Isaiah 42:10-20

New Living Translation

A Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰Sing a new song to the Lord!
    Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!
Sing, all you who sail the seas,
    all you who live in distant coastlands.
¹¹Join in the chorus, you desert towns;
    let the villages of Kedar rejoice!
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
    shout praises from the mountaintops!
¹²Let the whole world glorify the Lord;
    let it sing his praise.
¹³The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero;
    he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.
He will shout his battle cry
    and crush all his enemies.

¹⁴He will say, “I have long been silent;
    yes, I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman in labor,
    I will cry and groan and pant.
¹⁵I will level the mountains and hills
    and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
    and will dry up all the pools.
¹⁶I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
    guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
    and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
    I will not forsake them.
¹⁷But those who trust in idols,
    who say, ‘You are our gods,’
    will be turned away in shame.

Israel’s Failure to Listen and See

¹⁸“Listen, you who are deaf!
    Look and see, you blind!
¹⁹Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?
    Who is as deaf as my messenger?
Who is as blind as my chosen people,
    the servant of the Lord?
²⁰You see and recognize what is right
    but refuse to act on it.
You hear with your ears,
    but you don’t really listen.”