Passage

Isaiah 42.1-9

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2. He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. 3. A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth. 4. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law. 5. Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6. I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7. to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. 8. I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images. 9. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

"10. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 11. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains." (Isaiah 42:1-11, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights, I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations. 2. He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. 3. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice. 4. He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands will wait for his law.” 5. Thus says God Yahweh, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it. 6. “I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations; 7. to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison. 8. “I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images. 9. Behold, the former things have happened, and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.”"

"10. Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants. 11. Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains!" (Isaiah 42:1-11, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. ^{smoking: or, dimly burning} ^{quench: Heb. quench it} 4. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. ^{discouraged: Heb. broken} 5. Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6. I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7. To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 8. I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 9. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them."

"10. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. ^{all: Heb. the fulness thereof} 11. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains." (Isaiah 42:1-11, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Lo, My servant, I take hold on him, My chosen one, My soul hath accepted, I have put My Spirit upon him, Judgment to nations he bringeth forth. 2. He doth not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause his voice to be heard, in the street. 3. A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment. 4. He doth not become weak nor bruised, Till he setteth judgment in the earth, And for his law isles wait with hope. 5. Thus said God, Jehovah, preparing The heavens, and stretching them out, Spreading out the earth and its productions, Giving breath to the people on it, And spirit to those walking in it. 6. I, Jehovah, did call thee in righteousness, And I lay hold on thy hand, and keep thee, And I give thee for a covenant of a people, And a light of nations. 7. To open the eyes of the blind, To bring forth from prison the bound one, From the house of restraint those sitting in darkness. 8. I [am] Jehovah, this [is] My name, And Mine honour to another I give not, Nor My praise to graven images. 9. The former things, lo, have come, And new things I am declaring, Before they spring up I cause you to hear."

"10. Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, Ye who are going down to the sea, and its fulness, Isles, and their inhabitants. 11. The wilderness and its cities do lift up [the voice], The villages Kedar doth inhabit, Sing do the inhabitants of Sela, From the top of mountains they cry." (Isaiah 42:1-11, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.