Isaiah 42:6

Brenton's Septuagint

I the Lord God have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will strengthen thee: and I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles:

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“I am the Lord. I have called youfor a righteous purpose,and I will hold you by your hand.I will watch over you, and I will appoint youto be a covenant for the peopleand a light to the nations,

Hebrew Names Version
I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Goyim;

King James Version
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

English Standard Version
"I am the Lord ; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

New American Standard Bible
"I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

New Century Version
The Lord says, "I, the Lord , called you to do right, and I will hold your hand and protect you. You will be the sign of my agreement with the people, a light to shine for all people.

Amplified Bible
"I am the LORD, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose], I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel], As a light to the nations (Gentiles),

World English Bible
I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Geneva Bible (1587)
I the Lorde haue called thee in righteousnesse, and will hold thine hand, and I will keepe thee, and giue thee for a couenant of the people, and for a light of the Gentiles,

Legacy Standard Bible
"I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness;I will also take hold of You by the hand and guard You,And I will give You as a covenant to the people,As a light to the nations,

Berean Standard Bible
"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,

Contemporary English Version
I chose you to bring justice, and I am here at your side. I selected and sent you to bring light and my promise of hope to the nations.

Complete Jewish Bible
"I, Adonai , called you righteously, I took hold of you by the hand, I shaped you and made you a covenant for the people, to be a light for the Goyim,

Darby Translation
I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will take hold of thy hand; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations,

Easy-to-Read Version
"I, the Lord , was right to call you. I will hold your hand and protect you. You will be the sign of my agreement with the people. You will be a light for the other nations.

George Lamsa Translation
I the LORD have called you in righteousness and have held your hand and have strengthened you and have given you for a covenant to the people and for a light to the Gentiles;

Good News Translation
"I, the Lord , have called you and given you power to see that justice is done on earth. Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples; through you I will bring light to the nations.

Lexham English Bible
"I am Yahweh; I have called you in righteousness, and I have grasped your hand and watched over you; and I have given you as a covenant of the people, as a light of the nations,

Literal Translation
I, Jehovah, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will keep You, and give You for a covenant of the people, for a Light of the nations;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I the LORDE haue called ye in rightuousnesse, & led the by the honde. Therfore wil I also defende the, & geue the for a couenaunt of the people, & to be the light of the Getiles.

American Standard Version
I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Bible in Basic English
I the Lord have made you the vessel of my purpose, I have taken you by the hand, and kept you safe, and I have given you to be an agreement to the people, and a light to the nations:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and have taken hold of thy hand, and kept thee, and set thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations;

King James Version (1611)
I the Lord haue called thee in righteousnes, and wil hold thine hand, and will keepe thee, and giue thee for a couenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I the Lorde haue called thee in righteousnesse, and wyll holde thee by the hande, and wyll also defende thee, and geue thee for a couenaunt of the people, to be the light of the gentiles.

English Revised Version
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y the Lord haue clepid thee in riytfulnesse, and Y took thin hond, and kepte thee, and Y yaf thee in to a boond of pees of the puple, and in to liyt of folkis.

Update Bible Version
I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Webster's Bible Translation
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

New English Translation
"I, the Lord , officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations,

New King James Version
"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,

New Living Translation
"I, the Lord , have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations.

New Life Bible
"I am the Lord. I have called you to be right and good. I will hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will give you as an agreement to the people, as a light to the nations.

New Revised Standard
I am the Lord , I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
I - Yahweh, have called thee in righteousness, And will firmly grasp thy hand, - And will keep thee And give thee - As the covenant of a people, As the light of nations:

Douay-Rheims Bible
I the Lord have called thee in justice, and taken thee by the hand, and preserved thee. And I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:

Revised Standard Version
"I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,

Young's Literal Translation
I, Jehovah, did call thee in righteousness, And I lay hold on thy hand, and keep thee, And I give thee for a covenant of a people, And a light of nations.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

