Isaiah 42
42
The LORD's Servant
1 #
Mt 3.17; 17.5; Mk 1.11; Lk 3.22; 9.35 #
Mt 12.18–21
The LORD says,
“Here is my servant, whom I strengthen —
the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased.
I have filled him with my Spirit,
and he will bring justice to every nation.
2He will not shout or raise his voice
or make loud speeches in the streets.
3He will not break off a bent reed
or put out a flickering lamp.
He will bring lasting justice to all.
4He will not lose hope or courage;
he will establish justice on the earth.
Distant lands eagerly wait for his teaching.”
5 #
Acts 17.24–25
God created the heavens and stretched them out;
he fashioned the earth and all that lives there;
he gave life and breath to all its people.
And now the LORD God says to his servant,
6 #
Is 49.6; Lk 2.32; Acts 13.47; 26.23 “I, the LORD, have called you and given you power
to see that justice is done on earth.
Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples;
through you I will bring light to the nations.
7You will open the eyes of the blind
and set free those who sit in dark prisons.
8“I alone am the LORD your God.
No other god may share my glory;
I will not let idols share my praise.
9The things I predicted have now come true.
Now I will tell you of new things
even before they begin to happen.”
A Song of Praise
10Sing a new song to the LORD;
sing his praise, all the world!
Praise him, you that sail the sea;
praise him, all creatures of the sea!
Sing, distant lands and all who live there!
11Let the desert and its towns praise God;
let the people of Kedar praise him!
Let those who live in the city of Sela
shout for joy from the tops of the mountains!
12Let those who live in distant lands
give praise and glory to the LORD!
13The LORD goes out to fight like a warrior;
he is ready and eager for battle.
He gives a war cry, a battle shout;
he shows his power against his enemies.
God Promises to Help his People
14God says,
“For a long time I kept silent;
I did not answer my people.
But now the time to act has come;
I cry out like a woman in labour.
15I will destroy the hills and mountains
and dry up the grass and trees.
I will turn the river valleys into deserts#42.15 Probable text deserts; Hebrew coastlands.
and dry up the pools of water.
16“I will lead my blind people
by roads they have never travelled.
I will turn their darkness into light
and make rough country smooth before them.
These are my promises,
and I will keep them without fail.
17All who trust in idols,
who call images their gods,
will be humiliated and disgraced.”
Israel's Failure to Learn
18The LORD says,
“Listen, you deaf people!
Look closely, you that are blind!
19Is anyone more blind than my servant,
more deaf than the messenger I send?
20Israel, you have seen so much,
but what has it meant to you?
You have ears to hear with,
but what have you really heard?”
21The LORD is a God who is eager to save,
so he exalted his laws and teachings,
and he wanted his people to honour them.
22But now his people have been plundered;
they are locked up in dungeons
and hidden away in prisons.
They were robbed and plundered,
with no one to come to their rescue.
23Will any of you listen to this?
From now on will you listen with care?
24Who gave Israel up to the looters?
It was the LORD himself, against whom we sinned!
We would not live as he wanted us to live
or obey the teachings he gave us.
25So he made us feel the force of his anger
and suffer the violence of war.
Like fire his anger burned throughout Israel,
but we never knew what was happening;
we learnt from it nothing at all.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Isaiah 42
42
1Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth! I will put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the nations. 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 smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment according to truth. 4He shall not faint nor be in haste, till he have set justice in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
5Thus saith ·God#GodHebrew: El Jehovah, he that created the heavens and stretched them out, he that spread forth the earth and its productions, he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will take hold of thy hand; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations, 7to open the blind eyes, to bring forth the prisoner from the prison, them that sit in darkness out of the house of restraint. 8I am Jehovah, 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 will I cause you to hear them. 10Sing unto Jehovah a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the isles and their inhabitants. 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 Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands.
13Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man, he will stir up jealousy like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout; he will shew himself mighty against his enemies. 14Long time have I holden my peace; I have been still, I have restrained myself: I will cry like a woman that travaileth; I will blow and pant at once. 15I will lay 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 know not, in paths that they know not will I lead them; 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 covered with shame, that confide in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
18— Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. 19Who is blind, but my servant? and deaf, as my messenger whom I sent? Who is blind as he in whom I have trusted, and blind as Jehovah's servant, 20— seeing many things, and thou observest not? With opened ears, he heareth not. 21Jehovah had delight in him for his righteousness' sake: he hath magnified the law, and made it honourable. 22But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and hidden in prison-houses; they are become a prey, and none delivereth, — a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23Who among you will give ear to this, who will hearken and hear what is to come? 24Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Did not Jehovah, he against whom we have sinned? And they would not walk in his ways, neither did they hearken unto his law. 25And he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he took it not to heart.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.