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Isaiah 42

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The Servant's Character and Mission 1–4

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. ​
2
He will not cry, nor lift up 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. ​
4
He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.

The Lord Commissions the Servant 5–9

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: ​
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; ​
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.
8
I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven 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. ​

Call for Global Praise 10–12

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. ​
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. ​
12
Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands.

The Lord Acts as a Divine Warrior 13–17

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. ​
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. ​
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. ​
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. ​
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.

Israel's Spiritual Blindness 18–25

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 send? who is blind as he that is at peace with me, and blind as Jehovah’s servant? ​
20
Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not.
21
It pleased Jehovah, 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. ​
23
Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken 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. ​
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. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 42

Verse 1

Behold my servant, whom I uphold — Tamak, to hold up; 'elect' is bachir, chosen. Matthew gives the passage to Christ: 'Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him' (Matt 12:18). The Spirit rests on him at the Jordan (Luke 3:22); 'judgment' (mishpat) goes out to the Gentiles.

Verse 3

A bruised reed… the smoking flax — Ratsats is to crush; flax (pishtah) is the wick of a lamp, 'smoking' (keheh) when it burns dim. Matthew cites the verse after Christ 'healed them all' and charged them not to make him known (Matt 12:15–20): 'till he send forth judgment unto victory'. Isaiah's words are 'unto truth' (emet).

Verse 5

he that giveth breath unto the people — The speaker is 'God the LORD' (El Yehovah), who 'stretched out' the heavens as in Isa 40:22; 45:12. 'Breath' is neshamah, the word of Gen 2:7, 'the breath of life'. Paul says the same on Mars' Hill: 'he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things' (Acts 17:25).

Verse 6

a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles — 'Hold thine hand' is chazaq, to take firm hold; 'keep' is natsar, to guard. The title returns in Isa 49:8, 'give thee for a covenant of the people'. Simeon takes up the light: 'A light to lighten the Gentiles' (Luke 2:32); Paul speaks of it in Acts 13:47.

Verse 8

my glory will I not give to another — 'I am the LORD: that is my name' is the divine name the KJV prints LORD. The refusal recurs in Isa 48:11: 'I will not give my glory unto another.' 'Graven images' (pasil) are carved figures of the kind Ex 20:4 forbids; the LORD's answer to them is that he foretells what is coming (v.9).

Verse 9

the former things… new things — The 'former things' (rishonot) are what he foretold earlier and which 'are come to pass'; now he declares new ones 'before they spring forth' (tsamach, to sprout, as in Isa 43:19, 'now it shall spring forth'). Isa 46:10 has 'Declaring the end from the beginning'. Christ says, 'I tell you before it come' (John 13:19).

Verse 10

Sing unto the LORD a new song — The 'new song' (shir chadash) is called for in Ps 33:3 and sung by the redeemed in Rev 5:9, from 'every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation'. The 'isles' (iy) are those that in v.4 'shall wait for his law'; the word returns in v.12 and, as 'islands', in v.15.

Verse 11

the villages that Kedar doth inhabit — Kedar was a son of Ishmael (Gen 25:13), whose people lived in 'the tents of Kedar' (Ps 120:5) and kept flocks that Isa 60:7 says 'shall be gathered together unto thee'. Chatser is a hamlet; the 'rock' is sela, a crag. Even the wilderness is called to lift its voice.

Verse 13

a mighty man… a man of war — Gibbor is a warrior; 'a man of war' (ish milchamah) is the title of Ex 15:3, 'The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.' 'Jealousy' is qinah, zeal; 'roar' is tsarach, to cry out loudly; 'prevail' is gabar, to be strong. He goes out for his people, after the Servant's gentleness (vv.2–3).

Verse 14

now will I cry like a travailing woman — He has 'holden my peace' (chashah) and 'been still' (charash). 'Cry' is pa'ah, a scream found only here, and 'destroy' is nasham, to blow away, also found only here; 'devour' is sha'aph, to pant. Ps 83:1 asks 'hold not thy peace'; here the LORD himself breaks his silence.

Verse 15

I will make the rivers islands — 'Islands' is iy, the word translated 'isles' in vv.4, 10 and 12: the rivers become dry land. The LORD does this by his word, 'Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers' (Isa 44:27), and the next verse is of Cyrus (Isa 44:28), who is named as the shepherd who 'shall perform all my pleasure'.

Verse 16

I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not — The blind, who cannot choose a way, are led, as in Isa 30:21, 'This is the way, walk ye in it'. 'Crooked things straight' is the work of Isa 40:4, 'the crooked shall be made straight'. 'Not forsake' is azab, the word of Isa 41:17, 'I the God of Israel will not forsake them.'

Verse 18

Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind — The blind of v.16 are led; these are called to see. The same pair stands in Isa 29:18, 'the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see', and Isa 43:8, 'the blind people that have eyes'. Nabat is to look with attention, and v.19 says who is meant.

Verse 19

Who is blind, but my servant? — The 'servant' (ebed) is Israel, named so in Isa 41:8, 'thou, Israel, art my servant', and in 49:3, 'Thou art my servant, O Israel'. The 'messenger' (malak) is the one 'that I sent'. 'Perfect' is meshullam, from shalam, to be complete or at peace, yet this servant does not see.

Verse 21

he will magnify the law — Gadal, to make great, and adar, to make glorious: 'law' is torah, the word of v.4, 'the isles shall wait for his law', and of v.24. 'Well pleased' is chaphets, to delight. Christ says of the law, 'I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil' (Matt 5:17).

Verse 22

hid in prison houses — 'Prison house' (beth kele) is a phrase Isaiah uses only here and in v.7, where the Servant is to 'bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.' 'Robbed' is bazaz and 'spoiled' shasah; 'none saith, Restore' (shub, to give back).

Verse 24

Who gave Jacob for a spoil — The question has its answer in the next line: 'did not the LORD, he against whom we have sinned?' The speaker now says 'we'. 'Spoil' is meshusah and 'robbers' bazaz (v.22). 'Law' is torah, as in vv.4 and 21; the cause given is that 'they would not walk in his ways'.

Verse 25

poured upon him the fury of his anger — Shaphak, to pour out, and the fire 'round about' (lahat, to blaze). 'Yet he knew not… yet he laid it not to heart' finds a parallel in Hos 7:9, 'he knoweth it not'. The burning of Jerusalem is recorded in 2 Kings 25:9, 'he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house'.