Isaiah 42:1-44:5
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord’s Servant Will Bring Righteousness to the World
42 Here is my servant, whom I support.
Here is my chosen one, with whom I am pleased.
I have put my Spirit on him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or raise ⌞his voice⌟.
He will not make his voice heard in the streets.
3 He will not break off a damaged cattail.
He will not even put out a smoking wick.
He will faithfully bring about justice.
4 He will not be discouraged or crushed
until he has set up justice on the earth.
The coastlands will wait for his teachings.
5 The Lord God created the heavens and stretched them out.
He shaped the earth and all that comes from it.
He gave life to the people who are on it
and breath to those who walk on it.
This is what the Lord God says:
6 I, the Lord, have called you to do what is right.
I will take hold of your hand.
I will protect you.
I will appoint you as my promise [a] to the people,
as my light to the nations.
7 You will give sight to the blind,
bring prisoners out of prisons,
and bring those who live in darkness out of dungeons.
8 I am the Lord; that is my name.
I will not give my glory to anyone else
or the praise I deserve to idols.
9 What I said in the past has come true.
I will reveal new things before they happen.
A Song about the Lord, the Warrior
10 Sing a new song to the Lord.
Sing his praise from the ends of the earth,
you people who sail on the seas
and all the creatures that live in them,
you coastlands and all who live on them.
11 Let those who live in the desert and its cities raise their voices.
Let those who live in the settlements of Kedar praise him.
Let those who live in Sela sing for joy.
Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
and announce his praise on the coastlands.
13 The Lord marches out like a warrior.
He prepares himself for battle like a soldier.
He shouts, gives the battle cry, and overpowers his enemies.
14 I have been silent for a long time.
I kept quiet and held myself back.
But like a woman in childbirth I will cry out.
I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste to mountains and hills.
I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into islands.
I will dry up ponds.
16 I will lead the blind on unfamiliar roads.
I will lead them on unfamiliar paths.
I will turn darkness into light in front of them.
I will make rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do for them,
and I will never abandon them.
17 Then those who trust idols
and those who say to statues,
“You are our gods” will be turned away and put to shame.
The Lord Will Bring Israel Home
18 Listen, you deaf people.
Look, you blind people, so that you can see.
19 Who is blind except my servant
or deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one who has my trust
or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen much, but you do not observe anything.
Your ears are open, but you hear nothing.
21 The Lord is pleased because he does what is right.
He praises the greatness of his teachings and makes them glorious.
22 But these people are robbed and looted.
They are all trapped in pits and hidden in prisons.
They have become prey with no one to rescue them.
They have become loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Is there anyone who will pay attention and listen in the future?
24 Who gave Jacob away as loot
and handed Israel over to robbers?
Wasn’t it the Lord, against whom we have sinned?
They didn’t want to live his way.
They didn’t obey his teachings.
25 So he poured out his burning anger and the horrors of war on them.
It engulfed them in flames, but they did not understand.
It burned them, but they did not take it to heart.
43 The Lord created Jacob and formed Israel. Now, this is what the Lord says:
Do not be afraid, because I have reclaimed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through the sea, I am with you.
When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
and the flames will not harm you.
3 I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you.
Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you.
4 Since you are precious to me, you are honored and I love you.
I will exchange others for you.
Nations will be the price I pay for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, because I am with you.
I will bring your descendants from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
and to the south, “Do not keep them.”
Bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
7 Bring everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
8 Bring the people who are blind but still have eyes,
the people who are deaf but still have ears.
9 All nations have gathered together, and people have assembled.
Who among them could have revealed this?
Who among them could have foretold this to us?
They should bring their witnesses to prove that they were right.
Let the people hear them. Then they will say that it is true.
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord.
“I have chosen you as my servant
so that you can know and believe in me
and understand that I am the one ⌞who did this⌟.
No god was formed before me,
and there will be none after me.
11 I alone am the Lord,
and there is no savior except me.
12 I have revealed it to you, I have saved you,
and I have announced it to you.
There was no foreign ⌞god⌟ among you.
You are my witnesses that I am God,” declares the Lord.
13 “From the ⌞first⌟ day I was the one ⌞who did this⌟.
No one can rescue people from my power.
When I do something, who can undo it?”
14 This is what the Lord, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel, says:
For your sake I will send ⌞an army⌟ to Babylon.
I will bring back all the Babylonian refugees
in the ships that they take pride in.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.
Despite the People of Israel’s Past Sin, the Lord Will Forgive Them
16 The Lord makes a path through the sea
and a road through the strong currents.
17 He leads chariots and horses, an army and reinforcements.
(They lie down together and do not get up ⌞again⌟.
They are extinguished and snuffed out like a wick.)
This is what the Lord says:
18 Forget what happened in the past,
and do not dwell on events from long ago.
19 I am going to do something new.
It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it?
I will clear a way in the desert.
I will make rivers on dry land.
20 Wild animals, jackals, and ostriches will honor me.
I will provide water in the desert.
I will make rivers on the dry land for my chosen people to drink.
21 I have formed these people for myself.
They will praise me.
22 Jacob, you have not prayed to me.
Israel, you have grown tired of me.
23 You did not bring me sheep for your burnt offerings
or honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you by requiring grain offerings
or trouble you by requiring incense offerings.
24 You did not buy me any sugar cane with ⌞your⌟ money
or satisfy me with the best part of your sacrifices.
Rather, you burdened me with your sins
and troubled me with your wrongdoings.
25 I alone am the one who is going to wipe away your rebellious actions
for my own sake.
I will not remember your sins ⌞anymore⌟.
26 Remind me ⌞of what happened⌟.
Let us argue our case together.
State your case so that you can prove you are right.
27 Your first ancestor sinned,
and your priests rebelled against me.
28 That is why I will corrupt the leaders of the holy place.
I will claim Jacob for destruction.
I will set up Israel for ridicule.
44 But now listen, my servant Jacob, Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 The Lord made you, formed you in the womb, and will help you.
This is what the Lord says:
Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun,[b] whom I have chosen.
3 I will pour water on thirsty ground and rain on dry land.
I will pour my Spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up with the grass
as poplars spring up by streams.
5 One person will say, “I belong to the Lord.”
Another will call on the name of Jacob.
Another will write on his hand, “The Lord’s,”
and he will adopt the name of Israel.
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