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Text -- Isaiah 42:1-22 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
The Lord Commissions His Special Servant
42:1 “Here is my servant whom I support , my chosen one in whom I take pleasure . I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations .
42:2 He will not cry out or shout ; he will not publicize himself in the streets .
42:3 A crushed reed he will not break , a dim wick he will not extinguish ; he will faithfully make just decrees .
42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth ; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees .”
42:5 This is what the true God , the Lord , says – the one who created the sky and stretched it out , the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it:
42:6 “I , the Lord , officially commission you; I take hold of your hand . I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people , and a light to the nations ,
42:7 to open blind eyes , to release prisoners from dungeons , those who live in darkness from prisons .
The Lord Intervenes
42:8 I am the Lord ! That is my name ! I will not share my glory with anyone else , or the praise due me with idols .
42:9 Look , my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass ; now I announce new events . Before they begin to occur , I reveal them to you.”
42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song ! Praise him from the horizon of the earth , you who go down to the sea , and everything that lives in it, you coastlands and those who live there!
42:11 Let the desert and its cities shout out , the towns where the nomads of Kedar live ! Let the residents of Sela shout joyfully ; let them shout loudly from the mountaintops .
42:12 Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves; let them praise his deeds in the coastlands .
42:13 The Lord emerges like a hero , like a warrior he inspires himself for battle ; he shouts , yes , he yells , he shows his enemies his power .
42:14 “I have been inactive for a long time ; I kept quiet and held back . Like a woman in labor I groan ; I pant and gasp .
42:15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; I will dry up all their vegetation . I will turn streams into islands , and dry up pools of water.
42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way ; I will guide them down paths they have never traveled . I will turn the darkness in front of them into light , and level out the rough ground . This is what I will do for them. I will not abandon them.
42:17 Those who trust in idols will turn back and be utterly humiliated , those who say to metal images , ‘You are our gods .’”
The Lord Reasons with His People
42:18 “Listen , you deaf ones! Take notice , you blind ones!
42:19 My servant is truly blind , my messenger is truly deaf . My covenant partner, the servant of the Lord , is truly blind .
42:20 You see many things, but don’t comprehend ; their ears are open , but do not hear .”
42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice by magnifying his law and displaying it.
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered ; all of them are trapped in pits and held captive in prisons . They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder , and no one says , “Bring that back !”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Isaiah, The Book of |
Isaiah |
Gentiles |
Church |
GOD, 2 |
Jesus, The Christ |
SERVANT OF JEHOVAH; SERVANT OF THE LORD; SERVANT OF YAHWEH |
Blindness |
Covenant |
God |
Quotations and Allusions |
Meekness |
JESUS CHRIST, 4C1 |
Kedar |
CHRIST, OFFICES OF |
Island |
Prophecy |
HOLY SPIRIT, 2 |
Wisdom |
Reed |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Isa 42:1; Isa 42:1; Isa 42:1; Isa 42:2; Isa 42:3; Isa 42:3; Isa 42:4; Isa 42:4; Isa 42:4; Isa 42:5; Isa 42:5; Isa 42:5; Isa 42:6; Isa 42:6; Isa 42:6; Isa 42:6; Isa 42:6; Isa 42:7; Isa 42:7; Isa 42:9; Isa 42:9; Isa 42:10; Isa 42:10; Isa 42:10; Isa 42:12; Isa 42:12; Isa 42:13; Isa 42:13; Isa 42:14; Isa 42:14; Isa 42:15; Isa 42:15; Isa 42:15; Isa 42:16; Isa 42:16; Isa 42:16; Isa 42:17; Isa 42:18; Isa 42:19; Isa 42:19; Isa 42:20; Isa 42:20; Isa 42:21; Isa 42:22; Isa 42:22; Isa 42:22
NET Notes: Isa 42:1 Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.
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NET Notes: Isa 42:5 Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).
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NET Notes: Isa 42:6 Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on ...
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NET Notes: Isa 42:7 This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers...
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NET Notes: Isa 42:9 Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this vers...
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NET Notes: Isa 42:13 Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”
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NET Notes: Isa 42:14 The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
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NET Notes: Isa 42:15 The imagery of this verse, which depicts the Lord bringing a curse of infertility to the earth, metaphorically describes how the Lord will destroy his...
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NET Notes: Isa 42:19 Heb “Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like my messenger I send? Who is blind like my commissioned one, blind like the servant of the Lord?&...
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NET Notes: Isa 42:20 Heb “but you do not guard [i.e., retain in your memory]”; NIV “but have paid no attention.”
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NET Notes: Isa 42:21 Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious...
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