Isa 42 | NASB1995 | STEP | “ 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 .

Isaiah 42

God’s Promise concerning His Servant

1 ^a“Behold, My ^bServant, whom I ^{▼▼ Or hold fast}uphold;
My ^dchosen one in whom My ^esoul delights.
I have put My ^fSpirit upon Him;
He will bring forth ^gjustice to the ^{▼▼ Or Gentiles}nations.
2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 “A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth ⁱjustice.
4 “He will not be ^jdisheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the ^kcoastlands will wait expectantly for His ^{▼▼ Or instruction}law.”

5 Thus says God the Lord, Who ^mcreated the heavens and ⁿstretched them out,
Who spread out the ^oearth and its ^{▼▼ Or vegetation}offspring,
Who ^qgives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6 “I am the Lord, I have ^rcalled You in righteousness,
I will also ^shold You by the hand and ^twatch over You,
And I will appoint You as a ^ucovenant to the people,
As a ^vlight to the nations,
7 To ^wopen blind eyes,
To ^xbring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 ^y“I am the Lord, that is ^zMy name;
I will not give My ^aaglory to another,
Nor My praise to ^{▼▼ Or idols}graven images.
9 “Behold, the ^acformer things have come to pass,
Now I declare ^adnew things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

10 Sing to the Lord a ^aenew song,
Sing His praise from the ^afend of the earth!
^agYou who go down to the sea, and ^ahall that is in it.
You ^aiislands, and those who dwell on them.
11 Let the ^ajwilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The settlements where ^akKedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of ^alSela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ^ammountains.
12 Let them ^angive glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the ^aocoastlands.
13 ^apThe Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His ^aqzeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will ^arprevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

14 ^as“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 ^atlay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will ^aumake the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 “I will ^avlead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will ^awmake darkness into light before them
And ^axrugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will ^aynot leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be ^azutterly put to shame,
Who trust in ^{▼▼ Or graven images}idols,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”

18 ^bbHear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My ^bcservant,
Or so deaf as My ^bdmessenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is ^{▼▼ Or the devoted one
,} ^bfat peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 ^bgYou have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the law ^bhgreat and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and despoiled;
All of them are ^bitrapped in ^{▼▼ Or holes}caves,
Or are ^bkhidden away in prisons;
They have become a prey with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!”

23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and listen hereafter?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they ^blwere not willing to walk,
And whose law they did not ^bmobey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the ^bnfierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he ^{▼▼ Lit did not lay it to heart
,} ^bppaid no attention.