139 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
139 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
The Servant's Mission
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# Chapter 42
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1. "This is my servant; I strengthen him,
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this is my chosen one; I delight in him.
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I have put my Spirit on him;
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he will bring justice to the nations.
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2. He will not cry out or shout
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or make his voice heard in the streets.
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3. He will not break a bruised reed,
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and he will not put out a smoldering wick;
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he will faithfully bring justice.
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4. He will not grow weak or be discouraged
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until he has established justice on earth.
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The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction."
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5. This is what God,
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the Lord, says--
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who created the heavens and stretched them out,
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who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
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who gives breath to the people on it
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and spirit to those who walk on it--
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6. "I am
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the Lord. I have called you
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for a righteous purpose,
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and I will hold you by your hand.
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I will watch over you, and I will appoint you
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to be a covenant for the people
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and a light to the nations,
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7. in order to open blind eyes,
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to bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
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and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.
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8. I am
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the Lord. That is my name,
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and I will not give my glory to another
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or my praise to idols.
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9. The past events have indeed happened.
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Now I declare new events;
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I announce them to you before they occur."
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A Song of Praise
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10. Sing a new song to
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the Lord;
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sing his praise from the ends of the earth,
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you who go down to the sea with all that fills it,
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you coasts and islands with your inhabitants.
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11. Let the desert and its cities shout,
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the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud.
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Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy;
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let them cry out from the mountaintops.
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12. Let them give glory to
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the Lord
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and declare his praise in the coasts and islands.
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13. The Lord advances like a warrior;
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he stirs up his zeal like a soldier.
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He shouts, he roars aloud,
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he prevails over his enemies.
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14. "I have kept silent from ages past;
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I have been quiet and restrained myself.
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But now, I will groan like a woman in labor,
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gasping breathlessly.
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15. I will lay waste mountains and hills
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and dry up all their vegetation.
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I will turn rivers into islands
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and dry up marshes.
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16. I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;
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I will guide them on paths they have not known.
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I will turn darkness to light in front of them
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and rough places into level ground.
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This is what I will do for them,
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and I will not abandon them.
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17. They will be turned back and utterly ashamed--
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those who trust in an idol
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and say to a cast image,
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'You are our gods!'
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Israel's Blindness and Deafness
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18. "Listen, you deaf!
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Look, you blind, so that you may see.
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19. Who is blind but my servant,
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or deaf like my messenger I am sending?
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Who is blind like my dedicated one,
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or blind like
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the servant of
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the Lord?
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20. Though seeing many things, you pay no attention.
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Though his ears are open, he does not listen."
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21. Because of his righteousness,
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the Lord was pleased
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to magnify his instruction and make it glorious.
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22. But this is a people plundered and looted,
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all of them trapped in holes
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or imprisoned in dungeons.
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They have become plunder
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with no one to rescue them
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and loot, with no one saying, "Give it back!"
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23. Who among you will hear this?
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Let him listen and obey in the future.
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24. Who gave Jacob to the robber,
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and Israel to the plunderers?
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Was it not
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the Lord?
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Have we not sinned against him?
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They were not willing to walk in his ways,
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and they would not listen to his instruction.
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25. So he poured out his furious anger
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and the power of war on Jacob.
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It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it;
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it burned him, but he didn't take it to heart.
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