Isaiah 42:10-25

New International Version

Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰Sing^(A) to the Lord a new song,^(B)
    his praise^(C) from the ends of the earth,^(D)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,^(E)
    you islands,^(F) and all who live in them.
¹¹Let the wilderness^(G) and its towns raise their voices;
    let the settlements where Kedar^(H) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela^(I) sing for joy;
    let them shout from the mountaintops.^(J)
¹²Let them give glory^(K) to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise^(L) in the islands.^(M)
¹³The Lord will march out like a champion,^(N)
    like a warrior^(O) he will stir up his zeal;^(P)
with a shout^(Q) he will raise the battle cry
    and will triumph over his enemies.^(R)

¹⁴“For a long time I have kept silent,^(S)
    I have been quiet and held myself back.^(T)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.^(U)
¹⁵I will lay waste^(V) the mountains^(W) and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up^(X) the pools.
¹⁶I will lead^(Y) the blind^(Z) by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light^(AA) before them
    and make the rough places smooth.^(AB)
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake^(AC) them.
¹⁷But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’^(AD)
    will be turned back in utter shame.^(AE)

Israel Blind and Deaf

¹⁸“Hear, you deaf;^(AF)
    look, you blind, and see!
¹⁹Who is blind^(AG) but my servant,^(AH)
    and deaf like the messenger^(AI) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant^(AJ) with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
²⁰You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”^(AK)
²¹It pleased the Lord
    for the sake^(AL) of his righteousness
    to make his law^(AM) great and glorious.
²²But this is a people plundered^(AN) and looted,
    all of them trapped in pits^(AO)
    or hidden away in prisons.^(AP)
They have become plunder,
    with no one to rescue them;^(AQ)
they have been made loot,
    with no one to say, “Send them back.”

²³Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention^(AR) in time to come?
²⁴Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?^(AS)
Was it not the Lord,^(AT)
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow^(AU) his ways;
    they did not obey his law.^(AV)
²⁵So he poured out on them his burning anger,^(AW)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,^(AX) yet they did not understand;^(AY)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.^(AZ)