Isaiah 42:10-25

Song of Praise to the LORD 10Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

11Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.

12Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.

13The LORD will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.

14“For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.

15I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.

16I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

17But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.

Israel Blind and Deaf 18“Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!

19Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the LORD ?

20You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.”

21It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.

22But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?

24Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law. 25So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.