VERSE STUDY • KJV

Isaiah 42:1-7

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. ⁴ He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 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.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

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. ⁴ He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. 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.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹ “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations. ² He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets. ³ A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. ⁴ He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.” ⁵ This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it: ⁶ “I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, ⁷ to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

WEB World English Bible

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.

ASV American Standard Version

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.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

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.

Surrounding context — Isaiah 42

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.

4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

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.

Read the whole chapter → · About Isaiah →

HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

Compare classic commentaries on Isaiah 42:1-7

Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.

Compare commentaries →