Isaiah 42:3-22
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 42
3A bent reed He will not break off And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice on the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.'
6'I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,
7To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to idols.
9Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.'
10Sing to the Lord a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it; You islands, and those who live on them.
11Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, The settlements which Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.
12Let them give glory to the Lord And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13The Lord will go out like a warrior, He will stir His zeal like a man of war. He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.
14'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.
15I will lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.
16I will lead those who are blind by a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them And uneven land into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone.'
17They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to cast metal images, 'You are our gods.'
18Hear, you who are deaf! And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
19Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as one who is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20You have seen many things, but you do not retain them; Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake To make the Law great and glorious.
22But this is a people plundered and pillaged; All of them are trapped in caves, Or are hidden away in prisons; They have become plunder, with no one to save them, And spoils with no one to say, 'Give them back!'
King James Version
7To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Christian Standard Bible
4He will not grow weak or be discouraged until he has established justice on earth. The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction."
5This is what God, the Lord, says— who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it —
6"I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will watch over you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,
7in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.
8I am the Lord. That is my name, and I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.
9The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur."
10Sing a new song to the Lord; sing his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea with all that fills it, you coasts and islands with your inhabitants.
11Let the desert and its cities shout, the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.
12Let them give glory to the Lord and declare his praise in the coasts and islands.
13The Lord advances like a warrior; he stirs up his zeal like a soldier. He shouts, he roars aloud, he prevails over his enemies.
14"I have kept silent from ages past; I have been quiet and restrained myself. But now, I will groan like a woman in labor, gasping breathlessly.
15I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into islands and dry up marshes.
16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not abandon them.
17They will be turned back and utterly ashamed— those who trust in an idol and say to a cast image, ‘You are our gods!’
18"Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see.
19Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger I am sending? Who is blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord?
20Though seeing many things, you pay no attention. Though his ears are open, he does not listen."
21Because of his righteousness, the Lord was pleased to magnify his instruction and make it glorious.
22But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in holes or imprisoned in dungeons. They have become plunder with no one to rescue them and loot, with no one saying, "Give it back!"
New Living Translation
Chapter 42
3He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. 4He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction. '
5God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says,
6'I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations.
7You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
8'I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.
9Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.'
10Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth! Sing, all you who sail the seas, all you who live in distant coastlands.
11Join in the chorus, you desert towns; let the villages of Kedar rejoice! Let the people of Sela sing for joy; shout praises from the mountaintops!
12Let the whole world glorify the Lord; let it sing his praise.
13The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.
14He will say, 'I have long been silent; yes, I have restrained myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant.
15I will level the mountains and hills and blight all their greenery. I will turn the rivers into dry land and will dry up all the pools.
16I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.
17But those who trust in idols, who say, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned away in shame.
18'Listen, you who are deaf! Look and see, you blind!
19Who is as blind as my own people, my servant? Who is as deaf as my messenger? Who is as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the Lord?
20You see and recognize what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear with your ears, but you don’t really listen.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 42
3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 5Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6"I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 9Behold, 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, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. 11Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands. 13 The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. 14For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. 15 I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. 16 And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. 17 They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, "You are our gods." 18Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! 19Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord? 20 He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear. 21The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness ' sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious. 22But this is a people plundered and looted; they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons; they have become plunder with none to rescue, spoil with none to say, "Restore!"New International Version
4he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope."
5This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
6"I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
7to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8"I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
9See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."
10Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.
11Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
12Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise in the islands.
13The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.
14"For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.
15I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.
16I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
17But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.
18"Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!
19Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the Lord?
20You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen."
21It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.
New King James Version
