Isaiah 42

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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.

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.

12 Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.

13 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

14 I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.

15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

18 Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.

19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant?

20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.

21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

23 Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come?

24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law.

25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>Behold My servant, I will support him Behold My servant Jacob is not like you, for I will support him. My chosen one Israel is called ‘My chosen one’ ([mss.:] His chosen one) (Ps. 135:4) “For the Eternal chose Jacob for Himself.” Scripture states also (infra 45:4): “For the sake of My servant Jacob and Israel My chosen one.” whom My soul desires; I have placed My spirit upon him to let his prophets know My secret, and his end will be that ‘he shall promulgate justice to the nations,’ as it is stated (supra 2:3): “And let Him teach us of His ways etc.”</html>

Verse 2

<html>nor shall he raise [his voice] He shall not raise his voice. It will not be necessary to admonish and to prophesy to the nations, for they will come by themselves to learn from them [i.e., from Israel], as the matter is stated (Zech. 8:23): “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”</html>

Verse 3

<html>A breaking reed he shall not break Jonathan paraphrases: The meek, who are like a breaking reed, shall not break, and the poor, who are like a flickering candle, shall not be quenched. and a flickering flaxen wick A wet flaxen wick, that is nearly extinguished. Their king will not rob the poor and will not break the poor and the weak.</html>

Verse 4

<html>Neither shall he weaken nor shall he be broken Heb. וְלֹא יָרוּץ, like לֹא יֵרָצֵץ, he shall not be broken, “for the earth shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water covers the seabed” (supra 11:9). And they shall obey them, as the matter is stated (Zeph. 3:9): “For then I will make the nations pure of speech etc.” That is what follows: And for his instruction islands shall long. They shall all obey his instruction.</html>

Verse 5

<html>God the Lord The Master of justice and the Master of clemency. the Creator of the heavens First like a sort of ball of warp thread, and afterward He stretched it out as it is stated in Tractate Hagigah (12a). and what springs forth from it And He creates what springs forth from it. Who gave a soul A soul of life. to the people upon it To all of them equally. and a spirit of sanctity. to those who walk thereon To those who walk before Him.</html>

Verse 6

<html>I called you To Isaiah He says. and I formed you Heb. וְאֶצָּרְךָ. When I formed you (כְּשֶׁיְצַרְתִּיךָ), this was My thought, that you return My people to My covenant and to enlighten them. for a light to nations Every tribe is called a nation by itself, as the matter is stated (Gen. 35:11): “A nation and a congregation of nations.”</html>

Verse 7

<html>To open blind eyes who do not see My might, to take heart to return to Me. to bring prisoners out of a dungeon And because their eyes will be opened, the prisoners will come out of the dungeon. Another explanation: To inform them of the exile destined to befall them, out of which they will eventually come.</html>

Verse 8

<html>that is My Name This is explained as an expression of Lordship and power. I must show that I am the Master. Therefore, My glory I will not give to another, that the heathens shall rule over My people forever and say that the hand of their God is powerful.</html>

Verse 9

<html>The former things that I promised Abraham concerning the exile of Egypt (Gen. 15:14), “And also the nation etc.” behold they have come to pass I kept My promise, and now new things I tell My people, to promise them concerning a second exile.</html>

Verse 10

<html>His praise from the end of the earth Perforce, when they see My mighty deeds for Israel, all the heathens (nations [Parshandatha, K’li Paz]) will admit that I am God. those who go down to the sea Those who embark in ships. and those therein Those whose permanent residence is in the sea and not in the islands, but in the midst of the water, they spill earth, each one of them, enough for a house, and go from house to house by boat, like the city of Venice. [As in Warsaw ed. and Parshandatha.]</html>

