Isaiah 42
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh’s Chosen Servant
42 “(A)Behold, My (B)Servant, whom I [a]uphold;
My (C)chosen one in whom My (D)soul is well-pleased.
I have put My (E)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth (F)justice to the [b]nations.
2 He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A crushed reed He will not break
And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will bring forth (G)justice in truth.
4 He will not be (H)faint or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the (I)coastlands will wait expectantly for His [c]law.”
5 Thus says the God, Yahweh,
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 Yahweh, I have (N)called You in righteousness;
I will also (O)take hold of You by the hand and (P)guard You,
And I will give 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 inhabit darkness from the prison.
8 (U)I am Yahweh, that is (V)My name;
I will not give My (W)glory to another,
Nor My praise to [e]graven images.
9 Behold, the (X)former things have come to pass;
Now I declare (Y)new things;
Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.”
10 Sing to Yahweh a (Z)new song,
Sing His praise from the (AA)end of the earth!
(AB)You who go down to the sea, (AC)as well as its fullness.
You (AD)coastlands, and those who inhabit them.
11 Let the (AE)wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The villages where (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 Yahweh
And declare His praise in the (AJ)coastlands.
13 (AK)Yahweh will go forth like a warrior;
He will awaken His (AL)zeal like a man of war.
He will make a loud shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will (AM)prevail against His enemies.
Israel’s Blindness and Deafness
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 dry up all their vegetation;
I will (AP)make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the pools of waters.
16 I will (AQ)lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will (AR)make darkness into light before them
And (AS)rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will (AT)not forsake them.”
17 They will be turned back and be (AU)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in graven images,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”
18 (AV)Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, 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 he that is [f](AY)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of Yahweh?
20 (AZ)You have seen many things, but you do not keep them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
21 Yahweh was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
That He make the law (BA)great and majestic.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged as spoil;
All of them are (BB)trapped in [g]caves,
Or are (BC)hidden away in prisons;
They have become a plunder with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Have them return!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and hear hereafter?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not Yahweh, 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 know it;
And it burned him, but he did not (BG)set it upon his heart.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 Or hold fast
- Isaiah 42:1 Or Gentiles
- Isaiah 42:4 Or instruction
- Isaiah 42:5 Or vegetation
- Isaiah 42:8 Or idols
- Isaiah 42:19 Or the devoted one
- Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
Isaiah 42
International Children’s Bible
The Lord’s Special Servant
42 “Here is my servant, the one I support.
He is the one I chose, and I am pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit in him.
And he will bring justice to all nations.
2 He will not cry out or yell.
He will not speak loudly in the streets.
3 He will not break a crushed blade of grass.
He will not put out even a weak flame.
He will bring justice and find what is true.
4 He will not lose hope or give up
until he brings justice to the world.
And people far away will trust his teachings.”
5 God, the Lord, said these things.
He created the skies and stretched them out.
He spread out the earth and everything on it.
He gives life to all people on earth.
He gives life to everyone who walks on the earth.
6 The Lord says, “I called you to do right.
And I will hold your hand.
I will protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people.
You will be a light to shine for all people.
7 You will help the blind to see.
You will free those who are in prison.
You will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8 “I am the Lord. That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another.
I will not let idols take the praise that should be mine.
9 The things I said would happen have happened.
And now I tell you about new things.
Before those things happen,
I tell you about them.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing his praise everywhere on the earth.
Praise him, you people who sail on the seas and you animals who live in them.
Praise him, you people living in faraway places.
11 The deserts and their cities should praise him.
The settlements of Kedar should praise him.
The people living in Sela should sing for joy.
They should sing from the mountaintops.
12 They should give glory to the Lord.
People in faraway lands should praise him.
13 The Lord will march out like a strong soldier.
He will be excited like a man ready to fight a war.
He will shout out the battle cry.
And he will defeat his enemies.
14 The Lord says, “For a long time I have said nothing.
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now I will cry out.
I will strain like a woman giving birth to a child.
15 I will destroy the hills and mountains.
I will dry up all the plants that grow there.
I will make the rivers become dry land.
I will dry up the pools of water.
16 Then I will lead the blind along a way they never knew.
I will guide them along paths they have not known.
I will make the darkness become light for them.
And I will make the rough ground smooth.
These are the things I will do.
I will not leave my people.
17 But some people trust in idols.
They say to their statues,
‘You are our gods.’
Those people will be rejected in disgrace.
Israel Refused to Listen to God
18 “You who are deaf, hear me.
You who are blind, look and see.
19 No one is more blind than my servant Israel.
The messenger I send is the most deaf.
No one is more blind than the person I own.
No one is more blind than the servant of the Lord.
20 Israel, you have seen much, but you have not obeyed.
You have heard, but you refuse to listen.”
21 The Lord made his teachings wonderful.
He did this because he is good.
22 These people have been defeated and robbed.
They are trapped in pits.
They are locked up in prison.
Like robbers, enemies have taken them away.
There is no one to save them.
Enemies carried them off.
And no one said, “Bring them back.”
23 Will any of you listen to this?
Will you listen carefully in the future?
24 Who let the people of Jacob be carried off?
Who let robbers take Israel away?
The Lord allowed this to happen
because we sinned against him.
We did not live the way the Lord wanted us to live.
We did not obey his teaching.
25 So the Lord became very angry with us.
He brought terrible wars against us.
It was as if the people of Israel had fire all around them.
But they didn’t know what was happening.
It was as if they were burning.
But they didn’t pay any attention.
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The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
