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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Isaiah 42: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Isaiah 42
42
The Servant of the Lord
1Here is my servant#Servant: three other passages have been popularly called “servant of the Lord” poems: 49:1–7; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12. Whether the servant is an individual or a collectivity is not clear (e.g., contrast 49:3 with 49:5). More important is the description of the mission of the servant. In the early Church and throughout Christian tradition, these poems have been applied to Christ; cf. Mt 12:18–21. whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased.
Upon him I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations.#Is 45:6; 49:6.
2He will not cry out, nor shout,
nor make his voice heard in the street.
3A bruised reed#Bruised reed… : images to express the gentle manner of the servant’s mission. he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4He will not grow dim or be bruised
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands#Coastlands: for Israel, the world to the west: the islands and coastal nations of the Mediterranean. will wait for his teaching.
5Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and its produce,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
6I, the Lord, have called you for justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,#Is 45:13.
7To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
8I am the Lord, Lord is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
9See, the earlier things have come to pass,
new ones I now declare;
Before they spring forth
I announce them to you.
The Lord’s Purpose for Israel
10Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the ends of the earth:
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the coastlands, and those who dwell in them.
11Let the wilderness and its cities cry out,
the villages where Kedar#Kedar: cf. note on 21:16. Sela: Petra, the capital of Edom. dwells;
Let the inhabitants of Sela exult,
and shout from the top of the mountains.
12Let them give glory to the Lord,
and utter his praise in the coastlands.
13The Lord goes forth like a warrior,
like a man of war he stirs up his fury;
He shouts out his battle cry,
against his enemies he shows his might:#Ex 15:3.
14For a long time I have kept silent,
I have said nothing, holding myself back;
Now I cry out like a woman in labor,
gasping and panting.
15#Active once more, God will remove the obstacles that hinder the exiles’ return, and will lead them by new roads to Jerusalem; cf. 40:3–4. I will lay waste mountains and hills,
all their undergrowth I will dry up;
I will turn the rivers into marshes,
and the marshes I will dry up.#Ex 9:25; 10:15; 14:21; Ps 105:33–35.
16I will lead the blind on a way they do not know;
by paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them,
and make crooked ways straight.
These are my promises:
I made them, I will not forsake them.#Ex 13:21.
17They shall be turned back in utter shame
who trust in idols;
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”
18You deaf ones, listen,#The Lord rebukes his people for their failures, but their role and their mission endure: they remain his servant, his messenger to the nations.
you blind ones, look and see!
19Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one I restore,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20You see many things but do not observe;
ears open, but do not hear.
21It was the Lord’s will for the sake of his justice
to make his teaching great and glorious.
22This is a people#A people: Israel in exile. plundered and despoiled,
all of them trapped in holes,
hidden away in prisons.
They are taken as plunder, with no one to rescue them,
as spoil, with no one to say, “Give back!”
23Who among you will give ear to this,
listen and pay attention from now on?
24Who was it that gave Jacob to be despoiled,
Israel to the plunderers?#Plunderers: the Assyrians and Babylonians. We…they: the switch from first- to third-person speech, though puzzling, does not obscure the fact that “the people” is meant.
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned?
In his ways they refused to walk,
his teaching they would not heed.
25So he poured out wrath upon them,
his anger, and the fury of battle;
It blazed all around them, yet they did not realize,
it burned them, but they did not take it to heart.
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