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God's Promise concerning His Servant

¹ "^(C1)Behold, My ^(C2)Servant, whom I ^(F1)uphold;
My ^(C3)chosen one in whom My ^(C4)soul delights.
I have put My ^(C5)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth ^(C6)justice to the ^(F2)nations.

² "He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.

³ "A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth ^(C1)justice.

⁴ "He will not be ^(C1)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the ^(C2)coastlands will wait expectantly for His ^(F1)law."

⁵ This is what God the LORD says,

Who ^(C1)created the heavens and ^(C2)stretched them out,
Who spread out the ^(C3)earth and its ^(F1)offspring,
Who ^(C4)gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:

⁶ "I am the LORD, I have ^(C1)called You in righteousness,
I will also ^(C2)hold You by the hand and ^(C3)watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a ^(C4)covenant to the people,
As a ^(C5)light to the nations,

⁷ To ^(C1)open blind eyes,
To ^(C2)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

⁸ "^(C1)I am the LORD, that is ^(C2)My name;
I will not give My ^(C3)glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.

⁹ "Behold, the ^(C1)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare ^(C2)new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you."

¹⁰ Sing to the LORD a ^(C1)new song,
Sing His praise from the ^(C2)end of the earth!
^(C3)You who go down to the sea, and ^(C4)all that is in it;
You ^(C5)islands, and those who live on them.

¹¹ Let the ^(C1)wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which ^(C2)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of ^(C3)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ^(C4)mountains.

¹² Let them ^(C1)give glory to the LORD
And declare His praise in the ^(C2)coastlands.

^13 (C1)The LORD will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His ^(C2)zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will ^(C3)prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

¹⁴ "^(C1)I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.

¹⁵ "I will ^(C1)lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will ^(C2)turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.

¹⁶ "I will ^(C1)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will ^(C2)turn darkness into light before them
And ^(C3)uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will ^(C4)not leave them undone."

¹⁷ They will be turned back and be ^(C1)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in ^(F1)idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
"You are our gods."

^18 (C1)Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.

¹⁹ Who is blind but My ^(C1)servant,
Or so deaf as My ^(C2)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is ^(F1)(C3)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the LORD?

^20 (C1)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.

²¹ The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake
To make the Law ^(C1)great and glorious.

²² But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are ^(C1)trapped in ^(F1)caves,
Or are ^(C2)hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, "Give them back!"

²³ Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?

²⁴ Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they ^(C1)were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not ^(C2)obey?

²⁵ So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the ^(C1)fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he ^(F1)(C2)paid no attention.