick,
but he will surely bring justice.
4 He won’t be extinguished or broken
until he has established justice in the land.
The coastlands await his teaching.
5 God the Lord says—
the one who created the heavens,
the one who stretched them out,
the one who spread out the earth and its offspring,
the one who gave breath to its people
and life to those who walk on it—
6 I, the Lord, have called you for a good reason.
I will grasp your hand and guard you,
and give you as a covenant to the people,
as a light to the nations,
7 to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
8 I am the Lord;
that is my name;
I don’t hand out my glory to others
or my praise to idols.
9 The things announced in the past—look—they’ve already happened,
but I’m declaring new things.
Before they even appear,
I tell you about them.
Warrior and mother
10 Sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing his praise from the ends of the earth!
You who sail the sea and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their residents.
11 Let the desert and its towns shout aloud,
the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the cliff dwellers sing;
from the top of the mountains let them shout.
12 Let them give the Lord glory
and declare God’s praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord will go out like a soldier;
like a warrior God will stir up rage.
God will shout, will roar;
over enemies he will prevail.
14 I’ve kept still for a very long time.
I’ve been silent and restrained myself.
Like a woman in labor I will moan;
I will pant, I will gasp.
15 I will wither mountains and valleys,
and I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into deserts,[a]
and I will dry up pools.
16 I will make the blind walk a road they don’t know,
and I will guide them in paths they don’t know.
But I will make darkness before them into light
and rough places into level ground.
These things I will do;
I won’t abandon them.
Blindness and deafness
17 Turned backward, utterly shamed
are those who trust in idols,
who say to a cast image,
“You are our god!”
18 Hear, deaf ones,
and blind ones, look and see!
19 Who is blind if not my servant
and deaf like my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like the restored one,[b]
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but don’t keep watch.
With ears open, you don’t hear.[c]
21 The Lord desired for the sake of his righteousness
to expand and glorify the Instruction.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted,
everyone trapped in holes and hidden in dungeons.
They have become plunder with no one to rescue,
loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
23 Which of you will listen to this,
will pay attention and respond from now on?
24 Who gave Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Wasn’t it the Lord,
the one we sinned against?
They were not willing to walk in God’s ways,
and wouldn’t listen to his teaching.
25 So God poured out on Jacob the heat of his anger
and the fury of battle.
It scorched him, and he didn’t know it;
it burned him, but he didn’t give it much thought.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:15 Or islands
- Isaiah 42:19 Heb Meshullam, possibly a proper name
- Isaiah 42:20 Or he does not hear
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible