Isaiah 42 (New American Standard)

God's Promise concerning His Servant

1 "¹Behold, My ²Servant, whom I ^auphold ; My ³chosen one in whom My ⁴soul delights. I have put My ⁵Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth ⁶justice to the ^bnations. 2 "He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 "A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish ; He will faithfully bring forth ⁷justice. 4 "He will not be ⁸disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth ; And the ⁹coastlands will wait expectantly for His ^claw." 5 Thus says God the LORD, Who ¹⁰created the heavens and ¹¹stretched them out, Who spread out the ¹²earth and its ^doffspring, Who ¹³gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, 6 "I am the LORD, I have ¹⁴called You in righteousness, I will also ¹⁵hold You by the hand and ¹⁶watch over You, And I will appoint You as a ¹⁷covenant to the people, As a ¹⁸light to the nations, 7 To ¹⁹open blind eyes, To ²⁰bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison . 8 "²¹I am the LORD, that is ²²My name ; I will not give My ²³glory to another, Nor My praise to ^egraven images. 9 "Behold, the ²⁴former things have come to pass, Now I declare ²⁵new things ; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you." 10 Sing to the LORD a ²⁶new song, Sing His praise from the ²⁷end of the earth ! ²⁸You who go down to the sea, and ²⁹all that is in it. You ³⁰islands, and those who dwell on them. 11 Let the ³¹wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The settlements where ³²Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of ³³Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ³⁴mountains. 12 Let them ³⁵give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the ³⁶coastlands. 13 ³⁷The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His ³⁸zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will ³⁹prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

14 "⁴⁰I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will both gasp and pant. 15 "I will ⁴¹lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation ; I will ⁴²make the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds. 16 "I will ⁴³lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will ⁴⁴make darkness into light before them And ⁴⁵rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will ⁴⁶not leave them undone." 17 They will be turned back and be ⁴⁷utterly put to shame, Who trust in ^fidols, Who say to molten images, "You are our gods." 18 ⁴⁸Hear, you deaf ! And look, you blind, that you may see. 19 Who is blind but My ⁴⁹servant, Or so deaf as My ⁵⁰messenger whom I send ? Who is so blind as he that is ^g51at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the LORD ? 20 ⁵²You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears. 21 The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake To make the law ⁵³great and glorious. 22 But this is a people plundered and despoiled ; All of them are ⁵⁴trapped in ^hcaves, Or are ⁵⁵hidden away in prisons ; They have become a prey with none to deliver them, And a spoil, with none to say, "Give them back !" 23 Who among you will give ear to this ? Who will give heed and listen hereafter ? 24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers ? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they ⁵⁶were not willing to walk, And whose law they did not ⁵⁷obey ? 25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the ⁵⁸fierceness of battle ; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he ⁱ⁵⁹paid no attention .