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.

Isaiah 42

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

²He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

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

⁴He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

⁵Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

⁶I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

⁷To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

⁹Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

¹⁰Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

¹¹Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

¹²Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.

¹³The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

¹⁴I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

¹⁵I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

¹⁶And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

¹⁷They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

¹⁸Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

¹⁹Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?

²⁰Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.

²¹The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

²²But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

²³Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

²⁴Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.

²⁵Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.