Isaiah 42-43

New American Standard Bible 1995

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.
² “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
³ “A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth ^(G)justice.
⁴ “He will not be ^(H)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the ^(I)coastlands will wait expectantly for His ^[c]law.”

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 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,
⁷ To ^(S)open blind eyes,
To ^(T)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
⁸ “^(U)I am the Lord, 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 proclaim them to you.”

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)make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
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 leave them undone.”
¹⁷ They will be turned back and be ^(AU)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in ^[f]idols,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”

43 But now, thus says the Lord, your ^(BH)Creator, O Jacob,
And He who ^(BI)formed you, O Israel,
“Do not ^(BJ)fear, for I have ^(BK)redeemed you;
I have ^(BL)called you by name; you are ^(BM)Mine!
² “When you ^(BN)pass through the waters, ^(BO)I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you ^(BP)walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
³ “For ^(BQ)I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your ^(BR)Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
^[j](BS)Cush and Seba in your place.
⁴ “Since you are ^(BT)precious in My sight,
Since you are ^(BU)honored and I ^(BV)love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
⁵ “Do not fear, for ^(BW)I am with you;
I will bring ^(BX)your offspring from the east,
And ^(BY)gather you from the west.
⁶ “I will say to the ^(BZ)north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My ^(CA)sons from afar
And My daughters from the ^(CB)ends of the earth,
⁷ Everyone who is ^(CC)called by My name,
And whom I have ^(CD)created for My ^(CE)glory,
^(CF)Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

⁸ Bring out the people who are ^(CG)blind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
⁹ All the nations have ^(CH)gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can ^(CI)declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present ^(CJ)their witnesses ^(CK)that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰ “You are ^(CL)My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And ^(CM)My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that ^(CN)I am He.
^(CO)Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
¹¹ “I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no ^(CP)savior ^(CQ)besides Me.
¹² “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no ^(CR)strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
¹³ “Even ^[k](CS)from eternity ^(CT)I am He,
And there is ^(CU)none who can deliver out of My hand;
^(CV)I act and who can reverse it?”

“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
^[l]Even the ^(CX)Chaldeans, into the ^(CY)ships ^[m]in which they rejoice.
¹⁵ “I am the Lord, your Holy One,
^(CZ)The Creator of Israel, your ^(DA)King.”

Who ^(DB)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
¹⁷ Who brings forth the ^(DC)chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been ^(DD)quenched and extinguished like a wick):
¹⁸ “^(DE)Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
¹⁹ “Behold, I will do something ^(DF)new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even ^(DG)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
²⁰ “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The ^(DH)jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have ^(DI)given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
²¹ “The people whom ^(DJ)I formed for Myself
^(DK)Will declare My praise.

²² “Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become ^(DL)weary of Me, O Israel.
²³ “You have ^(DM)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you ^(DN)honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not ^(DO)burdened you with ^[n]offerings,
Nor wearied you with ^(DP)incense.
²⁴ “You have bought Me not ^[o](DQ)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you ^[p]filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have ^(DR)wearied Me with your iniquities.