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42. The Servant of the Lord

¹ “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
   my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
   and he will bring justice to the nations.
² He will not shout or cry out,
   or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
   and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
    ⁴ he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
   In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

    ⁵ This 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,
⁷ to 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.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
   and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
   I announce them to you.”

Song of Praise to the LORD

    ¹⁰ Sing 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.
¹¹ Let 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.
¹² Let them give glory to the LORD
   and proclaim his praise in the islands.
¹³ The 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.
¹⁵ I will lay waste the mountains and hills
   and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
   and dry up the pools.
¹⁶ I 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.
¹⁷ But those who trust in idols,
   who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’
   will be turned back in utter shame.

Israel Blind and Deaf

    ¹⁸ “Hear, you deaf;
   look, you blind, and see!
¹⁹ Who 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?
²⁰ You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
   your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
²¹ It pleased the LORD
   for the sake of his righteousness
   to make his law great and glorious.
²² But this is a people plundered and looted,
   all of them trapped in pits
   or hidden away in prisons.
They have become plunder,
   with no one to rescue them;
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 in time to come?
²⁴ Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
   and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the LORD,
   against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
   they did not obey his law.
²⁵ So he poured out on them his burning anger,
   the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
   it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

5. Thus saith Jehovah. He confirms what he said in the beginning of the chapter about the reign of Christ, that he will renew and restore all things; and as this might be thought to be incredible, he has here added a magnificent description of the power of God, by which our faith ought to be confirmed, especially when the outward aspect of things is directly contrary. On this account he brings forward clear proofs of the power of God, that all may be aroused by the mention of them, and may be convinced that he who created all things out of nothing, who spread out the heavens, who produced vegetation, who gave life to animals, and who upholds and defends all things by his power, will easily perform what he promises concerning the reign of Christ. These forms of expression remind us that we ought always to consider the power of God, that we may be fully convinced of the authority and undoubted certainty of his word; for it is not without reason that Isaiah makes this preface, but in order to remove every doubt, because nothing is too hard for God, who keeps the whole world in subjection to his authority; and in the following chapters he will employ similar modes of expression.

האל (hael) is rendered by some “powerful,” and by others “God;” but it is of little consequence, for the meaning is the same; because he exhibits his power and majesty, and adorns him with this variety of titles, that we may know that he will easily restore all that is fallen and laid low.