New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.
1
But 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.
2 He will not shout or raise his voice in public.
2
He won't cry out or shout aloud or make his voice heard in public.
3 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
3
He won't break a bruised reed; he won't extinguish a faint wick, but he will surely bring justice.
4 He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction. ”
4
He won't be extinguished or broken until he has established justice in the land. The coastlands await his teaching.
5 God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says,
5
God 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—
6 “I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations.
6
I, 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,
7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
7
to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison, and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
8 “I am the LORD ; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.
8
I am the LORD; that is my name; I don't hand out my glory to others or my praise to idols.
9 Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”
9
The 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.
10 Sing a new song to the LORD ! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth! Sing, all you who sail the seas, all you who live in distant coastlands.
10
Sing 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.
11 Join in the chorus, you desert towns; let the villages of Kedar rejoice! Let the people of Sela sing for joy; shout praises from the mountaintops!
11
Let 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.
12 Let the whole world glorify the LORD ; let it sing his praise.
12
Let them give the LORD glory and declare God's praise in the coastlands.
13 The LORD will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.
13
The 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.
14 He will say, “I have long been silent; yes, I have restrained myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant.
14
I'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.
15 I will level the mountains and hills and blight all their greenery. I will turn the rivers into dry land and will dry up all the pools.
15
I will wither mountains and valleys, and I will dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into deserts, and I will dry up pools.
16 I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.
16
I 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.
17 But those who trust in idols, who say, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned away in shame.
17
Turned backward, utterly shamed are those who trust in idols, who say to a cast image, "You are our god!"
18 “Listen, you who are deaf! Look and see, you blind!
18
Hear, deaf ones, and blind ones, look and see!
19 Who is as blind as my own people, my servant? Who is as deaf as my messenger? Who is as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the LORD ?
19
Who is blind if not my servant and deaf like my messenger whom I send? Who is blind like the restored one, blind like the servant of the LORD?
20 You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.”
20
You have seen many things, but don't keep watch. With ears open, you don't hear.
21 Because he is righteous, the LORD has exalted his glorious law.
21
The LORD desired for the sake of his righteousness to expand and glorify the Instruction.
22 But his own people have been robbed and plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for anyone and have no one to protect them, no one to take them back home.
22
But 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."
23 Who will hear these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
23
Which of you will listen to this, will pay attention and respond from now on?
24 Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt? It was the LORD, against whom we sinned, for the people would not walk in his path, nor would they obey his law.
24
Who 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.
25 Therefore, he poured out his fury on them and destroyed them in battle. They were enveloped in flames, but they still refused to understand. They were consumed by fire, but they did not learn their lesson.
25
So 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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible