New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
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See my servant, whom I am supporting, my loved one, in whom I take delight: I have put my spirit on him; he will give the knowledge of the true God to the nations.
2 He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;
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He will make no cry, his voice will not be loud: his words will not come to men's ears in the streets.
3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
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He will not let a crushed stem be quite broken, and he will not let a feebly burning light be put out: he will go on sending out the true word to the peoples.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
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His light will not be put out, and he will not be crushed, till he has given the knowledge of the true God to the earth, and the sea-lands will be waiting for his teaching.
5 Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:
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God the Lord, even he who made the heavens, measuring them out on high; stretching out the earth, and giving its produce; he who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who go about on it, says:
6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
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I the Lord have made you the vessel of my purpose, I have taken you by the hand, and kept you safe, and I have given you to be an agreement to the people, and a light to the nations:
7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
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To give eyes to the blind, to make free the prisoners from the prison, to let out those who are shut up in the dark.
8 I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
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I am the Lord; that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, or my praise to pictured images.
9 See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
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See, the things said before have come about, and now I give word of new things: before they come I give you news of them.
10 Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.
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Make a new song to the Lord, and let his praise be sounded from the end of the earth; you who go down to the sea, and everything in it, the sea-lands and their people.
11 Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
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Let the waste land and its flocks be glad, the tent-circles of Kedar; let the people of the rock give a glad cry, from the top of the mountains let them make a sound of joy.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.
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Let them give glory to the Lord, sounding his praise in the sea-lands.
13 The Lord goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior he stirs up his fury; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.
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The Lord will go out as a man of war, he will be moved to wrath like a fighting-man: his voice will be strong, he will give a loud cry; he will go against his attackers like a man of war.
14 For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.
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I have long been quiet, I have kept myself in and done nothing: now I will make sounds of pain like a woman in childbirth, breathing hard and quickly.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.
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I will make waste mountains and hills, drying up all their plants; and I will make rivers dry, and pools dry land.
16 I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.
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And I will take the blind by a way of which they had no knowledge, guiding them by roads strange to them: I will make the dark places light before them, and the rough places level. These things will I do and will not give them up.
17 They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame— those who trust in carved images, who say to cast images, "You are our gods."
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They will be turned back and be greatly shamed who put their hope in pictured images, who say to metal images, You are our gods.
18 Listen, you that are deaf; and you that are blind, look up and see!
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Give ear, you whose ears are shut; and let your eyes be open, you blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger whom I send? Who is blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord?
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Who is blind, but my servant? who has his ears stopped, but he whom I send? who is blind as my true one, or who has his ears shut like the Lord's servant?
20 He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.
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Seeing much, but keeping nothing in mind; his ears are open, but there is no hearing.
21 The Lord was pleased, for the sake of his righteousness, to magnify his teaching and make it glorious.
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It was the Lord's pleasure, because of his righteousness, to make the teaching great and give it honour.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered, all of them are trapped in holes and hidden in prisons; they have become a prey with no one to rescue, a spoil with no one to say, "Restore!"
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But this is a people whose property has been taken away from them by force; they are all taken in holes, and shut up in prisons: they are made prisoners, and no one makes them free; they are taken by force and no one says, Give them back.
23 Who among you will give heed to this, who will attend and listen for the time to come?
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Who is there among you who will give ear to this? who will give attention to it for the time to come?
24 Who gave up Jacob to the spoiler, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?
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Who gave up Jacob to those who took away his goods, and Israel to his attackers? Did not the Lord? he against whom they did wrong, and in whose ways they would not go, turning away from his teaching.
25 So he poured upon him the heat of his anger and the fury of war; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.
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For this reason he let loose on him the heat of his wrath, and his strength was like a flame; and it put fire round about him, but he did not see it; he was burned, but did not take it to heart.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.