The Lord’s Chosen Servant
1 eBehold fmy servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, gin whom my soul delights;
hI have put my Spirit upon him;
ihe will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 ja bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
khe will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged1
till he has established justice in the earth;
and lthe coastlands wait for his law.
5 Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens mand stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
nwho gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord; oI have called you2 in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you pas a covenant for the people,
qa light for the nations,
7 rto open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
sfrom the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the Lord; that is my name;
tmy glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
uand new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
The Servant of the Lord
1 Listen to me, kO coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples lfrom afar.
mThe Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 nHe made my mouth like a sharp sword;
oin the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, pin whom I will be glorified.”1
4 qBut I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”
5 rAnd now the Lord says,
he mwho formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for sI am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
tI will make you uas a light for the nations,
that vmy salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord,
wthe Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
xto one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
y“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
4 The Lord God has given rme
the tongue of those who are taught,
that sI may know how to sustain with a word
thim who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 uThe Lord God has opened my ear,
vand I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 wI gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
xtherefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 yHe who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 zBehold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.