Isaiah 42
Amplified Bible
God’s Promise concerning His Servant
42 “Behold, My [a]Servant, whom I [b]uphold;
My Chosen One in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.(A)
2
“He will not call out or shout aloud,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3
“A broken reed He will not break [off]
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering];
He will faithfully bring forth justice.(B)
4
“He will not be disheartened or crushed [in spirit];
[He will persevere] until He has established justice on the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”(C)
5 This is what God the Lord says,
He who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its produce,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk on it,
6
“I am the Lord, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose],
I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel],
As a light to the nations (Gentiles),
7
To open the eyes of the blind,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who sit in darkness from the prison.(D)
8
“I am the Lord, that is My Name;
My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved idols.
9
“Indeed, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”
10
Sing to the Lord a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
You islands and coastlands, and those who inhabit them [sing His praise]!
11
Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The villages where Kedar lives.
Let the inhabitants of [c]Sela shout for joy,
Let them shout joyfully from the tops of the mountains.
12
Let them give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the islands and coastlands.
13
The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will stir up His zeal like a man of war;
He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies.
The Blindness of the People
14
“I [the Lord] have been silent for a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will moan like a woman in labor,
I will both gasp and pant.
15
“I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16
“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know;
I will guide them in paths that they do not know.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains.
These things I will do [for them],
And I will not leave them abandoned or undone.”
17
Those who trust in carved idols will be turned back,
And utterly put to shame,
Who say to cast images,
“You are our gods.”
18
Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19
Who is blind but My servant [Israel],
Or deaf like My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind like the one who is at peace with Me [in a covenant relationship],
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20
You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21
The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the law great and prove to be glorious.
22
But this is a people despoiled and plundered;
All of them are trapped in holes,
Or are hidden away in prisons.
They have become a prey with no one to rescue them,
And a spoil, with no one to say, “Give them back!”(E)
23
Who among you will listen to this?
Who will listen and pay attention in the time to come?
24
Who gave up Jacob [the kingdom of Judah] for spoil, and [the kingdom of] Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, He against whom we [of Judah] have sinned,
And in whose ways they [of Israel] were unwilling to walk,
And whose law and teaching they did not obey?
25
Therefore He poured out on Israel the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And engulfed him in fire,
Yet he did not recognize [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach];
It burned him, but he did not take it to heart.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 This is the first of the famous prophecies concerning the Servant of the Lord, the Messiah (Is 42:1-7; 49:1-9a; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12).
- Isaiah 42:1 Or hold fast.
- Isaiah 42:11 Gr Petra (rock). Sela was probably the Edomite capital at this time. Carved into great walls of rose-colored rock it was later controlled by the Nabateans.
Isaiah 42
Contemporary English Version
The Lord's Servant
42 (A)(B) Here is my servant!
I have made him strong.
He is my chosen one;
I am pleased with him.
I have given him my Spirit,
and he will bring justice
to the nations.
2 He won't shout or yell
or call out in the streets.
3 He won't break off a bent reed
or put out a dying flame,
but he will make sure
that justice is done.
4 He won't quit or give up
until he brings justice
everywhere on earth,
and people in foreign nations
long for his teaching.
5 (C) I am the Lord God.
I created the heavens
like an open tent above.
I made the earth and everything
that grows on it.
I am the source of life
for all who live on this earth,
so listen to what I say.
6 (D) I chose you to bring justice,
and I am here at your side.
I selected you and sent you[a]
to bring light
and my promise of hope
to the nations.
7 You will give sight
to the blind;
you will set prisoners free
from dark dungeons.
8 My name is the Lord!
I won't let idols or humans
share my glory and praise.
9 Everything has happened
just as I said it would;
now I will announce
what will happen next.
Sing Praises to the Lord
10 Tell the whole world to sing
a new song to the Lord!
Tell those who sail the ocean
and those who live far away
to join in the praise.
11 Tell the tribes of the desert
and everyone in the mountains[b]
to celebrate and sing.
12 Let them announce
his praises everywhere.
13 The Lord is marching out
like an angry soldier,
shouting with all his might
while attacking his enemies.
The Lord Will Help His People
14 For a long time, I, the Lord,
have held my temper;
now I will cry out and groan
like a woman giving birth.
15 I will destroy the mountains
and what grows on them;
I will dry up rivers and ponds.
16 I will lead the blind on roads
they have never known;
I will guide them on paths
they have never traveled.
Their road is dark and rough,
but I will give light
to keep them from stumbling.
This is my solemn promise.
17 Everyone who worships idols
as though they were gods
will be terribly ashamed.
God's People Won't Obey
18 You people are deaf and blind,
but the Lord commands you
to listen and to see.
19 No one is as blind or deaf
as his messenger,
his chosen servant,
20 who sees and hears so much,
but pays no attention.
21 The Lord always does right,
and so he wanted his Law
to be greatly praised.[c]
22 But his people were trapped
and imprisoned in holes
with no one to rescue them.
All they owned had been taken,
and no one was willing
to give it back.
23 Why won't his people
ever learn to listen?
24 Israel sinned and refused
to obey the Lord
or follow his instructions.
So the Lord let us be robbed
of everything we owned.
25 He was furious with us
and punished our nation
with the fires of war.
Still we paid no attention.
We didn't even care
when we were surrounded
and scorched by flames.
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