Isaiah · American Standard Version (1901)
Isaiah 42 American Standard Version (1901)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
1 “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
2 He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
3 He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice on the earth, and the islands wait for his law.”
5 Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad 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:
5 God Yahweh, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it, says:
6 I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
6 “I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations,
7 to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.
7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
8 I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images.
8 “I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images.
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
9 Behold, the former things have happened and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.”
10 Sing unto Jehovah 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.
10 Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants.
11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up [their voice], the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
11 Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains!
12 Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands.
12 Let them give glory to Yahweh, and declare his praise in the islands.
13 Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man; he will stir up [his] zeal like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout aloud; he will do mightily against his enemies.
13 Yahweh will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.
14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: [now] will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will gasp and pant together.
14 “I have been silent a long time. I have been quiet and restrained myself. Now I will cry out like a travailing woman. I will both gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.
15 I will destroy mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.
16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them.
16 I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.
17 They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods.
17 “Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.
18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
18 “Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? who is blind as he that is at peace [with me], and blind as Jehovah’s servant?
19 Who is blind, but my servant? Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is as blind as he who is at peace, and as blind as Yahweh’s servant?
20 Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not.
20 You see many things, but don’t observe. His ears are open, but he doesn’t listen.
21 It pleased Jehovah, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable.
21 It pleased Yahweh, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify the law and make it honorable.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; 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.
22 But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become captives, and no one delivers, and a plunder, and no one says, ‘Restore them!’
23 Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come?
23 Who is there among you who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not Jehovah? he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto his law.
24 Who gave Jacob as plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Didn’t Yahweh, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, and they disobeyed his law.
25 Therefore he poured upon him the fierceness of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
25 Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him, and the strength of battle. It set him on fire all around, but he didn’t know. It burned him, but he didn’t take it to heart.”
Cross references (25)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Matthew 12:18–21; Luke 3:22; Isaiah 52:13; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 43:10
- 2 Matthew 12:16–20; 2 Timothy 2:24; 1 Peter 2:23; Matthew 11:29; Luke 17:20
- 3 Ezekiel 34:16; Jeremiah 31:25; Psalm 147:3; Matthew 11:28; Isaiah 40:11
- 4 Isaiah 53:2–12; Isaiah 55:5; Genesis 49:10; Psalm 22:27; Isaiah 52:13–15
- 5 Isaiah 40:22; Isaiah 45:12; Jeremiah 10:12; Zechariah 12:1; Isaiah 48:13
- 6 John 8:12; Luke 2:32; Isaiah 26:3; Acts 13:47; Isaiah 49:8
- 7 Ephesians 1:17–18; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 49:9; Isaiah 35:5; 2 Timothy 2:26
- 8 Isaiah 48:11; Isaiah 43:11; Exodus 34:14; Exodus 20:3–5; Psalm 83:18
- 9 Isaiah 43:19; Isaiah 46:9–10; John 13:19; 2 Peter 1:19–21; Isaiah 44:7–8
- 10 Psalm 33:3; Isaiah 42:4; Psalm 40:3; Romans 15:9–11; Psalm 98:1–4
- 11 Isaiah 32:16; Isaiah 60:7; Psalm 72:8–10; Isaiah 41:18–19; Psalm 120:5
- 12 Romans 15:9–11; Psalm 117:1–2; Isaiah 66:18–19; Revelation 7:9–12; Isaiah 42:4
- 13 Exodus 15:1–3; Psalm 78:65; Isaiah 59:16–19; Amos 1:2; Psalm 110:5–6
- 14 Psalm 83:1–2; Luke 18:7; Jeremiah 44:22; 2 Peter 3:9–10; 2 Peter 3:15
- 15 Isaiah 50:2; Nahum 1:4–6; Isaiah 44:27; Isaiah 2:12–16; Revelation 20:11
- 16 Isaiah 30:21; Luke 3:5; Isaiah 35:8; Isaiah 60:19–20; Luke 1:78–79
- 17 Psalm 97:7; Isaiah 1:29; Isaiah 44:11; Isaiah 45:16–17; Isaiah 44:17
- 18 Isaiah 43:8; Mark 7:34–37; Isaiah 29:18; Proverbs 20:12; Isaiah 35:5
- 19 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ezekiel 12:2; Jeremiah 5:21; Romans 2:17–23; Matthew 15:14–16
- 20 Deuteronomy 29:2–4; Acts 28:22–27; Isaiah 1:3; Isaiah 58:2; John 11:37–50
- 21 Hebrews 8:10; Romans 3:31; Romans 7:12; Matthew 5:17–20; Isaiah 42:4
- 22 Psalm 102:20; Jeremiah 50:17; Isaiah 51:23; Isaiah 24:22; Psalm 50:22
- 23 Acts 3:22–23; Isaiah 48:18; Leviticus 26:40–42; Matthew 21:28–31; Deuteronomy 4:29–31
- 24 Isaiah 59:1–2; Judges 10:7; Lamentations 1:14; Jeremiah 25:8–9; Lamentations 1:18
- 25 Isaiah 57:11; Hosea 7:9; Ezekiel 7:8–9; Malachi 2:2; Revelation 16:1–21
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… for the Lord hath spoken." And again: "Thus saith the Lord God, who made the heaven, and stretched it out; who established the earth, and the things in it; and who giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them who walk therein."
He shall shine and shall not be broken, until He sets judgment in the earth: and the nations shall hope in His name." The Hebrew has not "Jacob" and "Israel;" but the Septuagint translators, wishing to show the significance of the expression "my servant," and that it refers to the form of a servant in which the Most High humbled …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory. And in His name shall the Gentiles trust." The prophet celebrates His meekness, and His unspeakable power, and opens to the Gentiles "a great door and effectual;" he foretells also the ills that are to overtake the Jews, and …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… it seeth Him not,...but ye know Him; for he dwelleth with you." And so says Isaiah;--"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 trample on it"; for they that trample down earthly things and rise above them are borne witness …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)
… in a more gentle manner; and the Lord's advent as a man was pointed out, that it should be subsequent to that law which was given by Moses, mild and tranquil, in which He would neither break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. The mild and peaceful repose of His kingdom was indicated likewise.