New Living Translation

1 “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.<br>He is my chosen one, who pleases me.<br>I have put my Spirit upon him.<br>He will bring justice to the nations.<br> 2 He will not shout<br>or raise his voice in public.<br> 3 He will not crush the weakest reed<br>or put out a flickering candle.<br>He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.<br> 4 He will not falter or lose heart<br>until justice prevails throughout the earth.<br>Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction. ”<br> 5 God (Elohim), the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out.<br>He created the earth and everything in it.<br>He gives breath to everyone,<br>life to everyone who walks the earth.<br>And it is he who says,<br> 6 “I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.<br>I will take you by the hand and guard you,<br>and I will give you to my people, Israel,<br>as a symbol of my covenant with them.<br>And you will be a light to guide the nations.<br> 7 You will open the eyes of the blind.<br>You will free the captives from prison,<br>releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.<br> 8 “I am the LORD; that is my name!<br>I will not give my glory to anyone else,<br>nor share my praise with carved idols.<br> 9 Everything I prophesied has come true,<br>and now I will prophesy again.<br>I will tell you the future before it happens.”<br> 10 Sing a new song to the LORD!<br>Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!<br>Sing, all you who sail the seas,<br>all you who live in distant coastlands.<br> 11 Join in the chorus, you desert towns;<br>let the villages of Kedar rejoice!<br>Let the people of Sela sing for joy;<br>shout praises from the mountaintops!<br> 12 Let the whole world glorify the LORD;<br>let it sing his praise.<br> 13 The LORD will march forth like a mighty hero;<br>he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.<br>He will shout his battle cry<br>and crush all his enemies.<br> 14 He will say, “I have long been silent;<br>yes, I have restrained myself.<br>But now, like a woman in labor,<br>I will cry and groan and pant.<br> 15 I will level the mountains and hills<br>and blight all their greenery.<br>I will turn the rivers into dry land<br>and will dry up all the pools.<br> 16 I will lead blind Israel down a new path,<br>guiding them along an unfamiliar way.<br>I will brighten the darkness before them<br>and smooth out the road ahead of them.<br>Yes, I will indeed do these things;<br>I will not forsake them.<br> 17 But those who trust in idols,<br>who say, ‘You are our gods,’<br>will be turned away in shame.<br> 18 “Listen, you who are deaf!<br>Look and see, you blind!<br> 19 Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?<br>Who is as deaf as my messenger?<br>Who is as blind as my chosen people,<br>the servant of the LORD?<br> 20 You see and recognize what is right<br>but refuse to act on it.<br>You hear with your ears,<br>but you don’t really listen.”<br> 21 Because he is righteous,<br>the LORD has exalted his glorious law.<br> 22 But his own people have been robbed and plundered,<br>enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.<br>They are fair game for anyone<br>and have no one to protect them,<br>no one to take them back home.<br> 23 Who will hear these lessons from the past<br>and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?<br> 24 Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt?<br>It was the LORD, against whom we sinned,<br>for the people would not walk in his path,<br>nor would they obey his law.<br> 25 Therefore, he poured out his fury on them<br>and destroyed them in battle.<br>They were enveloped in flames,<br>but they still refused to understand.<br>They were consumed by fire,<br>but they did not learn their lesson.<br>