(“) Here is My Servant , whom I uphold My Chosen One , (in whom) My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him , (and) He will bring justice to the nations.
He will not cry out (or) raise (His voice) , nor make His voice heard in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish ; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow weak ... or discouraged before He has established justice on the 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 its offspring , who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk
“ I , the LORD , have called you for a righteous purpose , and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations ,
to open the eyes of the blind , to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
I am the LORD ; that is My name ! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.
Behold , the former things have happened , and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim 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 dwell in them.
Let the desert and its cities raise their voices ; (let) the villages of Kedar (cry aloud). Let the people of Sela sing for joy ; let them cry out from the mountaintops ....
Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.
The LORD goes forth like a mighty one ; He stirs up His zeal like a warrior .... He shouts ; yes , He roars in triumph over His enemies :
“ I have kept silent from ages past ; I have remained quiet and restrained. But now I will groan like a woman in labor ; I will at once gasp and pant.
I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know ; I will guide them on unfamiliar ... paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them , and I will not forsake them.
But those who trust in idols and say to molten images , ‘ You are our gods ! ’ will be turned back in utter shame.
Listen , you deaf (ones) ; look , you blind (ones) , that you may see !
Who is blind but ... My servant , or deaf like the messenger I am sending ? Who is blind like My covenant partner , or blind like the servant of the LORD ?
Though seeing many things , you do not keep watch. Though your ears are open , you do not hear. ”
The LORD was pleased , for the sake of His righteousness , to magnify His law and make it glorious.
But this is a people plundered and looted , all trapped in caves or imprisoned in dungeons .... They have become plunder with no one to rescue them , and loot with no one to say , “ Send them back ! ”
Who will pay attention to this ? (Who) will listen and obey hereafter ?
Who gave Jacob up for spoil , and Israel to the plunderers ? Was it not the LORD , against whom we have sinned vvv They were unwilling to walk in His ways , and they would not obey His law.
So He poured out on them His furious anger and the fierceness of battle. It enveloped them in flames , but they did not understand ; it consumed them but they did not take it to heart.