Contextual Overview

⁵ Thus saith the Lord God, who made the heaven, and established it; who settled the earth, and the things in it, and gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to them that tread on it: ⁶ I the Lord God have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will strengthen thee: and I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles: ⁷ to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the bound and them that sit in darkness out of bonds and the prison-house. ⁸ I am the Lord God: that is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praises to graven images. ⁹ Behold, the ancient things have come to pass, and so will the new things which I tell you: yea, before I tell them they are made known to you. ¹⁰ Sing a new hymn to the Lord: ye who are his dominion, glorify his name from the end of the earth: ye that go down to the sea, and sail upon it; the islands, and they that dwell in them. ¹¹ Rejoice, thou wilderness, and the villages thereof, the hamlets, and the dwellers in Kedar: the inhabitants of the rock shall rejoice, they shall shout from the top of the mountains. ¹² They shall give glory to God, and shall proclaim his praises in the islands.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

called: Isaiah 32:1, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 45:13, Isaiah 49:1-3, Psalms 45:6, Psalms 45:7, Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 23:6, Jeremiah 33:15, Jeremiah 33:16, Romans 3:25, Romans 3:26, Hebrews 1:8, Hebrews 1:9, Hebrews 7:2, Hebrews 7:26

and will hold: Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 41:13

and give: Isaiah 49:8, Matthew 26:28, Luke 1:69-72, Romans 15:8, Romans 15:9, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Galatians 3:15-17, Hebrews 8:6, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 12:24, Hebrews 13:20

a light: Isaiah 49:6, Isaiah 51:4, Isaiah 51:5, Isaiah 60:1-3, Luke 2:32, John 8:12, Acts 13:47, Acts 26:23, 1 Peter 2:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 18:32 - Oh Numbers 6:24 - keep thee Isaiah 35:5 - the eyes Isaiah 60:4 - they come Daniel 9:27 - confirm Matthew 4:16 - which sat in darkness Matthew 11:5 - blind Luke 7:22 - how John 1:4 - the life John 4:10 - If John 8:29 - he that sent John 9:5 - long John 12:35 - Walk Acts 11:1 - the Gentiles Ephesians 5:8 - but 2 Timothy 2:26 - who are

Cross-References

Genesis 18:2
And he lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! three men stood before him; and having seen them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and did obeisance to the ground.

Genesis 19:1
And the two angels came to Sodom at evening. And Lot sat by the gate of Sodom, and Lot having seen them, rose up to meet them, and he worshipped with his face to the ground, and said,

Genesis 42:7
And when Joseph saw his brethren, he knew them, and estranged himself from them, and spoke hard words to them; and said to them, Whence are ye come? And they said, Out of the land of Chanaan, to buy food.

Genesis 42:10
But they said, Nay, Sir, we thy servants are come to buy food;

Genesis 42:16
Send one of you, and take your brother; and go ye to prison, till your words be clear, whether ye speak the truth or not; but, if not, by the health of Pharao, verily ye are spies.

Genesis 42:21
And each said to his brother, Yes, indeed, for we are in fault concerning our brother, when we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we hearkened not to him; and therefore has this affliction come upon us.

Genesis 44:14
And Judas and his brethren came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him.

Genesis 45:8
Now then ye did not send me hither, but God; and he hath made me as a father of Pharao, and lord of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 45:26
And they reported to him, saying, Thy son Joseph is living, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt; and Jacob was amazed, for he did not believe them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I the Lord have called thee in righteousness,.... Not the Prophet Isaiah, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret it; nor the people of Israel, as Kimchi; but the Messiah, whom Jehovah called to the office of Mediator, in a righteous way and manner, consistent with his own perfections; and not against the will of Christ, but with his full consent: or, "unto righteousness", as some n; so the Arabic version; to fulfil his righteous purposes, concerning the welfare and salvation of his people; to perform his righteous promises of his coming, and of good things by him; to show his strict vindictive justice against sin, in the punishment of it; and to bring in an everlasting righteousness for his people: or it may be rendered, "I have called thee with righteousness o"; Christ came a righteous Person, holy in his nature, harmless in his life, and truly deserved the character of Jesus Christ the righteous:

and will hold thine hand: denoting his presence with him, and nearness unto him; his favour and affection for him; his counsel and direction of him; the support and assistance he gave him; and the strength he received from him as man, to go through his work:

