Isaiah 42
He Will Not Break a Bruised Reed
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Jacob Is My Servant
42:1“Jacob is My servant; I will uphold him. Israel is My chosen one; My soul accepted him. I gave My spirit upon him; he will bring judgment to the nations.
42:2He will not cry out or raise his voice, nor will his voice be heard outside.
42:3He will not crush a bruised reed or extinguish a smoking flax wick; rather, he will bring judgment in truth.
42:4He will shine forth and will not be broken until he sets judgment upon the earth, and nations will hope in his name.”
The God Who Made Heaven Calls His Servant
42:5Thus says the Lord God, who made heaven and fixed it in place, established the earth and its contents, and gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those treading it:
42:6“I, the Lord God, called you in righteousness; I will hold your hand and strengthen you, and gave you as a covenant for a people, a light for nations,
42:7to open blind people’s eyes, bring those bound out of bonds, and those sitting in darkness out of the prison house.
42:8I am the Lord God; this is My name. I will not give My glory to another or My praiseworthy deeds to carved images.
The Things from the Beginning Have Arrived
42:9Look, the things from the beginning have arrived, and new things I will announce; before they spring up, they were disclosed to you.”
42:10Sing a new hymn to the Lord—its beginning: “Glorify His name from the earth’s extremity, you who go down to the sea and sail it, islands and their inhabitants.”
42:11Rejoice, wilderness and its villages, settlements and those inhabiting Kedar. Those inhabiting Petra will rejoice and cry out from the mountain tops.
42:12They will give God glory and announce His praiseworthy deeds in the islands.
The Lord Will Go Out and Crush the War
42:13The Lord God of Powers will go out and crush war. He will rouse zeal and cry out mightily against His enemies.
42:14“I was silent; surely I will not always be silent and hold back? I endured like a woman giving birth; I will astonish and dry up together.
42:15I will turn rivers into islands and dry up marshes.
42:16I will lead the blind on a road they did not know and make them tread paths they did not know. I will turn darkness into light for them and crooked places straight. These things I will do, and I will not abandon them.
They Turned Backward
42:17But they turned backward. Be utterly ashamed, you who trust carved images, who say to cast images, ‘You are our gods.’”
42:18Deaf people, listen; blind people, look up and see!
42:19Who is blind except My servants, or deaf except those ruling them? God’s slaves have become blind.
42:20You saw often but did not keep watch; the ears were opened, but you did not listen.
The Lord Wished to Be Justified
42:21The Lord God wished to be justified and to magnify praise. And I saw,
42:22and the people became plundered and despoiled. For the snare is in the storerooms everywhere and in houses together, where they hid them. They became plunder, and no one rescued the spoil; no one said, ‘Give it back!’
42:23Who among you will give ear to these things and listen for what is coming?
42:24Who gave Jacob over to plunder and Israel to those despoiling him? Was it not God, against whom they sinned, refusing to walk in His ways or listen to His law?
42:25He brought His wrathful anger upon them; war overpowered them, as did those burning them all around. None of them understood, nor did they take it to soul.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.