Isaiah 42:1-17

The Lord's Chosen Servant

1 ¹Behold ²my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, ³in whom my soul delights; ⁴I have put my Spirit upon him; ⁵he will bring forth justice to the nations.

2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;

3 ⁶a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; ⁷he will faithfully bring forth justice.

4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged^[a] till he has established justice in the earth; and ⁸the coastlands wait for his law.

5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens ⁹and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, ¹⁰who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:

6 "I am the LORD; ¹¹I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you ¹²as a covenant for the people, ¹³a light for the nations,

7 ¹⁴to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, ¹⁵from the prison those who sit in darkness.

8 I am the LORD; that is my name; ¹⁶my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, ¹⁷and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

Sing to the Lord a New Song

10 ¹⁸Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, ¹⁹you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, ²⁰the coastlands and their inhabitants.

11 Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that ²¹Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of ²²Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

12 Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in ²³the coastlands.

13 ²⁴The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war ²⁵he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, ²⁶he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.

14 For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out ²⁷like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.

15 ²⁸I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands,^[b] and dry up the pools.

16 ²⁹And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, ³⁰the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

17 ³¹They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, "You are our gods."

Isaiah 42:1-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 42

This chapter begins with a prophecy concerning the Messiah, under the character of the servant of the Lord, and his elect, whom he supported, and was well pleased with; whose work is pointed at, and for which he was well qualified with the Spirit without measure, Isa 42:1 and is described by his humility and meekness, Isa 42:2, by his tenderness to weak and ignorant persons, Isa 42:3 and by his courage and resolution, Isa 42:4 then follow his call to his work, and the several parts of it, introduced with setting forth the greatness of God that called him, as the Creator of the heavens and of the earth, and of men upon it, Isa 42:5-7, whose name is Jehovah, and whose glory is incommunicable to a creature, and whose knowledge reaches to future things, which are predicted by him, Isa 42:8,9, and then Gentiles are called upon to praise the Lord, and give glory to him, partly for the above promises concerning the Messiah, Isa 42:10-12, and partly for the destruction of his enemies, Isa 42:13-15, and also for his gracious regard to such who had been blind and ignorant, Isa 42:16, the confusion of idolaters is prophesied of, and an exhortation is given them to make use of the means of light and knowledge, Isa 42:17,18, and the blindness, ignorance, and stupidity of the Jews, are exposed, though there was a remnant among them with whom the Lord was well pleased, for the sake of the righteousness of his Son, Isa 42:19-21, but as for the body of the people, they were to be given up to the spoilers and robbers for their sins and disobedience, and be the butt of the divine wrath and vengeance, Isa 42:22-24.

Cross References

• 1. Cited Matthew 12:18-20
• 2. Isaiah 41:8; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 52:13; Isaiah 53:11; [ver. 19; Ezekiel 34:24; Zechariah 3:8; Acts 3:26; Acts 4:27; Philippians 2:7]
• 3. Matthew 3:17
• 4. Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 61:1
• 5. [Isaiah 2:4]
• 6. [Isaiah 57:15]
• 7. Psalms 9:8
• 8. Isaiah 60:9; Genesis 10:5; [Isaiah 2:3; Matthew 12:21]
• 9. Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 45:12
• 10. Acts 17:25
• 11. Isaiah 41:9
• 12. Isaiah 49:6, 8
• 13. Luke 2:32
• 14. Isaiah 35:5; Isaiah 49:9; Isaiah 61:1; Hebrews 2:14, 15
• 15. Luke 1:79
• 16. Isaiah 48:11
• 17. [Isaiah 43:19]
• 18. See Psalms 33:3
• 19. Psalms 107:23
• 20. [See ver. 4 above]
• 21. See Isaiah 21:16
• 22. Isaiah 16:1
• 23. [See ver. 4 above]
• 24. Isaiah 40:10
• 25. [Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 59:17]
• 26. Psalms 78:65
• 27. See Isaiah 13:8
• 28. Isaiah 50:2
• 29. Isaiah 35:5, 8
• 30. Isaiah 40:4
• 31. Isaiah 1:29; Isaiah 44:11; Isaiah 45:16; Psalms 97:7

Footnotes

• [a]. Or bruised
• [b]. Or into coastlands