Isaiah 42:11

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.

Isaiah 42:15-16

42:15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; ¹ 

I will dry up all their vegetation.

I will turn streams into islands, ² 

and dry up pools of water. ³ 

42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; ⁴ 

I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. ⁵ 

I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,

and level out the rough ground. ⁶ 

This is what I will do for them.

I will not abandon them.

Isaiah 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ⁷ “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 ⁸  for the nations. ⁹ 

Isaiah 2:8

2:8 Their land is full of worthless idols;

they worship ¹⁰  the product of their own hands,

what their own fingers have fashioned.

Psalms 113:7-8

113:7 He raises the poor from the dirt,

and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, ¹¹ 

113:8 that he might seat him with princes,

with the princes of his people.

Ezekiel 17:24

17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.

I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.

I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

Ezekiel 21:26

21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Tear off the turban, ¹² 

take off the crown!

Things must change! ¹³ 

Exalt the lowly,

bring down the proud! ¹⁴ 

Luke 1:52-53

1:52 He has brought down the mighty ¹⁵  from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; ¹⁶ 

1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, ¹⁷  and has sent the rich away empty. ¹⁸ 

Luke 3:5

3:5 Every valley will be filled, ¹⁹ 

and every mountain and hill will be brought low,

and the crooked will be made straight,

and the rough ways will be made smooth,

Luke 18:14

18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ²⁰  rather than the Pharisee. ²¹  For everyone who exalts ²²  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

[42:15]  ¹ tn Heb “I will dry up the mountains and hills.” The “mountains and hills” stand by synecdoche for the trees that grow on them. Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonymic root and translate, “I will lay waste.”

[42:15]  ² tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will turn streams into coastlands [or “islands”].” Scholars who believe that this reading makes little sense have proposed an emendation of אִיִּים (’iyyim, “islands”) to צִיּוֹת (tsiyyot, “dry places”; cf. NCV, NLT, TEV). However, since all the versions support the MT reading, there is insufficient grounds for an emendation here. Although the imagery of changing rivers into islands is somewhat strange, J. N. Oswalt describes this imagery against the backdrop of rivers of the Near East. The receding of these rivers at times occasioned the appearance of previously submerged islands (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:126).

[42:15]  ³ sn 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 enemies.

[42:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”

[42:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”

[42:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”

[42:1]  ⁷ 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.

[42:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ⁹ 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.

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “bow down to” (NIV, NRSV).

[113:7]  ¹¹ sn The language of v. 7 is almost identical to that of 1 Sam 2:8.

[21:26]  ¹² tn Elsewhere in the Bible the turban is worn by priests (Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Lev 8:9; 16:4), but here a royal crown is in view.

[21:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “This not this.”

[21:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the high one.”

[1:52]  ¹⁵ tn Or “rulers.”

[1:52]  ¹⁶ tn Or “those of humble position”

[1:53]  ¹⁷ sn Good things refers not merely to material blessings, but blessings that come from knowing God.

[1:53]  ¹⁸ sn Another fundamental contrast of Luke’s is between the hungry and the rich (Luke 6:20-26).

[3:5]  ¹⁹ sn The figurative language of this verse speaks of the whole creation preparing for the arrival of a major figure, so all obstacles to his approach are removed.

[18:14]  ²⁰ sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

[18:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ²² sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.