Isaiah 42
1 Look at my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one, in whom I delight. I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or raise his voice, or make it heard in the street.
3 He will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice.
4 He will not grow dim or be crushed until he establishes justice on earth; the islands will wait for his instruction.
5 This is what God, the LORD, says, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that it produces, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness and will take hold of your hand; I will protect you and make you a covenant for the people, a light for the nations.
7 To open blind eyes, to bring prisoners out of confinement, and those who live in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the LORD; that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, or my praise to carved images.
9 Look, the former things have happened, and I am announcing new things. Before they spring up, I tell you about them.”
10 Sing a new song to the LORD, his praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the islands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices, the settlements where Kedar lives. Let the people of Sela sing; let them shout from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.
13 The LORD goes out like a warrior; like a man of war he stirs up his zeal. He shouts, yes, he raises the battle cry and shows his strength against his enemies.
14 I have been silent for a long time; I have kept still and held myself back. Now I will groan like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant all at once.
15 I will lay waste to mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the lakes.
16 I will lead the blind along a road they have not known; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn the darkness before them into light and make the rough places level. These are the things I have done, and I have not abandoned them.
17 They will turn back and be utterly ashamed—those who trust in an idol, who say to a cast image, “You are our gods.”
18 Deaf people, listen! Blind people, look, so you can see!
19 Who is blind but my servant? Who is deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one devoted to me, blind like the servant of the LORD?
20 You see many things, but you do not keep them; you open your ears, but you do not hear.
21 The LORD was pleased, for the sake of his righteousness, to make the instruction great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and robbed; all of them are trapped in pits and hidden away in prisons. They have become prey, and no one rescues them; they have been plundered, and no one says, “Give them back!”
23 Who among you will listen to this? Who will pay attention and hear what lies ahead?
24 Who handed Jacob over to be plundered, and Israel to the raiders? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? They were unwilling to walk in his ways, and they did not listen to his instruction.
25 So he poured out on Jacob the fury of his anger and the violence of war. It set him ablaze all around, but he did not understand; it burned within him, but he took no notice.
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