Text -- Isaiah 42:1-5 (NET)

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:

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 42:1

¹ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

² tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

³ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

NET Notes: Isa 42:2

¹ tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”

NET Notes: Isa 42:3

¹ sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.

² tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

NET Notes: Isa 42:4

¹ tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.

² tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”

³ tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).

NET Notes: Isa 42:5

¹ tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.

² tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”

³ tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).