and will keep thee; as the apple of his eye, being dear unto him; from being hurt by his enemies till the time came to be delivered into their hands; and from miscarrying in his work; and from the power of the grave, so as to be long detained in it:

and give thee for a covenant of the people; Christ is a covenantee, a party concerned in the covenant of grace; the representative of his people in it; the surety, Mediator, messenger, and ratifier of it; the great blessing in it; the sum and substance of it; all the blessings and promises of it are in him, and as such he is "given"; it is of God's free grace that he was appointed and intrusted with all this in eternity, and was sent in time to confirm and secure it for "the people"; given him of his Father, redeemed by him and to whom the Spirit applies the blessings and promises of the covenant; even the elect of God, both among Jews and Gentiles, especially the latter, as follows:

for a light of the Gentiles; who were in the dark as to the true knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, and the way of righteousness and salvation by him, and of all divine and spiritual things; now Christ, through the ministry of the word by his Spirit, was a light unto them; by which they were enlightened into their own state and condition by nature, and into the knowledge of himself, and the mysteries of grace.

n "Ad, [sive] in justitiam", Sanctius. o בצדק "cum justitia", Piscator, Forerius, Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I the Lord have called thee in righteousness - The phrase ‘in righteousness’ has been very differently understood by different expositors (see the note at Isaiah 41:10). The most probable meaning may be, ‘I have done it as a righteous and just God, or in the accomplishment of my righteous purposes. I am the just moral governor of the universe, and to accomplish my purposes of justice and fidelity, I have designated thee to this work.’ Lowth has well rendered it, ‘For a righteous purpose.’ In this work all was righteousness. God was righteous, who appointed him; it was because he was righteous, and could not save without a mediator and an atonement, that he sent him into the world; he selected one who was eminently righteous to accomplish his purpose; and he came that he might establish righteousness on the earth, and confirm the just government of God (see Isaiah 42:21).

And will hold thine hand - I will take thee by the hand, as one does who guides and leads another. The phrase denotes the same as to guard, or keep - as we protect a child by taking him by the hand.

And give thee for a covenant - This is evidently an abbreviated form of expression, and the meaning is, ‘I will give or appoint thee as the medium, or means by which a covenant shall be made with the people; or a mediator of the new covenant which God is about to establish with men’ (see Isaiah 49:8). A similar expression occurs in Micah 5:5, where it is said of the Messiah, ‘and this man shall be the peace;’ that is, he shall be the source of peace, or peace shall be established and maintained by him. So in Ephesians 2:14, it is said of him, ‘he is our peace.’

Of the people - It has been doubted whether this means the Jewish people, or the Gentiles. Grotius, Hengstenberg, Vitringa, and others understand it of the Jews; Rosenmuller and others, of the Gentiles. It is not easy to determine which is the correct interpretation. But the meaning, as I apprehend, is, not that he would confirm the ancient covenant with the descendants of Abraham, as Hengstenberg and Vitringa suppose, but that his covenant would be established with all, with both Jews and Gentiles. According to this, it will refer to the Jews, not as Jews, or as already interested in the covenant, but as constituting one portion of the world; and the whole expression will mean, that his religion will be extended to Jews and Gentiles: that is, to the whole world.

For a light of the Gentiles - (See Luke 2:32). ‘Light’ is the emblem of knowledge, instruction, and of the true religion. The Messiah is often called ‘light,’ and the ‘light of the world’ (see Matthew 4:16; compare the note at Isaiah 9:2; John 1:4, John 1:7, John 1:9; John 3:19; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 12:35, John 12:46; Revelation 21:23). This is one of the numerous declarations which occur in Isaiah, that the religion of the Messiah would be extended to the pagan world; and that they, as well as the Jews, would be brought to partake of its privileges.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 42:6. A covenant of the people - "A covenant to the people"] For עם am, two MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, and of my own, read עולם olam, the covenant of the age to come, or the everlasting covenant; which seems to give a clearer and better sense. But I think the word ברית berith, here, should not be translated covenant, but covenant sacrifice, which meaning it often has; and undoubtedly in this place. This gives a still stronger and clearer sense.