| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. | 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 for the nations. |
| 2He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; | 2He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets. |
| 3a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. | 3A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees. |
| 4He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. | 4He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees." |
| 5Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: | 5This is what the true God, the LORD, says--the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it: |
| 6“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, | 6"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, |
| 7to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. | 7to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons. |
| 8I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. | 8I am the LORD! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols. |
| 9Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” | 9Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; now I announce new events. Before they begin to occur, I reveal them to you." |
| 10Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. | 10Sing to the LORD a brand new song! Praise him from the horizon of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, you coastlands and those who live there! |
| 11Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. | 11Let the desert and its cities shout out, the towns where the nomads of Kedar live! Let the residents of Sela shout joyfully; let them shout loudly from the mountaintops. |
| 12Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands. | 12Let them give the LORD the honor he deserves; let them praise his deeds in the coastlands. |
| 13The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. | 13The LORD emerges like a hero, like a warrior he inspires himself for battle; he shouts, yes, he yells, he shows his enemies his power. |
| 14For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. | 14"I have been inactive for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp. |
| 15I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. | 15I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; I will dry up all their vegetation. I will turn streams into islands, and dry up pools of water. |
| 16And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. | 16I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. I will turn the darkness in front of them into light, and level out the rough ground. This is what I will do for them. I will not abandon them. |
| 17They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.” | 17Those who trust in idols will turn back and be utterly humiliated, those who say to metal images, 'You are our gods.'" |
| 18Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! | 18"Listen, you deaf ones! Take notice, you blind ones! |
| 19Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the LORD? | 19My servant is truly blind, my messenger is truly deaf. My covenant partner, the servant of the LORD, is truly blind. |
| 20He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear. | 20You see many things, but don't comprehend; their ears are open, but do not hear." |
| 21The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious. | 21The LORD wanted to exhibit his justice by magnifying his law and displaying it. |
| 22But this is a people plundered and looted; they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons; they have become plunder with none to rescue, spoil with none to say, “Restore!” | 22But these people are looted and plundered; all of them are trapped in pits and held captive in prisons. They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, "Bring that back!" |
| 23Who among you will give ear to this, will attend and listen for the time to come? | 23Who among you will pay attention to this? Who will listen attentively in the future? |
| 24Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey? | 24Who handed Jacob over to the robber? Who handed Israel over to the looters? Was it not the LORD, against whom we sinned? They refused to follow his commands; they disobeyed his law. |
| 25So he poured on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart. | 25So he poured out his fierce anger on them, along with the devastation of war. Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; it burned against them, but they did notice. |
|
