Isaiah 42:16-25

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!”

42:23 Who among you will pay attention to this?

Who will listen attentively in the future?

42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?

Who handed Israel over to the looters?

Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?

They refused to follow his commands;

they disobeyed his law.

42:25 So he poured out his fierce anger on them,

along with the devastation of war.

Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it;

it burned against them, but they did notice.