Isaiah 42

1 “Here is my servant, whom I support, my chosen one, in whom I delight. ^{a42:1 Lit. whom my soul delights} I’ve placed my Spirit upon him; and ^{b42:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and} he’ll deliver his ^{c42:1 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack his} justice throughout the world. ^{d42:1 Lit. justice to the nations}ISV — Isaiah 42:1

2 He won’t shout, or raise his voice, or make it heard in the street.ISV — Isaiah 42:2

3 A crushed reed he will not break, and a fading candle ^{e42:3 Lit. fading linen wick} he won’t snuff out. ^{f42:3 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads quench it} He’ll bring forth ^{g42:3 i.e. will demonstrate} justice for the truth.ISV — Isaiah 42:3

4 And ^{h42:4 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsah MT lack And} he won’t grow faint or be crushed until he establishes justice on the mainland, and the coastlands take ownership of ^{i42:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the islands wait for (cf. 4QIsah)} his Law.”ISV — Isaiah 42:4

5 This is what God says— the God ^{j42:5 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa corrector reads and; MT reads the LORD} 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 life ^{k42:5 Lit. spirit} to those who walk in it:ISV — Isaiah 42:5

6 “I’ve ^{l42:6 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsah MT read I, the LORD, have; LXX reads I, the LORD God, have} called you in righteousness. I’ll take hold of your hand. I’ll preserve you and appoint you as a covenant to the people, ^{m42:6 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsah reads as an everlasting covenant} as a light for the nations,ISV — Isaiah 42:6

7 to open blind eyes and to bring out those who are bound ^{n42:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsah MT read out prisoners} from their cells, and ^{o42:7 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsah MT lack and} those sitting in darkness from prison.ISV — Isaiah 42:7

8 I, the LORD, am the one, and I won’t give my name and ^{p42:8 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsah MT LXX read I am the LORD; that is my name. I won’t give my} glory to another, nor my praise to idols.ISV — Isaiah 42:8

9 See, the former things have taken place, and I’m announcing the ^{q42:9 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab 4QIsah MT LXX lack the} new things— before they spring into being I’m telling you about them.”ISV — Isaiah 42:9

10 Sing to the LORD a new song, and ^{r42:10 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsah MT lack and} his praise from the ends of the earth, you who sail down the sea and by everything in it, you coastlands and their inhabitants.ISV — Isaiah 42:10

11 Let the desert cry out, ^{s42:11 So 1QIsaa 4QIsah LXX (sing.); MT (pl.)} its towns and the ^{t42:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and its towns} villages where Kedar lives; and ^{u42:11 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and} let those who live in Sela sing for joy. Let them shout aloud ^{v42:11 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads them cry joyfully} from the mountaintops.ISV — Isaiah 42:11

12 Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.ISV — Isaiah 42:12

13 The LORD marches out like a warrior; he stirs up his rage like a man of war; he makes his anger heard; he shouts aloud; ^{w42:13 So 1QIsaa; MT reads He makes a war cry and shouts out his anger} he declares his mastery over his enemies:ISV — Isaiah 42:13

14 “I have certainly ^{x42:14 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks certainly} stayed silent for a long time; I’ve kept still and held myself back. Now, like a woman giving birth, I’ll cry out. All of a sudden I’ll gasp and pant.ISV — Isaiah 42:14

15 I’ll devastate the mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I’ll turn rivers into islands, and dry up the ponds.ISV — Isaiah 42:15

16 I’ll help the blind walk, even ^{y42:16 Or and; so 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks even} on a road they do not know; I’ll guide them in directions ^{z42:16 Lit. paths} they do not know. I’ll turn the dark places ^{aa42:16 So 1QIsaa (misspelling places); MT LXX read darkness} into light in front of them, and the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I won’t abandon them.ISV — Isaiah 42:16

17 Those who trust in carved idols will turn back and ^{bb42:17 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and} be completely disappointed, ^{cc42:17 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; MTms lacks disappointed} along with those ^{dd42:17 1QIsaa MT LXX lack along with those} who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’”ISV — Isaiah 42:17

18 “Listen, you deaf people, and look up, you blind people, so you may see!ISV — Isaiah 42:18

19 Who is blind except my servant, or deaf like my messenger I am sending? Who is blind like the one committed to me, or blind like the LORD’s servant?ISV — Isaiah 42:19

20 You’ve seen ^{ee42:20 So 1QIsaa MT; MTqere reads To see (or He sees )} many things, but you pay no ^{ff42:20 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; MTmss read he pays no} attention. His ears are open, ^{gg42:20 So 1QIsaa; MT reads to open; or are open} but he doesn’t listen.ISV — Isaiah 42:20

21 The LORD was pleased, for the sake of his vindication, that he should magnify his Law and make it glorious.ISV — Isaiah 42:21

22 But this is a people who have been robbed and plundered, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. ^{hh42:22 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsag reads prison} They have become prey, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, ‘Send them back!’ISV — Isaiah 42:22

23 “Who among you will listen, and ^{ii42:23 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and} pay attention, and listen for the time to come?”ISV — Isaiah 42:23

24 “Who handed Jacob over to looters, and Israel to robbers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? After all, they weren’t willing to walk in his ways, and they wouldn’t obey ^{jj42:24 Or wouldn’t listen to} his instruction,ISV — Isaiah 42:24

25 so he drenched him with ^{kk42:25 Lit. he poured out on him} the heat that is his anger, ^{ll42:25 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsag MT read the heat, his anger} the violence of war. It enveloped him in flames, but still he had no insight. It burned him up, but he didn’t take it to heart.”ISV — Isaiah 42:25