God’s Promise concerning His Servant

42 (A)Behold, My (B)Servant, whom I [a]uphold;
My (C)chosen one in whom My (D)soul delights.
I have put My (E)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth (F)justice to the [b]nations.
He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth (G)justice.
He will not be (H)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the (I)coastlands will wait expectantly for His [c]law.”

This is what God the Lord says,

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:
“I am the Lord, I have (N)called You in righteousness,
I will also (O)hold You by the hand and (P)watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a (Q)covenant to the people,
As a (R)light to the nations,
To (S)open blind eyes,
To (T)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
(U)I am the Lord, that is (V)My name;
I will not give My (W)glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
Behold, the (X)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare (Y)new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

10 Sing to the Lord a (Z)new song,
Sing His praise from the (AA)end of the earth!
(AB)You who go down to the sea, and (AC)all that is in it;
You (AD)islands, and those who live on them.
11 Let the (AE)wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which (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 the Lord
And declare His praise in the (AJ)coastlands.
13 (AK)The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His (AL)zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will (AM)prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

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 wither all their vegetation;
I will (AP)turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 I will (AQ)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will (AR)turn darkness into light before them
And (AS)uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will (AT)not leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be (AU)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in [e]idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”

18 (AV)Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so 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 one who is [f](AY)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 (AZ)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law (BA)great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are (BB)trapped in [g]caves,
Or are (BC)hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”

23 Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, 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 recognize it;
And it burned him, but he [h](BG)paid no attention.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 42:1 Or hold fast
  2. Isaiah 42:1 Or Gentiles
  3. Isaiah 42:4 Or instruction
  4. Isaiah 42:5 Or vegetation
  5. Isaiah 42:17 Or carved images
  6. Isaiah 42:19 Or the devoted one
  7. Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
  8. Isaiah 42:25 Lit did not lay it to heart

The Lord’s Servant Will Bring Righteousness to the World

42 Here is my Ebed, whom I support.
    Here is my chosen one, with whom I am pleased.
    I have put my Ruach on him.
    He will bring justice to the nations.
He will not cry out or raise his voice.
    He will not make his voice heard in the streets.
He will not break off a damaged cattail.
    He will not even put out a smoking wick.
    He will faithfully bring about justice.
He will not be discouraged or crushed
    until he has set up justice on the earth.
    The coastlands will wait for his teachings.

Yahweh El created the heavens and stretched them out.
    He shaped the earth and all that comes from it.
    He gave life to the people who are on it
        and breath to those who walk on it.

This is what Yahweh El says:

I, Yahweh, have called you to do what is right.
    I will take hold of your hand.
    I will protect you.
    I will appoint you as my promise[a] to the people,
        as my light to the nations.
            You will give sight to the blind,
                bring prisoners out of prisons,
                    and bring those who live in darkness
    out of dungeons.
I am Yahweh; that is my name.
    I will not give my glory to anyone else
        or the praise I deserve to idols.
What I said in the past has come true.
    I will reveal new things before they happen.

A Song about the Lord, the Warrior

10 Sing a new song to Yahweh.
    Sing his praise from the ends of the earth,
    you people who sail on the seas
        and all the creatures that live in them,
    you coastlands and all who live on them.
11 Let those who live in the desert and its cities raise their voices.
    Let those who live in the settlements of Kedar praise him.
    Let those who live in Sela sing for joy.
    Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to Yahweh
    and announce his praise on the coastlands.
13 Yahweh marches out like a warrior.
    He prepares himself for battle like a soldier.
        He shouts, gives the battle cry, and overpowers his enemies.

14 I have been silent for a long time.
    I kept quiet and held myself back.
    But like a woman in childbirth I will cry out.
    I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste to mountains and hills.
    I will dry up all their vegetation.
    I will turn rivers into islands.
    I will dry up ponds.
16 I will lead the blind on unfamiliar roads.
    I will lead them on unfamiliar paths.
    I will turn darkness into light in front of them.
    I will make rough places smooth.
    These are the things I will do for them,
        and I will never abandon them.
17 Then those who trust idols
    and those who say to statues,
        “You are our gods”
    will be turned away and put to shame.