Verse 11

<html>The desert and its cities shall raise [their voice] their voice in song. Kedar shall be inhabited with villages (Connected to “The desert…shall raise.” The desert of Kedar, where they now dwell in tents, shall raise their voice and sing. It is like: And the villages with which Kedar is settled.) The desert of Kedar, where they now dwell in tents, will be permanent cities and villages. rock dwellers The dead who will be resurrected. So did Jonathan render this. from the mountain peaks they shall shout From the mountain peaks they shall raise their voices [from Jonathan].</html>

Verse 14

<html>I was silent from time immemorial Already for a long time I have been silent about the destruction of My Temple, and always… I am still; I restrain Myself This is present tense. Until now My spirit has constrained Me, and from now, like a travailing woman will I cry. I will be terrified Heb. אֶשֹּׁם, I will be terrified. and destroy [them] together And I will long to destroy everyone together, all My adversaries.</html>

Verse 15

<html>I will destroy mountains and hills I will slay kings and rulers. and all their grass All their followers. I will dry out Heb. אוֹבִישׁ. This is an expression of drying, used in reference to wet things, e. g., grass and rivers.</html>

Verse 16

<html>And I will lead the blind Israel, who were heretofore blind from looking to Me, I will lead in the good way, upon which they did not know to walk. I will do them Heb. עֲשִׂיתִם [lit. I did them], I will do. So is the language of prophecy, to speak of the future as if it was already done.</html>

Verse 18

<html>You deaf ones…and you blind ones He is referring to Israel.</html>

Verse 19

<html>Who is blind among you? There is no one but My servant; he is the most blind of all of you. And the most deaf among you is like My messenger whom I send to prophesy prophecies. He who was blind is as the one who received his payment He who was blind among you has already received his chastisements, and he is as one who was paid all payments due him and has emerged cleansed.</html>

Verse 20

<html>There is much to see There are many sights before you, and you do not observe to look at My deeds and to return to Me. to open the ears I am busy opening your ears through My prophets, but none of you listens to My words. This is a present tense.</html>

Verse 21

<html>The Lord desires to show you and to open your ears for His righteousness’ sake; therefore, he magnifies and strengthens the Torah for you.</html>

Verse 22

<html>And it This people is despised and pillaged, and the end of the section is (infra v. 25) “And they laid not to heart” all of this to say, “Why did this befall me?” (v. 24) “Who subjected Jacob to plunder?” all their youths are grieved Heb. הָפֵחַ בַּחוּרִים, all their youths are grieved. (Addendum: Another explanation of הָפֵח בַּחוּרִים כֻּלָם They will put themselves into snares (פַּחֵי) of the earth and into pits. [The clause,] “And they are hidden in dungeons,” proves that this is so.) and no one says, “Return.” Heb. הָשַׁב, like הָשֵׁב [the imperative]. Therefore, it is not punctuated with a dagesh, but (Gen. 43:17) “That returned (הַשָּׁב) in our sacks,” is punctuated with a ‘dagesh.’</html>

Verse 23

<html>will hearken to pay attention to this, “Who subjected Jacob to plunder?” for the future Who will hearken and hear something that will stand him in good stead at the end? Jonathan, too, renders: לְסוֹפָא, at the end, and likewise, every לְאָחוֹר in Scripture refers to something that is destined to be.</html>

Verse 24

<html>This, that we sinned against Him This is what caused the plunder and the spoiling, what we sinned against Him. and they did not want Our forefathers did not want to go in His ways.</html>

Verse 25

<html>and it blazed upon them all around I brought retribution upon the heathens ([Ms.] nations) all around so that they see and learn their lesson, like the matter stated (Zeph. 3:6f.): “I cut off nations, their towers were desolate…I said, You shall but fear Me, you shall learn a lesson…” ([This appears in certain manuscripts and in printed editions. In Nach Lublin, the reading is:] So that Israel see and learn a lesson.) and they did not know They actually did know, but they trod with their heels. They did not care to understand this and to repent of their wickedness. and it burned among them After the retribution of the heathens ([ms.] nations) around, it burned upon them themselves.</html>

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Table of Contents

Isaiah 42

Isaiah 42

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25