42 ‘Here is my servant.
I give him strength.
I have chosen him.
He makes me very happy.
I have put my Spirit on him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out.
He will not shout.
He will not speak loudly in the streets.
3 He will not hurt weak people,
like someone who breaks a weak reed.
He will not destroy helpless people,
like someone who puts out a weak flame.
He will be kind to people,
and he will judge them in a fair way.
4 He will remain strong and brave,
until he brings justice to the whole world.
People who are in lands far away
will wait for him to teach them.’
5 The Lord is God. He is the God who created the sky. He hung it up like a curtain. He created the earth and everything that lives on it. He gives life and breath to all the people who live on it. The Lord says to his servant:
6 ‘I have chosen you to bring righteousness.
I will take hold of your hand,
and I will keep you safe.
Through you, I will make a covenant with my people,
and you will bring light to the other nations.
7 You will cause blind people to see.
You will cause prisoners to be free.
You will bring out into the open
people who sit in dark prisons.
8 I am the Lord . That is my name.
I will not let anyone else share my glory.
I will not let people praise idols.
I am the only one that they must praise.
9 Everything that I promised in the past has happened
as I said that it would happen.
Now I will tell you about new things.
Before they start to happen,
I will tell you about them.’
10 Sing a new song to the Lord !
All over the earth, people should praise him.
Praise him, you people who travel over the sea
and everything that lives in the sea.
Praise him, you people who live in lands far away.
11 People who live in the towns of the desert
should shout aloud to praise him.
Kedar's people should praise him
in the places where they live.
The people who live in Sela should sing aloud with joy.
They should shout from the tops of the mountains.
12 They should all honour the Lord
as he deserves.
Those who live in lands far away
should praise him for what he has done.
13 The Lord marches out to battle,
like a brave soldier.
He is angry with his enemies,
and he is ready to attack them.
He shouts loudly as he attacks,
and he shows his power over them.
14 The Lord says,
‘I have been quiet for a long time.
I have held back my anger.
But now I am ready to deliver!
I will cry out and shout and groan,
like a woman who is ready to give birth.
15 I will destroy the mountains and the hills.
I will cause the plants that grow on them to die.
I will cause the rivers to become dry islands.
I will cause the pools of water to become dry.
16 I will lead my blind people
along ways that they did not know before.
I will be their guide,
as they walk along paths that are new to them.
I will change the dark places that are in front of them,
so that they become places with light.
And I will cause the rough ground to become flat.
Those are the things that I will do for them.
I will not leave my people alone.
17 But I will push away people who trust idols to help them.
Those people will become ashamed.
They say to images that they have made,
“You are our gods.”
18 Listen to me, you deaf people!
Look at this, you blind people!
19 Who is blind?
Nobody is as blind as my servant. [ b ]
Who is deaf?
Nobody is as deaf as the one who takes my message.
The people that I agreed a covenant with are blind!
Yes, the servant of the Lord is truly blind!
20 You Israelites have seen many things,
but you do not understand them.
You have opened your ears to listen,
but you have not really heard anything.’
21 The Lord always does what is right. So he has made his law great and important. He is happy when people respect his law.
22 But enemies have robbed God's people and they have taken away all their valuable things. Their enemies have caught them in traps and they have made them prisoners. There is nobody who will rescue them. Their enemies have stored them safely, and nobody says, ‘Send them back.’
23 Will any of you listen to my message?
Will you think carefully about it in the future?
24 Who put Jacob's descendants
under the power of their enemies?
Who gave the Israelites
to people who would rob them?
It was the Lord !
He is the one that we have not obeyed.
His people did not live in the way that he wanted.
They did not obey his law.
25 So the Lord was very angry with them.
He punished them with a cruel war.
His anger was like a fire all round them,
but they did not understand what he was doing.
His anger burned them,
but they did not learn their lesson.
42 “Here is my servant,
the one I support.
He is the one I have chosen,
and I am very pleased with him.
I have filled him with my Spirit,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or shout
or try to make himself heard in the streets.
3 He will not break even a crushed reed. [ a ]
He will not put out even the weakest flame.
He will bring true justice.
4 He will not grow weak or give up
until he has brought justice to the world.
And people in faraway places will hope to receive his teachings.”
5 The Lord , the true God, said these things. (He created the sky and spread it out over the earth. He formed the earth and everything it produced. He breathes life into all the people on earth. He gives a spirit to everyone who walks on the earth.)
6 “I, the Lord , was right to call you.
I will hold your hand and protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people.
You will be a light for the other nations.
7 You will make the blind able to see.
You will free those who are held as captives.
You will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8 “I am Yahweh .
That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another.
I will not let statues take the praise that should be mine.
9 In the past, I told you what would happen,
and it happened!
