Historical
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.
The Redemption of Israel
43 But now, thus says Yahweh, 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 Yahweh your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your (BR)Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
[h](BS)Ethiopia 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 seed 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.”
Israel Is Yahweh’s Witness
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 make us hear 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 Yahweh,
“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 Yahweh,
And there is no (CP)savior (CQ)besides Me.
12 It is I who have declared and saved and caused it to be heard,
And there was no (CR)strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh,
“And I am God.
13 Even [i](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?”
Rivers in the Wasteland
14 Thus says Yahweh your (CW)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring down those who fled—all of them,
[j]Even the (CX)Chaldeans—into the (CY)ships [k]in which they shouted for joy.
15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One,
(CZ)The Creator of Israel, your (DA)King.”
16 Thus says Yahweh,
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 military force and the mighty man;
They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been (DD)extinguished and quenched like a wick:
18 “(DE)Do not remember the former things,
Nor carefully consider things of the past.
19 Behold, I will do something (DF)new;
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not know it?
I will even (DG)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the wasteland.
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 wasteland,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people whom (DJ)I formed for Myself
(DK)Will recount 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)glorified Me with your sacrifices.
I have not (DO)burdened you with [l]offerings,
Nor wearied you with (DP)frankincense.
24 You have not bought Me [m](DQ)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied 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 [n]Bring Me to remembrance, (DV)let us enter into judgment together;
Recount your cause, (DW)that you may be proved right.
27 Your (DX)first father sinned,
And your [o](DY)spokesmen have [p]transgressed against Me.
28 So I will [q]profane the [r]princes of the sanctuary,
And I will give Jacob to be (DZ)devoted to destruction and Israel to (EA)revilement.
No God Besides Yahweh
44 “But now hear, O Jacob, My (EB)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 Thus says Yahweh 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 [s]the thirsty ground
And streams on the dry land;
I will (EH)pour out My Spirit on your (EI)seed
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 And they will spring up [t]among the grass
Like (EJ)poplars by streams of water.’
5 This one will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s’;
And this one [u]will call on the name of Jacob;
And this one will (EK)write [v]on his hand, ‘Belonging to Yahweh,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.
6 “Thus says Yahweh, the (EL)King of Israel and his (EM)Redeemer, Yahweh 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 call out and declare it;
And let him tell it to Me in order,
[w]From the time that I established the ancient [x]people.
And let them declare to them the things that are to come
And the events that are going to take place.
8 Do not be in dread and do not be afraid;
(EQ)Have I not long since caused it to be heard 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 Futility of Idolatry
9 Those who form [y]a graven image are all of them [z]futile, and their desirable things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (EU)put to shame. 10 Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to (EV)no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (EW)put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them be in dread, let them together be put to shame.
12 The (EX)man crafts iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [aa]forming it with hammers and working it with his powerful arm. He also gets hungry and has no power; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (EY)Another crafts wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with [ab]a stylus. He makes it with planes and outlines it with a compass and makes it like the form of a man, like the glory of (EZ)man, so that it may sit in a (FA)house. 14 In order to cut cedars for himself, he takes a [ac]cypress or an oak and [ad]raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also (FB)works to produce a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and (FC)falls down before it. 16 Half 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.” 17 But 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.”
18 They 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 will have no insight. 19 No one causes this to return to his heart, 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 [ae]I make the rest of it into an (FI)abomination; [af]I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He [ag](FJ)feeds on ashes; a (FK)deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “(FL)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Yahweh 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 cloud.
(FQ)Return to Me, for I have (FR)redeemed you.”
23 (FS)Shout for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it!
Make a loud shout, 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)Yahweh has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He (FV)shows forth His beautiful glory.
24 Thus says Yahweh, your (FW)Redeemer, and the one who (FX)formed you from the womb,
“I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things,
(FY)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth [ah]all alone,
25 (FZ)Causing the [ai]omens of boasters to be annulled,
And [aj]making fools out of diviners,
(GA)Causing wise men to turn back,
And [ak]making foolishness out of their knowledge,
26 (GB)Confirming the word of His servant—
And the counsel of His messengers He will complete—
And being the One 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 waste places 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 all My good pleasure he will complete.’
And saying of Jerusalem, ‘(GG)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘[al]Your foundation will be laid.’”
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