Isaiah 42:19

42:19 My servant is truly blind,

my messenger is truly deaf.

My covenant partner, ¹  the servant of the Lord, is truly blind. ² 

Isaiah 42:18

The Lord Reasons with His People

42:18 “Listen, you deaf ones!

Take notice, ³  you blind ones!

Isaiah 35:5

35:5 Then blind eyes will open,

deaf ears will hear.

Isaiah 43:8

The Lord Declares His Sovereignty

43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,

those who are deaf, even though they have ears!

Isaiah 29:18

29:18 At that time ⁴  the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,

and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness. ⁵ 

Isaiah 42:7

42:7 to open blind eyes, ⁶ 

to release prisoners ⁷  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Isaiah 59:10

59:10 We grope along the wall like the blind,

we grope like those who cannot see; ⁸ 

we stumble at noontime as if it were evening.

Though others are strong, we are like dead men. ⁹ 

Isaiah 56:10

56:10 All their watchmen ¹⁰  are blind,

they are unaware. ¹¹ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ¹²  lie down,

and love to snooze.

Isaiah 42:16

42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; ¹³ 

I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. ¹⁴ 

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

and level out the rough ground. ¹⁵ 

This is what I will do for them.

I will not abandon them.

[42:19]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[42:18]  ³ tn Heb “look to see”; NAB, NCV “look and see”; NRSV “look up and see.”

[29:18]  ⁵ tn Or “In that day” (KJV).

[29:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”

[42:7]  ⁷ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ⁸ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[59:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “like there are no eyes.”

[59:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb among the strong, like dead men.”

[56:10]  ¹¹ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ¹² tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[42:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”

[42:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”

[42:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”