Book Book of Isaiah Order in the Bible part 23 | Bible part Old Testament Category Nevi'im | |
Isaiah 42 is the forty-second chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies spoken by the prophet Isaiah, and is a part of the Book of the Prophets. This chapter contains a poem that is a part of "Servant songs" in the Book of Isaiah.
Contents
Text
Textual versions
Some most ancient manuscripts containing this chapter in Hebrew language:
Ancient translations in Koine Greek:
Structure
This chapter can be grouped:
First servant song
The servant songs were first identified by Bernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah. The songs are four poems taken from the Book of Isaiah written about a certain "servant of YHWH". God calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly repressed. In the end, he is rewarded. Those four poems are:
- Isaiah 42:1-9
- Isaiah 49:1-12
- Isaiah 50:4-9
- Isaiah 52-53
The first of the "servant songs" begins at Isaiah 42:1, continuing through 42:9. This poem has God speaking of His selection of the Servant who will bring justice to earth. Here the Servant is described as God's agent of justice, a king* that brings justice in both royal and prophetic roles, yet justice is established neither by proclamation nor by force. He does not ecstatically announce salvation in the marketplace as prophets were bound to do but instead moves quietly and confidently to establish right religion. Isaiah 42:1-4
Christian tradition
In Matthew 12, verses 1-4 of Isaiah 42 were cited as a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies in the life and work of Jesus Christ:
And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust.”