Now I am telling you something new,
and I am telling you now, before it happens.”
10 Sing a new song [ b ] to the Lord ;
praise him everywhere on earth—
all you who sail on the seas,
everything in the sea,
and all you people in faraway places!
11 Deserts and cities, villages of Kedar,
praise the Lord!
People living in Sela, sing for joy!
Sing from the top of your mountain.
12 Give glory to the Lord .
Praise him, all you people in faraway lands!
13 The Lord will go out like a strong soldier.
Like a man going into battle, he will be full of excitement.
He will shout with a loud cry,
and he will defeat his enemies.
14 “For a long time I have said nothing.
I have controlled myself and kept quiet.
But now I will cry out like a woman giving birth.
My breathing is getting faster and louder.
15 I will destroy the hills and mountains.
I will dry up all the plants that grow there.
I will change rivers to dry land
and dry up pools of water.
16 Then I will lead the blind along a path they never knew
to places where they have never been before.
I will change darkness into light for them.
I will make the rough ground smooth.
I will do these things for them;
I will not abandon my people.
17 But some of them have left me.
They say to their gold statues, ‘You are my gods.’
They trust their false gods,
but they will be disappointed and shamed.
18 “Deaf people, listen to me!
Blind people, look and see!
19 In all the world, no one is more blind than my servant. [ c ]
No one is more deaf than my messenger.
No one is more blind than my chosen people,
the servant of the Lord .
20 My people see what they should do,
but they do not obey me.
They can hear with their ears,
but they refuse to listen to me.”
21 The Lord wants them to do what is right.
He wants them to honor his wonderful teachings. [ d ]
22 But look at his people.
Others have defeated them and have stolen from them.
The young men are afraid.
They are locked in prisons.
People have taken advantage of them,
and there is no one to protect them.
Others take their money,
and there is no one to say, “Give it back!”
23 Will any of you pay attention to this warning? Will you ever learn to listen? 24 Who let Jacob be defeated? Who let others take what belonged to Israel? The Lord allowed them to do this. We sinned against him, so he let people take away our wealth. The people did not want to live the way he wanted. They refused to listen to his teaching. 25 So he poured out his anger on them and brought wars against them. It was as if there were fires all around them, but they didn’t know what was happening. It was as if they were burning, but they didn’t try to understand.
42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith God the Lord , he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the Lord : that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
10 Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory unto the Lord , and declare his praise in the islands.
13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.
15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.
18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord 's servant?
20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.
21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord , he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.
25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
42 “ ( A ) Behold, My ( B ) Servant, whom I [ a ] uphold;
My ( C ) chosen one in whom My ( D ) soul delights.
I have put My ( E ) Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth ( F ) justice to the [ b ] 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 ( G ) justice.
4 He will not be ( H ) disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the ( I ) coastlands will wait expectantly for His [ c ] law.”
5 This is what God the Lord says,
Who ( J ) created the heavens and ( K ) stretched them out,
Who spread out the ( L ) earth and its [ d ] offspring,
Who ( M ) gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord , I have ( N ) called You in righteousness,
I will also ( O ) hold You by the hand and ( P ) watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a ( Q ) covenant to the people,
As a ( R ) light to the nations,
7 To ( S ) open blind eyes,
To ( T ) bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 ( U ) I am the Lord , that is ( V ) My name;
I will not give My ( W ) glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
9 Behold, the ( X ) former things have come to pass,
Now I declare ( Y ) new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a ( Z ) new song,
Sing His praise from the ( AA ) end of the earth!
( AB ) You who go down to the sea, and ( AC ) all that is in it;
You ( AD ) islands, and those who live on them.
11 Let the ( AE ) wilderness and its cities raise their voices ,
The settlements which ( AF ) Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of ( AG ) Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ( AH ) mountains.
12 Let them ( AI ) give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the ( AJ ) coastlands.
13 ( AK ) The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His ( AL ) zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will ( AM ) prevail against His enemies.
14 “ ( AN ) 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 ( AO ) lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will ( AP ) turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 I will ( AQ ) lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will ( AR ) turn darkness into light before them
And ( AS ) uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will ( AT ) not leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be ( AU ) utterly put to shame,
Who trust in [ e ] idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”
18 ( AV ) Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My ( AW ) servant,
Or so deaf as My ( AX ) messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is [ f ] ( AY ) at peace with Me ,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord ?
20 ( AZ ) You have seen many things, but you do not retain them ;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law ( BA ) great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are ( BB ) trapped in [ g ] caves,
Or are ( BC ) hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them ,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord , against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they ( BD ) were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not ( BE ) obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the ( BF ) fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it ;
And it burned him, but he [ h ] ( BG ) paid no attention.
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.”
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 )
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 )
