Isaiah 42

¹Behold my servant, I will uphold him, my elect, with him my soul is well-pleased. I have sent my Spirit upon him. He will offer judgment to the nations.

²He will not cry out, and he will not show favoritism to anyone; neither will his voice be heard abroad.

³The bruised reed he will not break, and the smoldering wick he will not extinguish. He will lead forth judgment unto truth.

⁴He will not be saddened or troubled, until he establishes judgment on earth. And the islands will await his law.

⁵Thus says the Lord God, who created the heavens and expanded it, who formed the earth and all that springs from it, who gives breath to the people in it, and spirit to those walking on it.

⁶I, the Lord, have called you in justice, and I have taken your hand and preserved you. And I have presented you as a covenant of the people, as a light to the Gentiles,

⁷so that you may open the eyes of the blind, and lead out the prisoner from confinement and those sitting in darkness from the house of incarceration.

⁸I am the Lord; this is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.

⁹The things that were first, behold, they have arrived. And I also announce what is new. Before these things arise, I will cause you to hear about them.

¹⁰Sing to the Lord a new canticle, sing his praise from the ends of the earth, you who descend into the sea and all its fullness, the islands and their inhabitants.

¹¹Let the desert and its cities be lifted up. Kedar will dwell in houses. O inhabitants of the rock, give praise! They will cry out from the top of the mountains.

¹²They will give glory to the Lord, and they will announce his praise to the islands.

¹³The Lord will go forth like a strong man; like a man of battle, he will stir up zeal. He will shout and cry out. He will prevail against his enemies.

¹⁴I have always been quiet; I have been silent; I have been patient. I will speak like a woman giving birth. I will destroy and consume, all at once.

¹⁵I will desolate the mountains and the hills, and I will wither all their grass. And I will turn rivers into islands, and I will dry up the pools of water.

¹⁶And I will lead the blind along a way which they do not know. And I will cause them to walk along paths with which they were unfamiliar. I will turn darkness into light before them, and crooked into straight. These things I have done for them. For I have not abandoned them.

¹⁷They have been converted again. Let those who trust in graven idols be greatly confounded, for they say to a molten thing, “You are our god.”

¹⁸You who are deaf, hear! You who are blind, turn your gaze and see!

¹⁹Who is blind, except my servant? Who is deaf, except the one to whom I have sent my messengers? Who is blind, except the one who has been sold? And who is blind, except the servant of the Lord?

²⁰You who see many things, will you not keep them? You who have open ears, will you not listen?

²¹And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and to exalt him.

²²But this same people has robbed and laid waste. All their youth are a snare, and they have been hidden in houses of confinement. They have become victims; there is no one who may rescue them. They have been plundered; there is no one who may say, “Restore.”

²³Who is there among you who will hear this, who will listen closely and heed this in the future?

²⁴Who has handed over Jacob into plunder, and Israel into devastation? Is it not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned? And they were not willing to walk in his ways, and they have not listened to his law.

²⁵And so, he poured out over him the indignation of his fury and a strong battle. And he burned him all around, and he did not realize it. And he set him on fire, and he did not understand it.

Isaiah 42

¹Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my elect, my soul delighteth in him: I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

²He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad.

³The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

⁴He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he set judgment in the earth, and the islands shall wait for his law.

⁵Thus saith the Lord God that created the heavens, and stretched them out: that established the earth, and the things that spring out of it: that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that tread thereon.

⁶I the Lord have called thee in justice, and taken thee by the hand, and preserved thee. And I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:

⁷That thou mightest open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

⁸I the Lord, this is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.

⁹The things that were first, behold they are come: and new things do I declare: before they spring forth, I will make you hear them.

¹⁰Sing ye to the Lord a new song, his praise is from the ends of the earth: you that go down to the sea, and all that are therein: ye islands, and ye inhabitants of them.

¹¹Let the desert and the cities thereof be exalted: Cedar shall dwell in houses: ye inhabitants of Petra, give praise, they shall cry from the top of the mountains.

¹²They shall give glory to the Lord, and shall declare his praise in the islands.

¹³The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war shall he stir up zeal: he shall shout and cry: he shall prevail against his enemies.

¹⁴I have always held my peace, I have kept silence, I have been patient, I will speak now as a woman in labour: I will destroy, and swallow up at once.

¹⁵I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and will make all their grass to wither: and I will turn rivers into islands, and will dry up the standing pools.

¹⁶And I will lead the blind into the way which they know not: and in the paths which they were ignorant of I will make them walk: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight: these things have I done to them, and have not forsaken them.

¹⁷They are turned back: let them be greatly confounded, that trust in a graven thing, that say to a molten thing: You are our god.

¹⁸Hear, ye deaf, and, ye blind, behold that you may see.

¹⁹Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, but he to whom I have sent my messengers? Who is blind, but he that is sold? or who is blind, but the servant of the Lord?

²⁰Thou that seest many things, wilt thou not observe them? thou that hast ears open, wilt thou not hear?

²¹And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and exalt it.

²²But this is a people that is robbed and wasted: they are all the snare of young men, and they are hid in the houses of prisons: they are made a prey, and there is none to deliver them: a spoil, and there is none that saith: Restore.

²³Who is there among you that will give ear to this, that will attend and hearken for times to come?

²⁴Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to robbers? hath not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned? And they would not walk in his ways, and they have not hearkened to his law.

²⁵And he hath poured out upon him the indignation of his fury, and a strong battle, and hath burnt him round about, and he knew not: and set him on fire, and he understood not.