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Chapter 42

The Servant of the Lord

Here is my servant[a] whom I uphold,
    my chosen one with whom I am pleased.
Upon him I have put my spirit;
    he shall bring forth justice to the nations.(A)
He will not cry out, nor shout,
    nor make his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed[b] he will not break,
    and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.
    He will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow dim or be bruised
    until he establishes justice on the earth;
    the coastlands[c] will wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the Lord,
    who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    who spread out the earth and its produce,
Who gives breath to its people
    and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the Lord, have called you for justice,
    I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
    as a covenant for the people,
    a light for the nations,(B)
To open the eyes of the blind,
    to bring out prisoners from confinement,
    and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
I am the Lord, Lord is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to idols.
See, the earlier things have come to pass,
    new ones I now declare;
Before they spring forth
    I announce them to you.

The Lord’s Purpose for Israel

10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise from the ends of the earth:
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
    the coastlands, and those who dwell in them.
11 Let the wilderness and its cities cry out,
    the villages where Kedar[d] dwells;
Let the inhabitants of Sela exult,
    and shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
    and utter his praise in the coastlands.

13 The Lord goes forth like a warrior,
    like a man of war he stirs up his fury;
He shouts out his battle cry,
    against his enemies he shows his might:(C)
14 For a long time I have kept silent,
    I have said nothing, holding myself back;
Now I cry out like a woman in labor,
    gasping and panting.
15 [e]I will lay waste mountains and hills,
    all their undergrowth I will dry up;
I will turn the rivers into marshes,
    and the marshes I will dry up.(D)
16 I will lead the blind on a way they do not know;
    by paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them,
    and make crooked ways straight.
These are my promises:
    I made them, I will not forsake them.(E)

17 They shall be turned back in utter shame
    who trust in idols;
Who say to molten images,
    “You are our gods.”
18 You deaf ones, listen,[f]
    you blind ones, look and see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
    or deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one I restore,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You see many things but do not observe;
    ears open, but do not hear.
21 It was the Lord’s will for the sake of his justice
    to make his teaching great and glorious.

22 This is a people[g] plundered and despoiled,
    all of them trapped in holes,
    hidden away in prisons.
They are taken as plunder, with no one to rescue them,
    as spoil, with no one to say, “Give back!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this,
    listen and pay attention from now on?
24 Who was it that gave Jacob to be despoiled,
    Israel to the plunderers?[h]
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned?
    In his ways they refused to walk,
    his teaching they would not heed.
25 So he poured out wrath upon them,
    his anger, and the fury of battle;
It blazed all around them, yet they did not realize,
    it burned them, but they did not take it to heart.

Footnotes

  1. 42:1–4 Servant: three other passages have been popularly called “servant of the Lord” poems: 49:1–7; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12. Whether the servant is an individual or a collectivity is not clear (e.g., contrast 49:3 with 49:5). More important is the description of the mission of the servant. In the early Church and throughout Christian tradition, these poems have been applied to Christ; cf. Mt 12:18–21.
  2. 42:3 Bruised reed…: images to express the gentle manner of the servant’s mission.
  3. 42:4 Coastlands: for Israel, the world to the west: the islands and coastal nations of the Mediterranean.
  4. 42:11 Kedar: cf. note on 21:16. Sela: Petra, the capital of Edom.
  5. 42:15–16 Active once more, God will remove the obstacles that hinder the exiles’ return, and will lead them by new roads to Jerusalem; cf. 40:3–4.
  6. 42:18–20 The Lord rebukes his people for their failures, but their role and their mission endure: they remain his servant, his messenger to the nations.
  7. 42:22 A people: Israel in exile.
  8. 42:24 Plunderers: the Assyrians and Babylonians. We…they: the switch from first- to third-person speech, though puzzling, does not obscure the fact that “the people” is meant.

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.

He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

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:

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;

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

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.