The Holy Bible – Knox Translation
The Prophecy of Isaias
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Chapter 42
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And now, here is my servant,✻ to whom I grant protection, the man of my choice, greatly beloved. My spirit rests upon him, and he will proclaim right order among the Gentiles.
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He will not be contentious or a lover of faction; none shall hear his voice in the streets.
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He will not snap the staff that is already crushed, or put out the wick that still smoulders; but at last he will establish right order unfailingly.✻
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Not with sternness, not with violence; to set up right order on earth, that is his mission. He has a law to give; in the far-off islands men wait for it eagerly.
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Thus says the Lord God, he who created the heavens and spread them out, craftsman of the world and all the world affords, he who gives being and breath to all that lives and moves on it:
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True to my purpose, I, the Lord, have summoned thee, taking thee by the hand and protecting thee, to make, through thee, a covenant with my own people, to shed, through thee, light over the Gentiles:
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to give sight to blinded eyes, to set the prisoner free from his captivity, from the dungeon where he lies in darkness.
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I am the Lord, whose name tells of power; I will not let the boast that is mine pass to another, or share my renown with graven gods.
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What I told you long since,✻ has proved true under your eyes; I tell you now what is still to be; you shall hear of it before ever it comes to light.
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Sing the Lord a new song; let his praise sound from end to end of the earth. Praise him from the sea, all men that sail on it, and all creatures the sea contains; the islands and the island-dwellers.
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All shall give God his praise, till the renown of him reaches the islands far away.
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Like a giant the Lord shall go out to battle, like a warrior that stirs up his own rage, with hue and cry, flouting his enemies.✻
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Too long I have been dumb, eaten my heart out, held myself in like a woman in labour;✻ now I will have my say, I will destroy, and as I destroy, devour!
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I will turn mountain and hill into a waste, withering all their verdure, make barren islands of the rivers, dry up the marshes;
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and I will lead men blindfold by unfamiliar ways, guide their steps by paths unknown to them; I will make the darkness light, and the winding ways straight for them. Such was my promise to them, and were they disappointed of it?
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See how they are routed, how they blush and blench, the men who trust in graven images, and say to the idols they have cast, You are gods of ours!
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Listen now, you that are deaf; look up, blind eyes, and see.
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Who so blind as my servant, who so deaf as he, to whom my messengers were sent?✻ Who so blind, as he that has forfeited his liberty? Who so blind, as the Lord’s servant is?
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Eyes that have seen so much, must they be still unheeding; ears open to every rumour, will they never hear?
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It was ever the Lord’s will to sanctify him; so great, so glorious the law he gave him;
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yet here is a people robbed and spoiled, caught by warriors that have hidden it away in dungeons, a prey there is none to deliver, spoil none bids them restore.
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Which of you will listen to this, and mark it, and give a hearing to prophecy?
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Who was it that made Jacob a spoil, gave Israel up into the hands of the conqueror? It was that Lord, against whom we have sinned. Because his ways lay untrodden, his laws went unheeded,
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he poured out on Israel his angry retribution, war without mercy; and they? The flames burned round them, and they could not read the lesson, scorched them, and still they could not understand.
