Isaiah 42NKJV
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Isaiah42

New King James Version

1“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

2He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.

3A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.

4He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”

5Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it:

6“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,

7To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

8I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

9Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

10Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!

11Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains.

12Let them give glory to the Lord, And declare His praise in the coastlands.

13The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.

14“I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.

15I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools.

16I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.

17They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’

18“Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see.

19Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the Lord’s servant?

20Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”

21The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.

22But this is a people robbed and plundered; All of them are snared in holes, And they are hidden in prison houses; They are for prey, and no one delivers; For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”

23Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?

24Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, Nor were they obedient to His law.

25Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger And the strength of battle; It has set him on fire all around, Yet he did not know; And it burned him, Yet he did not take it to heart.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 42.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The character and coming of Christ. (1-4). The blessings of his kingdom. (5-12). The prevalence of true religion. (13-17). Unbelief and blindness reproved. (18-25).

vv1-4

This prophecy was fulfilled in Christ, Matt. 12:17. Let our souls rely on him, and rejoice in him; then, for his sake, the Father will be well-pleased with us. The Holy Spirit not only came, but rested upon him, and without measure. He patiently bore the contradiction of sinners. His kingdom is spiritual; he was not to appear with earthly honours. He is tender of those oppressed with doubts and fears, as a bruised reed; those who are as smoking flax, as the wick of a lamp newly lighted, which is ready to go out again. He will not despise them, nor lay upon them more work or more suffering than they can bear. By a long course of miracles and his resurrection, he fully showed the truth of his holy religion. By the power of his gospel and grace he fixes principles in the minds of men, which tend to make them wise and just. The most distant nations wait for his law, wait for his gospel, and shall welcome it. If we would make our calling and election sure, and have the Father delight over us for good, we must behold, hear, believe in, and obey Christ.

vv5-12

The work of redemption brings back man to the obedience he owes to God as his Maker. Christ is the light of the world. And by his grace he opens the understandings Satan has blinded, and sets at liberty from the bondage of sin. The Lord has supported his church. And now he makes new promises, which shall as certainly be fulfilled as the old ones were. When the Gentiles are brought into the church, he is glorified in them and by them. Let us give to God those things which are his, taking heed that we do not serve the creature more than the Creator.

vv13-17

The Lord will appear in his power and glory. He shall cry, in the preaching of his word. He shall cry aloud in the gospel woes, which must be preached with gospel blessings, to awaken a sleeping world. He shall conquer by the power of his Spirit. And those that contradict and blaspheme his gospel, he shall put to silence and shame; and that which hinders its progress shall be taken out of the way. To those who by nature were blind, God will show the way to life and happiness by Jesus Christ. They are weak in knowledge, but He will make darkness light. They are weak in duty, but their way shall be plain. Those whom God brings into the right way, he will guide in it. This passage is a prophecy, and is also applicable to every believer; for the Lord will never leave nor forsake them.

Cross References

Isaiah 42
v1Matthew 12:18-20fulfillment

Explicitly quotes verses 1-3 as fulfilled in Jesus Christ's quiet and compassionate ministry.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v1Matthew 3:17allusion

Echoes 'my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased' at Christ's baptism.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v1Luke 4:18allusion

Parallels Christ having the Spirit put upon Him to preach deliverance to captives.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v1Matthew 12:17fulfillment

Direct Gospel verification that this Servant prophecy is fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v2Matthew 12:16-20fulfillment

Applies Christ's charge of secrecy to His quiet, non-contentious fulfillment of Isaiah 42:2.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v1Isaiah 61:1thematic

Identical language of the Spirit of the Lord being upon the anointed Servant.

Supported by JFB

v3Matthew 11:28thematic

Illustrates how Christ deals gently with the heavy laden and bruised.

Supported by JFB

v6Isaiah 49:6thematic

Repeats the prophetic commission of the Servant to be a light to the Gentiles.

Supported by JFB

v6John 1:4thematic

John's theology of Christ as the Light of men, illuminating global spiritual darkness.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v6Luke 2:32allusion

Simeon's prophecy quotes this directly, identifying Jesus as a light to lighten the Gentiles.

Supported by JFB

v1Acts 26:18thematic

Paul's commission to turn Gentiles from darkness to light, fulfilling the Servant's work.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v1Matthew 17:5allusion

The Father's voice at the Transfiguration echoes the delight declared in verse 1.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v3Isaiah 40:11thematic

Parallels the tender care of the Shepherd for the weak and vulnerable.

Supported by JFB

v6John 8:12thematic

Christ declares Himself the light of the world, fulfilling the promise of verse 6.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v7John 9:39thematic

Christ comes for judgment, making the blind see and exposing those who claim sight.

Supported by JFB

v6Romans 3:25thematic

Shows how God set forth Christ to demonstrate His righteousness, fulfilling verse 6.

Supported by Matthew Henry