| Isaiah
(Yeshayahu) 42
"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my
chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my
Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the
nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise
his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he
will not break, and a smoldering wick he will
not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged till he
establishes justice on earth. In his law the
islands will put their hope."
This
is what God the LORD says- he who created the
heavens and stretched them out, who spread out
the earth and all that comes out of it, who
gives breath to its people, and life to those
who walk on it:
"I,
the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you
and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that
are blind, to free captives from prison and
to release from the dungeon those who sit in
darkness.
"I
am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give
my glory to another or my praise to idols.
See, the former things have taken place, and
new things I declare; before they spring into
being I announce them to you."
Sing
to the LORD a new song, his praise from the
ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea,
and all that is in it, you islands, and all
who live in them. Let the desert and its towns
raise their voices; let the settlements where
Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela
sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
Let them give glory to the LORD
and proclaim his praise in the islands. The
LORD will march out like a mighty man,
like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with
a shout he will raise the battle cry and will
triumph over his enemies.
"For
a long time I have kept silent, I have been
quiet and held myself back. But now, like a
woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.
I will lay waste the mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn
rivers into islands and dry up the pools. I
will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I
will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth. These are
the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
But those who trust in idols, who say to images,
'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter
shame.
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