Historical
The Lord’s Servant Will Bring Righteousness to the World
42 Here is my Ebed, whom I support.
Here is my chosen one, with whom I am pleased.
I have put my Ruach on him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or raise his voice.
He will not make his voice heard in the streets.
3 He will not break off a damaged cattail.
He will not even put out a smoking wick.
He will faithfully bring about justice.
4 He will not be discouraged or crushed
until he has set up justice on the earth.
The coastlands will wait for his teachings.
5 Yahweh El created the heavens and stretched them out.
He shaped the earth and all that comes from it.
He gave life to the people who are on it
and breath to those who walk on it.
This is what Yahweh El says:
6 I, Yahweh, have called you to do what is right.
I will take hold of your hand.
I will protect you.
I will appoint you as my promise[a] to the people,
as my light to the nations.
7 You will give sight to the blind,
bring prisoners out of prisons,
and bring those who live in darkness
out of dungeons.
8 I am Yahweh; that is my name.
I will not give my glory to anyone else
or the praise I deserve to idols.
9 What I said in the past has come true.
I will reveal new things before they happen.
A Song about the Lord, the Warrior
10 Sing a new song to Yahweh.
Sing his praise from the ends of the earth,
you people who sail on the seas
and all the creatures that live in them,
you coastlands and all who live on them.
11 Let those who live in the desert and its cities raise their voices.
Let those who live in the settlements of Kedar praise him.
Let those who live in Sela sing for joy.
Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to Yahweh
and announce his praise on the coastlands.
13 Yahweh marches out like a warrior.
He prepares himself for battle like a soldier.
He shouts, gives the battle cry, and overpowers his enemies.
14 I have been silent for a long time.
I kept quiet and held myself back.
But like a woman in childbirth I will cry out.
I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste to mountains and hills.
I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn rivers into islands.
I will dry up ponds.
16 I will lead the blind on unfamiliar roads.
I will lead them on unfamiliar paths.
I will turn darkness into light in front of them.
I will make rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do for them,
and I will never abandon them.
17 Then those who trust idols
and those who say to statues,
“You are our gods”
will be turned away and put to shame.
The Lord Will Bring Israel Home
18 Listen, you deaf people.
Look, you blind people, so that you can see.
19 Who is blind except my servant
or deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one who has my trust
or blind like the servant of Yahweh?
20 You have seen much, but you do not observe anything.
Your ears are open, but you hear nothing.
21 Yahweh is pleased because he does what is right.
He praises the greatness of his teachings and makes them glorious.
22 But these people are robbed and looted.
They are all trapped in pits and hidden in prisons.
They have become prey with no one to rescue them.
They have become loot with no one to say, “Give it back.”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Is there anyone who will pay attention and listen in the future?
24 Who gave Jacob away as loot
and handed Israel over to robbers?
Wasn’t it Yahweh, against whom we have sinned?
They didn’t want to live his way.
They didn’t obey his teachings.
25 So he poured out his burning anger and the horrors of war on them.
It engulfed them in flames, but they did not understand.
It burned them, but they did not take it to heart.
43 Yahweh created Jacob and formed Israel. Now, this is what Yahweh says:
Do not be afraid, because I have reclaimed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through the sea, I am with you.
When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
and the flames will not harm you.
3 I am Yahweh your Elohim, Qedosh Yisrael, your Savior.
Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you.
Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you.
4 Since you are precious to me, you are honored and I love you.
I will exchange others for you.
Nations will be the price I pay for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, because I am with you.
I will bring your descendants from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
and to the south, “Do not keep them.”
Bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
7 Bring everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
8 Bring the people who are blind but still have eyes,
the people who are deaf but still have ears.
9 All nations have gathered together, and people have assembled.
Who among them could have revealed this?
Who among them could have foretold this to us?
They should bring their witnesses to prove that they were right.
Let the people hear them. Then they will say that it is true.
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares Yahweh.
“I have chosen you as my servant
so that you can know and believe in me
and understand that I am the one who did this.
No god was formed before me,
and there will be none after me.
11 I alone am Yahweh,
and there is no savior except me.
12 I have revealed it to you, I have saved you,
and I have announced it to you.
There was no foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses that I am El,” declares Yahweh.
13 “From the first day I was the one who did this.
No one can rescue people from my power.
When I do something, who can undo it?”
14 This is what Yahweh, your Go’el, Qedosh Yisrael, says:
For your sake I will send an army to Babylon.
I will bring back all the Babylonian refugees
in the ships that they take pride in.
15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your Melek.
Despite the People of Israel’s Past Sin, the Lord Will Forgive Them
16 Yahweh makes a path through the sea
and a road through the strong currents.
17 He leads chariots and horses, an army and reinforcements.
(They lie down together and do not get up again.
They are extinguished and snuffed out like a wick.)
This is what Yahweh says:
18 Forget what happened in the past,
and do not dwell on events from long ago.
19 I am going to do something new.
It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it?
I will clear a way in the desert.
I will make rivers on dry land.
