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Isaiah 42
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Isaiah 42
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
42 Behold my [a]Servant, Whom I uphold, My elect in Whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice and right and reveal truth to the nations.(A)
2 He will not cry or shout aloud or cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench; He will bring forth justice in truth.(B)
4 He will not fail or become weak or be crushed and discouraged till He has established justice in the earth; and the islands and coastal regions shall wait hopefully for Him and expect His direction and law.(C)
5 Thus says God the Lord—He Who created the heavens and stretched them forth, He Who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it, He Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I the Lord have called You [the Messiah] for a righteous purpose and in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and will keep You; I will give You for a covenant to the people [Israel], for 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! And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
10 Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the islands and coastal regions and the inhabitants of them [sing a song such as has never been heard in the heathen world]!
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of the rock [Sela or Petra] sing; let them shout from the tops of the mountains!
12 Let them give glory to the Lord and declare His praise in the islands and coastal regions.
13 The Lord will go forth like a mighty man, He will rouse up His zealous indignation and vengeance like a warrior; He will cry, yes, He will shout aloud, He will do mightily against His enemies.
14 [Thus says the Lord] I have for a long time held My peace, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry out like a woman in travail, I will gasp and pant together.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and I will dry up the pools.
16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness into light before them and make uneven places into a plain. These things I have determined to do [for them]; and I will not leave them forsaken.
17 They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, who trust in graven images, who say to molten 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 [who has been admitted to covenant relationship with Me]? Yes, who is blind like the Lord’s servant?
20 You have seen many things, but you do not observe or apprehend their true meaning. His ears are open, but he hears not!
21 It was the Lord’s pleasure for His righteousness’ sake [in accordance with a steadfast and consistent purpose] to magnify instruction and revelation and glorify them.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes and hidden in houses of bondage. They have become a prey, with no one to deliver them, a spoil, with no one to say, Restore them! [This shows the condition that will ensue as Israel’s punishment for not recognizing the Servant of the Lord and the day of His visit among them.] [Luke19:41-44.]
23 Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear in the time to come?
24 Who gave up Jacob [the kingdom of Judah] for spoil, and [the kingdom of] Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against Whom we [of Judah] have sinned and in Whose ways they [of Israel] would not walk, neither were they obedient to His law or His teaching?
25 Therefore He poured out upon [Israel] the fierceness of His anger and the strength of battle. And it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach]; it burned him, but he did not lay it to heart.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 42:1 This is the first of the famous prophecies concerning the great future “Servant of the Lord” (Isa. 42:1-7; 49:1-9a; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). Interpreters have struggled with the question, “Who is meant by ‘the servant’?” Some think the “servant of the Lord” is the people of Israel. Others think it makes reference to the faithful part of the people, the “ideal” people of Israel. Still others think of the prophets as a group. Another large group of scholars believes that the “Servant of the Lord” is the Messiah, the One Who will establish God’s kingdom on earth.
Isaiah 42
New International Version
Isaiah 42
New International Version
The Servant of the Lord
42 “Here is my servant,(A) whom I uphold,
my chosen one(B) in whom I delight;(C)
I will put my Spirit(D) on him,
and he will bring justice(E) to the nations.(F)
2 He will not shout or cry out,(G)
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed(H) he will not break,(I)
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.(J)
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;(K)
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice(L) on earth.
In his teaching(M) the islands(N) will put their hope.”(O)
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,(P) who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth(Q) with all that springs from it,(R)
who gives breath(S) to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called(T) you in righteousness;(U)
I will take hold of your hand.(V)
I will keep(W) you and will make you
to be a covenant(X) for the people
and a light(Y) for the Gentiles,(Z)
7 to open eyes that are blind,(AA)
to free(AB) captives from prison(AC)
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.(AD)
8 “I am the Lord;(AE) that is my name!(AF)
I will not yield my glory to another(AG)
or my praise to idols.(AH)
9 See, the former things(AI) have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce(AJ) them to you.”
Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing(AK) to the Lord a new song,(AL)
his praise(AM) from the ends of the earth,(AN)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,(AO)
you islands,(AP) and all who live in them.
11 Let the wilderness(AQ) and its towns raise their voices;
let the settlements where Kedar(AR) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela(AS) sing for joy;
let them shout from the mountaintops.(AT)
12 Let them give glory(AU) to the Lord
and proclaim his praise(AV) in the islands.(AW)
13 The Lord will march out like a champion,(AX)
like a warrior(AY) he will stir up his zeal;(AZ)
with a shout(BA) he will raise the battle cry
and will triumph over his enemies.(BB)
14 “For a long time I have kept silent,(BC)
I have been quiet and held myself back.(BD)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant.(BE)
15 I will lay waste(BF) the mountains(BG) and hills
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
and dry up(BH) the pools.
16 I will lead(BI) the blind(BJ) by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light(BK) before them
and make the rough places smooth.(BL)
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake(BM) them.
17 But those who trust in idols,
who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’(BN)
will be turned back in utter shame.(BO)
Israel Blind and Deaf
18 “Hear, you deaf;(BP)
look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind(BQ) but my servant,(BR)
and deaf like the messenger(BS) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant(BT) with me,
blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
your ears are open, but you do not listen.”(BU)
21 It pleased the Lord
for the sake(BV) of his righteousness
to make his law(BW) great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered(BX) and looted,
all of them trapped in pits(BY)
or hidden away in prisons.(BZ)
They have become plunder,
with no one to rescue them;(CA)
they have been made loot,
with no one to say, “Send them back.”
23 Which of you will listen to this
or pay close attention(CB) in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
and Israel to the plunderers?(CC)
Was it not the Lord,(CD)
against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow(CE) his ways;
they did not obey his law.(CF)
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,(CG)
the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,(CH) yet they did not understand;(CI)
it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.(CJ)
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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