The Lord Will Bring Israel Home

18 Listen, you deaf people.
    Look, you blind people, so that you can see.
19 Who is blind except my servant
    or deaf like the messenger I send?
    Who is blind like the one who has my trust
    or blind like the servant of Yahweh?
20 You have seen much, but you do not observe anything.
    Your ears are open, but you hear nothing.
21 Yahweh is pleased because he does what is right.
    He praises the greatness of his teachings and makes them glorious.
22 But these people are robbed and looted.
    They are all trapped in pits and hidden in prisons.
        They have become prey with no one to rescue them.
            They have become loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
    Is there anyone who will pay attention and listen in the future?
24 Who gave Jacob away as loot
    and handed Israel over to robbers?
    Wasn’t it Yahweh, against whom we have sinned?
    They didn’t want to live his way.
    They didn’t obey his teachings.
25 So he poured out his burning anger and the horrors of war on them.
    It engulfed them in flames, but they did not understand.
    It burned them, but they did not take it to heart.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 42:6 Or “covenant.”

42 Here is Avdi [Moshiach, see Zech 3:8; Isa 52:13], whom I uphold; Mine Bachir (Elect One, Chosen One), in whom My nefesh delighteth; I have put My Ruach [Hakodesh] upon Him; He [Moshiach] shall bring forth mishpat to the Goyim.

He [Moshiach] shall not cry out, nor lift up His kol (voice), nor cause it to be heard in the street.

A bruised reed shall He [Moshiach] not break, and a smoking wick shall He not quench; He shall bring forth mishpat according to emes.

He [Moshiach] shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He establish mishpat ba’aretz; and the iyim shall wait for His (Moshiach’s) torah [1C 9:21].

Thus saith HaEl Hashem, Boreh HaShomayim, and the One stretching them out; He that spread out ha’aretz, and that which cometh out of it as produce; He that giveth neshamah (soul) unto HaAm upon it, and ruach to them that walk thereon [See 1Th 5:23 OJBC]:

I Hashem have called Thee in tzedek, and will take hold of Thine yad, and will keep Thee, and give Thee [Moshiach] for a Brit (Covenant, Mt 26:28) of the Am (People), for an Ohr Goyim;

To open the einayim ivrot (blind eyes), to bring out the captives from confinement, and them that sit in choshech out of the bais keleh (dungeon, prison).

I am Hashem; that is Shmi; and My kavod will I not give to another, neither My tehillah (praise) to pesilim.

Hinei, the rishonot (former things) are come to pass, and chadashot (new things) do I declare; before titzmachnah (they spring forth; Tzemach) I tell you of them.

10 Sing unto Hashem a shir chadesh (new song), and His tehillah from the ketzeh ha’aretz, ye that go down to the yam, and all that is therein. You iyim (islands), and the inhabitants thereof.

11 Let the midbar and the towns thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the rosh harim.

12 Let them give kavod unto Hashem, and declare His tehillah in the iyim.

13 Hashem shall go forth like a Gibbor, He shall arouse kina (zeal) like an ish milchamah; He shall shout, indeed, raise a war cry; He shall prevail against His oyevim.

14 I have me’olam held My peace; I have been quiet, and refrained Myself; now will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will lay waste and devour at once.

15 I will lay waste harim and geva’ot (hills), and dry up all their esev (vegetation); and I will make the neharot into iyim, and I will dry up agamim (pools, lakes).

16 And I will bring the ivrim (blind) by a derech that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make choshech into ohr before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in pesel, that say to the masekhah (molten images), You (plural) are eloheinu (our g-ds).

18 Hear, ye chereshim (deaf people); and look, ye ivrim (blind people) that ye may see.

19 Who is ivver (blind), but Avdi (Yisroel]? Or cheresh (deaf), like malachi that I sent? Who is ivver (blind) like meshullam (the one committed) [to Me] and ivver like the Eved Hashem [i.e., Yisroel].

20 Seeing rabbot, but thou observest not; opening the oznayim, but he heareth not.

21 Hashem is well pleased lema’an (for the sake of) His tzedek; He will magnify the torah, and make it glorious.

22 But this is Am (People) robbed and looted; they are all of them snared in holes, or hidden in batei kela’im (dungeons): they are for plunder, and none delivereth; for loot, and none saith, Give it back!

23 Who among you will give ozen (ear) to this? Who will pay heed and hear for the time to come?

24 Who gave Ya’akov as loot, and Yisroel to ones plundering? Did not Hashem, He against Whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in the darkhei HaShem, neither were they obedient unto His torah.

25 Therefore He hath poured upon it the chemah (burning heat) of His anger, and the strength of the fury of milchamah; and it hath set him on fire round about, yet it knew not; and it consumed it, yet it laid it not to lev.