Isaiah 42

God’s Promise concerning His Servant

1“1Behold, My 2Servant, whom I 3uphold; My 4chosen one in whom My 5soul delights. I have put My 6Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth 7justice to the 8nations.2He will not cry out nor raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.3A bent reed He will not break off And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth 9justice.4He will not be 10disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice on the earth; And the 11coastlands will wait expectantly for His 12law.”

5This is what God the Lord says, Who 13created the heavens and 14stretched them out, Who spread out the 15earth and its 16offspring, Who 17gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it:6“I am the Lord, I have 18called You in righteousness, I will also 19hold You by the hand and 20watch over You, And I will appoint You as a 21covenant to the people, As a 22light to the nations,7To 23open blind eyes, To 24bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.825I am the Lord, that is 26My name; I will not give My 27glory to another, Nor My praise to idols.9Behold, the 28former things have come to pass, Now I declare 29new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

10Sing to the Lord a 30new song, Sing His praise from the 31end of the earth! 32You who go down to the sea, and 33all that is in it; You 34islands, and those who live on them.11Let the 35wilderness and its cities raise their voices, The settlements which 36Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of 37Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the 38mountains.12Let them 39give glory to the Lord And declare His praise in the 40coastlands.1341The Lord will go out like a warrior, He will stir His 42zeal like a man of war. He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry. He will 43prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

14“44I 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.15I will 45lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation; I will 46turn the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.16I will 47lead those who are blind by a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I will guide them. I will 48turn darkness into light before them And 49uneven land into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will 50not leave them undone.”17They will be turned back and be 51utterly put to shame, Who trust in 52idols, Who say to cast metal images, “You are our gods.”

1853Hear, you who are deaf! And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.19Who is blind but My 54servant, Or so deaf as My 55messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as one who is 5657at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?2058You have seen many things, but you do not retain them; Your ears are open, but no one hears.21The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake To make the Law 59great and glorious.22But this is a people plundered and pillaged; All of them are 60trapped in 61caves, Or are 62hidden away in prisons; They have become plunder, with no one to save them, And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”

23Who among you will listen to this? Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?24Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they 63were not willing to walk, And whose Law they did not 64obey?25So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the 65fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he 6667paid no attention.