Isaiah 42

1  BEHOLD MY Servant, Whom I uphold, My elect in Whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice and right and reveal truth to the nations. 2  He will not cry or shout aloud or cause His voice to be heard in the street.3  A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench; He will bring forth justice in truth. 4  He will not fail or become weak or be crushed and discouraged till He has established justice in the earth; and the islands and coastal regions shall wait hopefully for Him and expect His direction and law. 5  Thus says God the Lord--He Who created the heavens and stretched them forth, He Who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it, He Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:6  I the Lord have called You [the Messiah] for a righteous purpose and in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and will keep You; I will give You for a covenant to the people [Israel], for a light to the nations [Gentiles],7  To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison. 8  I am the Lord; that is My name! And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images.9  Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.10  Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the islands and coastal regions and the inhabitants of them [sing a song such as has never been heard in the heathen world]!11  Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of the rock [Sela or Petra] sing; let them shout from the tops of the mountains!12  Let them give glory to the Lord and declare His praise in the islands and coastal regions.13  The Lord will go forth like a mighty man, He will rouse up His zealous indignation and vengeance like a warrior; He will cry, yes, He will shout aloud, He will do mightily against His enemies.14  [Thus says the Lord] I have for a long time held My peace, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry out like a woman in travail, I will gasp and pant together.15  I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and I will dry up the pools.16  And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them and make uneven places into a plain. These things I have determined to do [for them]; and I will not leave them forsaken.17  They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, who trust in graven images, who say to molten images, You are our gods.18  Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see!19  Who is blind but My servant [Israel]? Or deaf like My messenger whom I send? Who is blind like the one who is at peace with Me [who has been admitted to covenant relationship with Me]? Yes, who is blind like the Lord’s servant?20  You have seen many things, but you do not observe or apprehend their true meaning. His ears are open, but he hears not!21  It was the Lord’s pleasure for His righteousness’ sake [in accordance with a steadfast and consistent purpose] to magnify instruction and revelation and glorify them.22  But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes and hidden in houses of bondage. They have become a prey, with no one to deliver them, a spoil, with no one to say, Restore them! [This shows the condition that will ensue as Israel’s punishment for not recognizing the Servant of the Lord and the day of His visit among them.] [Luke19:41-44.]23  Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear in the time to come?24  Who gave up Jacob [the kingdom of Judah] for spoil, and [the kingdom of] Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against Whom we [of Judah] have sinned and in Whose ways they [of Israel] would not walk, neither were they obedient to His law or His teaching?25  Therefore He poured out upon [Israel] the fierceness of His anger and the strength of battle. And it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach]; it burned him, but he did not lay it to heart.

Isaiah 42

Chapter 42

The LORD’s Chosen Servant

1 “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
He is my chosen one, who pleases me.
I have put my Spirit upon him.
He will bring justice to the nations.2 He will not shout
or raise his voice in public.3 He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.4 He will not falter or lose heart
until justice prevails throughout the earth.
Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.t”5 God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out.
He created the earth and everything in it.
He gives breath to everyone,
life to everyone who walks the earth.
And it is he who says,6 “I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people, Israel,
as a symbol of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide the nations.7 You will open the eyes of the blind.
You will free the captives from prison,
releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.8 “I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to anyone else,
nor share my praise with carved idols.9 Everything I prophesied has come true,
and now I will prophesy again.
I will tell you the future before it happens.”

A Song of Praise to the LORD

10 Sing a new song to the LORD!
Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!
Sing, all you who sail the seas,
all you who live in distant coastlands.11 Join in the chorus, you desert towns;
let the villages of Kedar rejoice!
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
shout praises from the mountaintops!12 Let the whole world glorify the LORD;
let it sing his praise.13 The LORD will march forth like a mighty hero;
he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.
He will shout his battle cry
and crush all his enemies.14 He will say, “I have long been silent;
yes, I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman in labor,
I will cry and groan and pant.15 I will level the mountains and hills
and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
and will dry up all the pools.16 I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
I will not forsake them.17 But those who trust in idols,
who say, ‘You are our gods,’
will be turned away in shame.

Israel’s Failure to Listen and See

18 “Listen, you who are deaf!
Look and see, you blind!19 Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?
Who is as deaf as my messenger?
Who is as blind as my chosen people,
the servant of the LORD?20 You see and recognize what is right
but refuse to act on it.
You hear with your ears,
but you don’t really listen.”21 Because he is righteous,
the LORD has exalted his glorious law.22 But his own people have been robbed and plundered,
enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.
They are fair game for anyone
and have no one to protect them,
no one to take them back home.23 Who will hear these lessons from the past
and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?24 Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt?
It was the LORD, against whom we sinned,
for the people would not walk in his path,
nor would they obey his law.25 Therefore, he poured out his fury on them
and destroyed them in battle.
They were enveloped in flames,
but they still refused to understand.
They were consumed by fire,
but they did not learn their lesson.