Isaiah 42:18-25

The Lord Reasons with His People

42:18 “Listen, you deaf ones!

Take notice, ¹  you blind ones!

42:19 My servant is truly blind,

my messenger is truly deaf.

My covenant partner, ²  the servant of the Lord, is truly blind. ³ 

42:20 You see ⁴  many things, but don’t comprehend; ⁵ 

their ears are open, but do not hear.”

42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice

by magnifying his law and displaying it. ⁶ 

42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;

all of them are trapped in pits ⁷ 

and held captive ⁸  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!” ⁹ 

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

Who will listen attentively in the future? ¹⁰ 

42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?

Who handed Israel over to the looters? ¹¹ 

Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?

They refused to follow his commands;

they disobeyed his law. ¹² 

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

along with the devastation ¹³  of war.

Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; ¹⁴ 

it burned against them, but they did notice. ¹⁵ 

[42:18]  ¹ tn Heb “look to see”; NAB, NCV “look and see”; NRSV “look up and see.”

[42:19]  ² tc The precise meaning of מְשֻׁלָּם (mÿshullam) in this context is uncertain. In later biblical Hebrew the form (which appears to be a Pual participle from the root שָׁלַם, shalam) occurs as a proper name, Meshullam. The Pual of שָׁלַם (“be complete”) is attested with the meaning “repaid, requited,” but that makes little sense here. BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלַם relates the form to the denominative verb שָׁלַם (“be at peace”) and paraphrases “one in a covenant of peace” (J. N. Oswalt suggests “the covenanted one”; Isaiah [NICOT], 2:128, n. 59) Some emend the form to מֹשְׁלָם (moshÿlam, “their ruler”) or to מְשֻׁלָּחִי (mÿshullakhi, “my sent [or “commissioned”] one”), which fits nicely in the parallelism (note “my messenger” in the previous line). The translation above assumes an emendation to כְּמוֹ שֹׁלְמִי (kÿmo sholÿmi, “like my ally”). Isaiah uses כְּמוֹ in 30:22 and perhaps 51:5; for שֹׁלְמי (“my ally”) see Ps 7:5 HT (7:4 ET).

[42:19]  ³ tn 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?” The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one is as blind/deaf as this servant. In this context the Lord’s “servant” is exiled Israel (cf. 41:8-9), which is spiritually blind and deaf and has failed to fulfill God’s purpose for it. This servant stands in contrast to the ideal “Israel” of the servant songs.

[42:20]  ⁴ tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has a perfect, 2nd person masculine singular; the marginal reading (Qere) has an infinitive absolute, which functions here as a finite verb.

[42:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “but you do not guard [i.e., retain in your memory]”; NIV “but have paid no attention.”

[42:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious.” The Lord contrasts his good intentions for the people with their present crisis (v. 22). To demonstrate his just character and attract the nations, the Lord wanted to showcase his law among and through Israel (Deut 4:5-8). But Israel disobeyed (v. 24) and failed to carry out their commission.

[42:22]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).

[42:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”

[42:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”

[42:23]  ¹⁰ tn The interrogative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[42:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְשׁוֹסֶה (mÿshoseh), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה (shasah, “plunder”). The marginal reading (Qere) is מְשִׁיסָּה (mÿshissah), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?”

[42:24]  ¹² tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”

[42:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.”

[42:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and it blazed against him all around, but he did not know.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb “blazed” is the divine חֵמָה (khemah, “anger”) mentioned in the previous line.

[42:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”