Isaiah42

Isaiah 42 introduces the Lord's chosen Servant, upon whom God's Spirit rests, who will gently bring judgment and truth to the Gentiles. God, the Creator, calls this Servant to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, promising to lead the blind. However, the chapter concludes with a sharp rebuke of Israel, God's own servant, for their spiritual blindness and disobedience, explaining their suffering as a consequence of forsaking His law.

The Servant's Character and Mission

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 shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
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, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands will wait for his law.”

The Lord Commissions the Servant

5
Thus says God the LORD, 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. ​
6
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and 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 the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
8
“I am the LORD. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images. ​
9
Behold, the former things have happened, and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.” ​

Call for Global Praise

10
Sing to the LORD 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 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 to the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.

The Lord Acts as a Divine Warrior

13
The LORD 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 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 destroy mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs. I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. ​
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
“Those who trust in engraved images, who tell molten images, ‘You are our gods’ will be turned back. They will be utterly disappointed.

Israel's Spiritual Blindness

18
“Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see. ​
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 the LORD’s servant? ​
20
You see many things, but don’t observe. His ears are open, but he doesn’t listen.
21
It pleased the LORD, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable. ​
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 who will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24
Who gave Jacob as plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Didn’t the LORD, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, and they disobeyed his law. ​
25
Therefore he poured the fierceness of his anger on him, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire all around, but he didn’t know; and it burned him, but he didn’t take it to heart.” ​

Study Notes for Isaiah 42

Verse 1

This verse opens the first of the four 'Servant Songs' in Isaiah (42:1–4). The Servant is God’s chosen agent, endowed with the Spirit, whose mission is to establish justice universally (to the Gentiles).

Verse 3

This powerful metaphor illustrates the Servant's gentleness and patience; he will not crush the weak or extinguish the faint flame of hope, but will bring true justice with compassion.

Verse 5

God establishes His identity as the sovereign Creator of the universe. This affirmation of divine power validates the reliability of the promises made concerning the Servant’s mission.

Verse 6

The Servant is commissioned to be the embodiment of the divine covenant and a 'light' (salvation and revelation) not only for Israel but specifically for the Gentiles.

Verse 8

A core monotheistic declaration. Yahweh emphasizes His exclusive identity and refuses to share His glory, contrasting Himself sharply with the powerless idols of other nations.

Verse 9

The 'former things' (likely prophecies already fulfilled, such as the rise of Cyrus or past judgments) confirm God’s reliability, thus guaranteeing the certainty of the 'new things' (the return from exile and ultimate salvation).

Verse 10

This section is a hymn, a call for universal worship in response to the 'new things' God is about to perform. The praise comes from the ends of the earth and the maritime regions ('isles').

Verse 11

The call extends to remote and desolate regions, including the tribes of Kedar (northern Arabia), symbolizing that God’s salvation reaches all people.

Verse 13

God is depicted as a warrior preparing for battle to rescue His people. He will actively intervene against the powers that hold Israel captive, displaying zeal and might.

Verse 14

God explains His previous silence during Israel's oppression. His sudden, forceful intervention is likened to the violent, unavoidable pangs of a woman giving birth.

Verse 15

A powerful image of divine judgment and transformation, where obstacles (mountains, rivers) are destroyed to clear the path for the return of the exiles.

Verse 16

Despite the people's spiritual blindness and ignorance of the way home, God promises to guide them personally, turning darkness into light and removing all difficulties.

Verse 18

The tone shifts sharply to an address to Israel, who is spiritually 'deaf' and 'blind,' unable to perceive God's actions or understand the meaning of their suffering.

Verse 19

This rhetorical question contrasts the ideal, obedient Servant introduced in verse 1 with the current, failed servant, Israel, who has been sent as a messenger but has proven spiritually dull.

Verse 21

God's motivation is His own righteousness; He will uphold the divine law and make it honorable, even if that requires punishing His own people for their disobedience.

Verse 22

This verse describes the condition of Israel during the Babylonian exile: stripped, imprisoned, and utterly helpless, with no human deliverer in sight.

Verse 24

The ultimate cause of Israel's calamity is revealed: it was not random fate or superior enemy power, but divine judgment resulting from their persistent sin and failure to obey the covenant.

Verse 25

The judgment (exile and destruction) was poured out like fire, yet Israel remained spiritually unaffected ('knew not' and 'laid it not to heart'), failing to learn from their punishment.

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