Isaiah 42-44

New American Standard Bible 1995

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.
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.”

⁵Thus says God the Lord,

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,
⁷To ^(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.”

¹⁰Sing 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 dwell on them.
¹¹Let the ^(AE)wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The settlements where ^(AF)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of ^(AG)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ^(AH)mountains.
¹²Let them ^(AI)give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the ^(AJ)coastlands.
¹³^(AK)The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His ^(AL)zeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, 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)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.”
¹⁷They 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.”

¹⁸^(AV)Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
¹⁹Who is blind but My ^(AW)servant,
Or so deaf as My ^(AX)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is ^[g]^(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 observe them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
²¹The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the law ^(BA)great and glorious.
²²But this is a people plundered and despoiled;
All of them are ^(BB)trapped in ^[h]caves,
Or are ^(BC)hidden away in prisons;
They have become a prey with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!”

²³Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and listen hereafter?
²⁴Who gave Jacob up for spoil, 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?
²⁵So 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 ^[i]^(BG)paid no attention.

Israel Redeemed

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,
⁷Everyone 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.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

⁸Bring out the people who are ^(CG)blind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
⁹All 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?”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

¹⁴Thus says the Lord your ^(CW)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

“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.”

¹⁶Thus says the Lord,

Who ^(DB)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
¹⁷Who 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.

The Shortcomings of Israel

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.

²⁵“I, even I, am the one who ^(DS)wipes out your transgressions ^(DT)for My own sake,
And I will ^(DU)not remember your sins.
²⁶“^[q]Put Me in remembrance, ^(DV)let us argue our case together;
State your cause, ^(DW)that you may be proved right.
²⁷“Your ^(DX)first ^[r]forefather sinned,
And your ^[s]^(DY)spokesmen have ^[t]transgressed against Me.
²⁸“So I will ^[u]pollute the ^[v]princes of the sanctuary,
And I will consign Jacob to the ^(DZ)ban and Israel to ^(EA)revilement.

The Blessings of Israel

44 “But now listen, O Jacob, My ^(EB)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
²Thus says the Lord who made you
And ^(EC)formed you from the womb, who ^(ED)will help you,
‘^(EE)Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;
And you ^(EF)Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
³‘For ^(EG)I will pour out water on ^[w]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will ^(EH)pour out My Spirit on your ^(EI)offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;
⁴And they will spring up ^[x]among the grass
Like ^(EJ)poplars by streams of water.’
⁵“This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one ^[y]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will ^(EK)write ^[z]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.

⁶“Thus says the Lord, the ^(EL)King of Israel and his ^(EM)Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the ^(EN)first and I am the last,
And there is no God ^(EO)besides Me.
⁷‘Who is like Me? ^(EP)Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
^[aa]From the time that I established the ancient ^[ab]nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
⁸‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
^(EQ)Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And ^(ER)you are My witnesses.
Is there any God ^(ES)besides Me,
Or is there any other ^(ET)Rock?
I know of none.’”

The Folly of Idolatry

⁹Those who fashion ^[ac]a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^(EU)put to shame. ¹⁰Who has fashioned a god or cast ^[ad]an idol to ^(EV)no profit? ¹¹Behold, all his companions will be ^(EW)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

¹²The ^(EX)man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^[ae]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^[af]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. ¹³^(EY)Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^(EZ)man, so that it may sit in a ^(FA)house. ¹⁴Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a ^[ag]cypress or an oak and ^[ah]raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also ^(FB)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and ^(FC)falls down before it. ¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” ¹⁷But the rest of it he ^(FD)makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also ^(FE)prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸They do not ^(FF)know, nor do they understand, for He has ^(FG)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. ¹⁹No one ^[ai]recalls, nor is there ^(FH)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ^[aj]I make the rest of it into an ^(FI)abomination, ^[ak]I fall down before a block of wood!” ²⁰He ^[al]^(FJ)feeds on ashes; a ^(FK)deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver ^[am]himself, nor say, “^(FL)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

²¹“^(FM)Remember these things, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are ^(FN)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
O Israel, you will ^(FO)not be forgotten by Me.
²²“I have ^(FP)wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a ^[an]heavy mist.
^(FQ)Return to Me, for I have ^(FR)redeemed you.”
²³^(FS)Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
^(FT)Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it;
For ^(FU)the Lord has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He ^(FV)shows forth His glory.

²⁴Thus says the Lord, your ^(FW)Redeemer, and the one who ^(FX)formed you from the womb,

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
^(FY)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth ^[ao]all alone,
²⁵^(FZ)Causing the ^[ap]omens of boasters to fail,
^[aq]Making fools out of diviners,
^(GA)Causing wise men to draw back
And ^[ar]turning their knowledge into foolishness,
²⁶^(GB)Confirming the word of His servant
And ^[as]performing the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the ^(GC)cities of Judah, ‘^(GD)They shall be built.’
And I will raise up her ruins again.
²⁷“It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers ^(GE)dry.
²⁸“It is I who says of ^(GF)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!
And he will perform all My desire.’
And ^[at]he declares of Jerusalem, ‘^(GG)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘^[au]Your foundation will be laid.’”

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 42:17 Or graven images
Isaiah 42:19 Or the devoted one
Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
Isaiah 42:25 Lit did not lay it to heart
Isaiah 43:3 Or Ethiopia
Isaiah 43:13 So with Gr; Heb from the day
Isaiah 43:14 Another reading is As for the Chaldeans, their rejoicing is turned into lamentations
Isaiah 43:14 Lit of their rejoicing
Isaiah 43:23 Or a meal offering
Isaiah 43:24 Or calamus
Isaiah 43:24 Or saturated
Isaiah 43:26 Or Report to Me
Isaiah 43:27 Lit father
Isaiah 43:27 Or interpreters
Isaiah 43:27 Or rebelled
Isaiah 43:28 Or pierce through
Isaiah 43:28 Or holy princes
Isaiah 44:3 Or him who is thirsty
Isaiah 44:4 Another reading is like grass among the waters
Isaiah 44:5 Another reading is will be called by the name of Jacob
Isaiah 44:5 Or with
Isaiah 44:7 Lit From My establishing of
Isaiah 44:7 Or people
Isaiah 44:9 Or an idol
Isaiah 44:10 Or a graven image
Isaiah 44:12 Lit and fashions
Isaiah 44:12 Lit there is no strength
Isaiah 44:14 Or holm-oak
Isaiah 44:14 Lit makes strong
Isaiah 44:19 Lit returns to his heart
Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I make?
Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I fall...?
Isaiah 44:20 Or is a companion of ashes
Isaiah 44:20 Lit his soul
Isaiah 44:22 Or cloud
Isaiah 44:24 Or who was with Me?
Isaiah 44:25 Lit signs
Isaiah 44:25 Lit He makes
Isaiah 44:25 Lit He turns
Isaiah 44:26 Lit He performs
Isaiah 44:28 Lit to say
Isaiah 44:28 Lit You will be founded

New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation

Isaiah 42-44 New American Standard Bible 1995