20 Wild animals, jackals, and ostriches will honor me.
I will provide water in the desert.
I will make rivers on the dry land for my chosen people to drink.
21 I have formed these people for myself.
They will praise me.
22 Jacob, you have not prayed to me.
Israel, you have grown tired of me.
23 You did not bring me sheep for your burnt offerings
or honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you by requiring grain offerings
or trouble you by requiring incense offerings.
24 You did not buy me any sugar cane with your money
or satisfy me with the best part of your sacrifices.
Rather, you burdened me with your sins
and troubled me with your wrongdoings.
25 I alone am the one who is going to wipe away your rebellious actions
for my own sake.
I will not remember your sins anymore.
26 Remind me of what happened.
Let us argue our case together.
State your case so that you can prove you are right.
27 Your first ancestor sinned,
and your priests rebelled against me.
28 That is why I will corrupt the leaders of the holy place.
I will claim Jacob for destruction.
I will set up Israel for ridicule.
44 But now listen, my servant Jacob,
Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Yahweh made you, formed you in the womb, and will help you.
This is what Yahweh says:
Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun,[b] whom I have chosen.
3 I will pour water on thirsty ground and rain on dry land.
I will pour my Ruach on your offspring
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up with the grass
as poplars spring up by streams.
5 One person will say, “I belong to Yahweh.”
Another will call on the name of Jacob.
Another will write on his hand, “Yahweh’s,”
and he will adopt the name of Israel.
The Nations Form Idols, But the Lord Formed Israel
6 Yahweh is Israel’s Melek and Go’el.
He is Yahweh Tsebaoth.
This is what Yahweh says:
I am the first and the last,
and there is no Elohim except me.
7 If there is anyone like me, let him say so.
Let him tell me what happened
when I established my people long ago.
Then let him predict what will happen to them.
8 Don’t be terrified or afraid.
Didn’t I make this known to you long ago?
You are my witnesses.
Is there any Elohim except me?
There is no other rock; I know of none.
9 All who make idols are nothing. Their precious treasures are worthless. Their own witnesses do not see or know anything, so they will be put to shame. 10 Nothing comes from making gods or casting metal idols. 11 Everyone associated with the gods will be put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all get together and take their stand. They will be frightened and ashamed together.
12 Blacksmiths shape iron into tools. They work them over the coals and shape them with hammers, working them with their strong arms. They get hungry, and their strength fails. If they don’t drink water, they will faint.
13 Carpenters measure blocks of wood with chalk lines. They mark them with pens. They carve them with chisels and mark them with compasses. They carve them into forms of people, beautiful people, so the idols can live in shrines.
14 They cut down cedars for themselves. Then they choose fir trees or oaks. They let them grow strong among the trees in the forest. Then they plant cedars, and the rain makes them grow. 15 These trees become fuel for people to burn. So they take some of them and warm themselves with them. They start fires and bake bread. They also make gods from these trees and worship them. They make them into carved statues and bow in front of them. 16 Half of the wood they burn in the fire. Over this half they roast meat that they can eat until they are full. They also warm themselves and say, “Ah! We are warm. We can see the fire!” 17 But the rest of the wood they make into gods, carved statues. They bow to them and worship them. They pray to them, saying, “Rescue us, because you are our gods.”
18 They don’t know or understand anything. Their eyes are plastered shut, so they can’t see. And their minds are closed, so they can’t understand. 19 No one stops to think. No one has enough knowledge or understanding to say, “I burned half of the wood in the fire. I also baked bread over its coals. I roasted meat and ate it. Now I am making the rest of the wood into a disgusting thing and bowing to a block of wood.” 20 They eat ashes because they are deceived. Their own misguided minds lead them astray. They can’t rescue themselves or ask themselves, “Isn’t what I hold in my right hand a false god?”
21 Remember these things, Jacob:
You are my servant, Israel.
I formed you; you are my servant.
Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I made your rebellious acts disappear like a thick cloud
and your sins like the morning mist.
Come back to me, because I have reclaimed you.
23 Sing with joy, you heavens, because Yahweh has done this.
Rejoice, you deep places of the earth.
Break into shouts of joy, you mountains,
you forests and every tree in them.
Yahweh has reclaimed Jacob.
He will display his glory in Israel.
Through Cyrus the Lord Will Set Israel Free
24 Yahweh reclaimed you.
He formed you in the womb.
This is what Yahweh says:
I, Yahweh, made everything.
I stretched out the heavens by myself.
I spread out the earth all alone.
25 I cause the signs of false prophets to fail
and make fools of fortunetellers.
I make wise men retreat
and turn their knowledge into foolishness.
26 He confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the plan of his messengers.
He says about Jerusalem, “It will be inhabited.”
He says about the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt.”
He says about their ruins, “I will restore them.”
27 He says to the deep water, “Dry up.”
So I will dry up your rivers.
28 He says about Cyrus, “He is my shepherd.
He will do everything I want him to do.”
He says about Jerusalem, “It will be rebuilt.”
He says about the temple, “Your foundation will be laid.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.