YouVersion Logo
Search Icon

Isaiah 42

42
God’s servant described
1But here is my servant, the one I uphold;
my chosen, who brings me delight.
I’ve put my spirit upon him;
he will bring justice to the nations.
2He won’t cry out or shout aloud
or make his voice heard in public.
3He won’t break a bruised reed;
he won’t extinguish a faint wick,
but he will surely bring justice.
4He won’t be extinguished or broken
until he has established justice in the land.
The coastlands await his teaching.
5God the LORD says—
the one who created the heavens,
the one who stretched them out,
the one who spread out the earth and its offspring,
the one who gave breath to its people
and life to those who walk on it—
6I, the LORD, have called you for a good reason.
I will grasp your hand and guard you,
and give you as a covenant to the people,
as a light to the nations,
7to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
8I am the LORD;
that is my name;
I don’t hand out my glory to others
or my praise to idols.
9The things announced in the past—look—they’ve already happened,
but I’m declaring new things.
Before they even appear,
I tell you about them.
Warrior and mother
10Sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing his praise from the ends of the earth!
You who sail the sea and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their residents.
11Let the desert and its towns shout aloud,
the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the cliff dwellers sing;
from the top of the mountains let them shout.
12Let them give the LORD glory
and declare God’s praise in the coastlands.
13The LORD will go out like a soldier;
like a warrior God will stir up rage.
God will shout, will roar;
over enemies he will prevail.
14I’ve kept still for a very long time.
I’ve been silent and restrained myself.
Like a woman in labor I will moan;
I will pant, I will gasp.
15I will wither mountains and valleys,
and I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into deserts,#42.15 Or islands
and I will dry up pools.
16I will make the blind walk a road they don’t know,
and I will guide them in paths they don’t know.
But I will make darkness before them into light
and rough places into level ground.
These things I will do;
I won’t abandon them.
Blindness and deafness
17Turned backward, utterly shamed
are those who trust in idols,
who say to a cast image,
“You are our god!”
18Hear, deaf ones,
and blind ones, look and see!
19Who is blind if not my servant
and deaf like my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like the restored one,#42.19 Heb Meshullam, possibly a proper name
blind like the servant of the LORD?
20You have seen many things, but don’t keep watch.
With ears open, you don’t hear.#42.20 Or he does not hear
21The LORD desired for the sake of his righteousness
to expand and glorify the Instruction.
22But this is a people plundered and looted,
everyone trapped in holes and hidden in dungeons.
They have become plunder with no one to rescue,
loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
23Which of you will listen to this,
will pay attention and respond from now on?
24Who gave Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Wasn’t it the LORD,
the one we sinned against?
They were not willing to walk in God’s ways,
and wouldn’t listen to his teaching.
25So God poured out on Jacob the heat of his anger
and the fury of battle.
It scorched him, and he didn’t know it;
it burned him, but he didn’t give it much thought.

Currently Selected:

Isaiah 42: CEB

Highlight

Share

Copy

None

Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in

YouVersion uses cookies to personalize your experience. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy