Isaiah 42
Legacy Standard Bible
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.
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 42:19 Or the devoted one
- Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
Isaiah 42
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.
Footnotes
- 42:6 Or “covenant.”
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