Isaiah 42:1-25

God’s Promise concerning His Servant

1“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;

My chosen one in whom My soul delights.

I have put My Spirit upon Him;

He will bring forth justice to the nations.

2“He will not cry out nor raise His voice,

Nor make His voice heard in the street.

3“A bent reed He will not break off

And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

4“He will not be disheartened or crushed

Until He has established justice on the earth;

And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

⁵This is what God the Lord says,

Who created the heavens and stretched them out,

Who spread out the earth and its offspring,

Who gives breath to the people on it

And spirit to those who walk in it:

6“I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,

I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,

And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the nations,

7To open blind eyes,

To bring out prisoners from the dungeon

And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

8“I am the Lord, that is My name;

I will not give My glory to another,

Nor My praise to idols.

9“Behold, the former things have come to pass,

Now I declare new things;

Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

10Sing 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 those who live on them.

11Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices,

The settlements which Kedar inhabits.

Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,

Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.

12Let them give glory to the Lord

And declare His praise in the coastlands.

13The Lord will go out like a warrior,

He will stir His zeal like a man of war.

He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.

He will prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

14“I have kept silent for a long time,

I have kept still and restrained Myself.

Now like a woman in labor I will groan,

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 those who are blind by a way they have not known,

In paths they have not known I will guide them.

I will turn darkness into light before them

And uneven land into plains.

These are the things I will do,

And I will not leave them undone.”

17They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,

Who trust in idols,

Who say to cast metal images,

“You are our gods.”

18Hear, you who are deaf!

And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.

19Who is blind but My servant,

Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?

Who is so blind as one who is at peace with Me,

Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?

20You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;

Your ears are open, but no one hears.

21The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake

To make the Law great and glorious.

22But this is a people plundered and pillaged;

All of them are trapped in caves,

Or are hidden away in prisons;

They have become plunder, with no one to save them,

And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”

23Who among you will listen to this?

Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?

24Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?

Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,

And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,

And whose Law they did not obey?

25So He poured out on him the heat of His anger

And the fierceness of battle;

And it set him aflame all around,

Yet he did not recognize it;

And it burned him, but he paid no attention.