Yesaya 42:1-4

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ¹ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ²  for the nations. ³ 

42:2 He will not cry out or shout;

he will not publicize himself in the streets. ⁴ 

42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,

a dim wick he will not extinguish; ⁵ 

he will faithfully make just decrees. ⁶ 

42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed ⁷ 

before establishing justice on the earth;

the coastlands ⁸  will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” ⁹ 

Yesaya 42:7

42:7 to open blind eyes, ¹⁰ 

to release prisoners ¹¹  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

[42:1]  ¹ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ² tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ³ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[42:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”

[42:3]  ⁵ sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.

[42:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[42:4]  ⁷ tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.

[42:4]  ⁸ tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”

[42:4]  ⁹ tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).

[42:7]  ¹⁰ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ¹¹ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.