The Servant of the Lord
1 “Behold!My Servant whom I uphold,
# My Elect OneinwhomMy souldelights!
# I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raiseHisvoice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
# And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
5 Thus says God theLord,
# Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
# Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
6 “I,theLord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
# I will keep Youand give You as a covenant to the people,
# Asa light to the Gentiles,
7 To open blind eyes,
# Tobring out prisoners from the prison,
# Those who sit indarkness from the prison house.
8 IamtheLord, thatisMy name;
# And Myglory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Praise to the Lord
10 Sing to theLorda new song,
AndHis praise from the ends of the earth,
# You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift uptheirvoice,
The villagesthatKedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to theLord,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 TheLordshall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir upHiszeal like a man of war.
# He shall cry out,yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
Promise of the Lord’s Help
14 “I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
NowI will cry like a woman in labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
17 They shall beturned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘Youareour gods.’
18 “Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Whoisblind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messengerwhomI send?
Whoisblind ashewhoisperfect,
And blind as theLord’s servant?
20 Seeing many things,but you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
Israel’s Obstinate Disobedience
21 TheLordis well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;
He will exalt the law and makeithonorable.
22 But thisisa people robbed and plundered;
All of them are snared in holes,
And they are hidden in prison houses;
They are for prey, and no one delivers;
For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Whowill listen and hear for the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not theLord,
He against whom we have sinned?
# For they would not walk in His ways,
Nor were they obedient to His law.
25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger
And the strength of battle;
# It has set him on fire all around,
# Yet he did not know;
And it burned him,
# Yet he did not takeittoheart.