New Living Translation
Isaiah 42:21
21Because he is righteous, the Lord has exalted his glorious law.
Isaiah 42:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
- New International Version (NIV)It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
Context of Isaiah 42:21
19Who 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? 20You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.” Because he is righteous, the Lord has exalted his glorious law. 22But 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. 23Who will hear these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
Read all of Isaiah 42Isaiah 42:21 word by word
יְהוָ֥ה חָפֵ֖ץ לְמַ֣עַן צִדְק֑וֹ יַגְדִּ֥יל תּוֹרָ֖ה וְיַאְדִּֽיר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 42:21
- Isaiah 1:24Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “I will take revenge on my enemies and pay back my foes!
- Isaiah 46:12“Listen to me, you stubborn people who are so far from doing right.
- Psalms 71:16I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord. I will tell everyone that you alone are just.
- Psalms 85:9Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.
- Daniel 9:24“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
- Matthew 3:17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
- Matthew 5:17“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
- Matthew 17:5But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”
- John 8:29And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”
- John 15:10When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
- Romans 3:25For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
- 2 Corinthians 5:19For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
- Philippians 3:9and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
- Psalms 40:8I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”
- Matthew 3:15But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.
- Romans 3:31Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
Commentaries on Isaiah 42:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21He win magnify the law "He hath exalted his own praise" - For תורה torah, the law, the Septuagint read תודה todah, praise.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness‘ sake - There is great variety in the translation and interpretation of this verse. Lowth renders it: Yet Yahweh was gracious unto him for his truth‘s sake; He hath exalted his own praise, and made it glorious. Noyes renders it: It pleased Yahweh for his goodness‘ sake To give him a law great and glorious; And yet it is a robbed and plundered people. The Septuagint renders it, The Lord God determined that he…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 18-25 Observe the call given to this people, and the character given of them. Multitudes are ruined for want of observing that which they cannot but see; they perish, not through ignorance, but carelessness. The Lord is well-pleased in the making known his own righteousness. For their sins they were spoiled of all their possessions. This fully came to pass in the destruction of the Jewish nation. There is no resisting, nor escaping God's anger. See…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21magnify His law and make it glorious: God’s word is a witness to his righteous rule (see Isaiah 1:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. his righteousness--not His people's, but His own; Is 42:24 shows that they had no righteousness (Is 45:24; 59:16). God is well pleased with His Son ("in whom My soul delighteth," Is 42:1), "who fulfils all righteousness" (Mt 3:15) for them, and with them for His sake (compare Is 42:6; Psa 71:16, 19; Mt 5:17; Ro 10:3, 4; Php 3:9). Perhaps in God's "righteousness" here is included His faithfulness to His promises given to Israel's forefathers…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 42:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 42
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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