14 “I have kept silent from ages past;
I have been quiet and restrained myself.(A)
But now, I will groan like a woman in labor,(B)
gasping breathlessly.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up marshes.(C)
16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;(D)
I will guide them on paths they have not known.
I will turn darkness to light in front of them(E)
and rough places into level ground.(F)
This is what I will do for them,
and I will not abandon them.(G)
17 They will be turned back and utterly ashamed—
those who trust in an idol
and say to a cast image,
‘You are our gods!’ (H)

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14 “I have certainly[a] stayed silent for a long time;
    I’ve kept still and held myself back.
Now, like a woman giving birth, I’ll cry out.
    All of a sudden I’ll gasp and pant.
15 I’ll devastate the mountains and hills,
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I’ll turn rivers into islands,
    and dry up the ponds.
16 I’ll help the blind walk,
    even[b] on a road they do not know;
I’ll guide them
    in directions[c] they do not know.
I’ll turn the dark places[d] into light in front of them,
    and the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
    and I won’t abandon them.
17 Those who trust in carved idols
    will turn back and[e] be completely disappointed,[f]
along with those[g] who say to metal images,
    ‘You are our gods.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 42:14 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks certainly
  2. Isaiah 42:16 Or and; so 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks even
  3. Isaiah 42:16 Lit. paths
  4. Isaiah 42:16 So 1QIsaa (misspelling places); MT LXX read darkness
  5. Isaiah 42:17 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
  6. Isaiah 42:17 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; MTms lacks disappointed
  7. Isaiah 42:17 1QIsaa MT LXX lack along with those