הֵן עַבְדִּי אֶתְמָךְ־בֹּו בְּחִירִי רָצְתָה נַפְשִׁי נָתַתִּי רוּחִי עָלָיו מִשְׁפָּט לַגֹּויִם יֹוצִיא׃   42:1

Isai. 42:1   “Behold, My servant:

                               I keep fast with him.

                    My chosen one, he pleases My ‘soul.’

                               I have put My spirit upon him.

                    He will deliver judgment to the nations.”

Who is this servant?  It could be Isaiah, Israel, or someone else.  The forthcoming verses provide no certain answer, and the commentators are divided.  My choice goes to Israel.  See if you don’t agree after reading the next eight verses, especially vss. 42:6 and 7.

לֹא יִצְעַק וְלֹא יִשָּׂא וְלֹא־יַשְׁמִיעַ בַּחוּץ קֹולֹו׃   42:2

Isai. 42:2   “He will not gather together,

                              and he will not lift up,

                    and he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”

קָנֶה רָצוּץ לֹא יִשְׁבֹּור וּפִשְׁתָּה כֵהָה לֹא יְכַבֶּנָּה לֶאֱמֶת יֹוצִיא מִשְׁפָּט׃   42:3

Isai. 42:3   “He will not break a bruised reed,

                               and a wick burning feebly,

                    he will not quench it.

                               He will exact judgment by the truth.”

לֹא יִכְהֶה וְלֹא יָרוּץ עַד־יָשִׂים בָּאָרֶץ מִשְׁפָּט וּלְתֹורָתֹו אִיִּים יְיַחֵילוּ׃   42:4

Isai. 42:4   “He will not fail and he will not be discouraged

                               until he will bring judgment on the earth,

                    and the islands would wait for his teaching.”

This sounds to me like it describes a people destined to witness judgments and overcome ignorance (of the islands -- that is, the nations).

כֹּה־אָמַר הָאֵל יְהוָה בֹּורֵא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְנֹוטֵיהֶם רֹקַע הָאָרֶץ וְצֶאֱצָאֶיהָ נֹתֵן נְשָׁמָה לָעָם עָלֶיהָ וְרוּחַ   42:5 לַהֹלְכִים בָּהּ׃

Isai. 42:5   Thus says God, the Lord,

                               Creator of the heavens that He stretched forth,

                    Former of the earth and its produce,

                               Giver of breath to the people on it

                    and spirit to those who walk on it.

אֲנִי יְהוָה קְרָאתִיךָ בְצֶדֶק וְאַחְזֵק בְּיָדֶךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם לְאֹור גֹּויִם׃   42:6

Isai. 42:6   “I, the Lord, have called you into righteousness

                               and taken hold of your hand and preserved you,

                    and I have set you to be a covenant of the people,

                                to be a light of the nations,

לִפְקֹחַ עֵינַיִם עִוְרֹות לְהֹוצִיא מִמַּסְגֵּר אַסִּיר מִבֵּית כֶּלֶא יֹשְׁבֵי חֹשֶׁךְ׃   42:7

Isai. 42:7   to make blind eyes see,

                               to bring forth prisoner from enclosure,

                    dwellers of darkness from prison.”                                             [Return to Jere. 37:4]

אֲנִי יְהוָה הוּא שְׁמִי וּכְבֹודִי לְאַחֵר לֹא־אֶתֵּן וּתְהִלָּתִי לַפְּסִילִים׃   42:8

Isai. 42:8   “I am the Lord. That is My name,

                                and I will not give My glory to another,

                    or My praise to graven images.”

הָרִאשֹׁנֹות הִנֵּה־בָאוּ וַחֲדָשֹׁות אֲנִי מַגִּיד בְּטֶרֶם תִּצְמַחְנָה אַשְׁמִיעַ אֶתְכֶם׃   42:9

Isai. 42:9   “The former things?

                               Behold, they come to pass.

                    And I am declaring new things.

                               Before they will spring up

                     I will let you hear.”

Will He give us more prophets?

שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה שִׁיר חָדָשׁ תְּהִלָּתֹו מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ יֹורְדֵי הַיָּם וּמְלֹאֹו אִיִּים וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶם׃   42:10

Isai. 42:10   Sing to the Lord a new song,

                               His hymn, from the ends of the earth,

                      you subduers of the sea and all within it,

                                islands and their inhabitants!

He is calling to Israel.

יִשְׂאוּ מִדְבָּר וְעָרָיו חֲצֵרִים תֵּשֵׁב קֵדָר יָרֹנּוּ יֹשְׁבֵי סֶלַע מֵרֹאשׁ הָרִים יִצְוָחוּ׃   42:11

Isai. 42:11   Let the wilderness arise, and its cities,

                                the villages Kedar inhabits!

                      Let the inhabitants of Sela rejoice!

                               From the tops of the mountains,

                       let them shout!

Kedar is thought to be an ancient pastoral desert tribe.  There is no consensus on what or where Sela is.  But see Isai. 43:3 for one possibility.

שִׂימוּ לַיהוָה כָּבֹוד וּתְהִלָּתֹו בָּאִיִּים יַגִּידוּ׃   42:12

Isai. 42:12   Let them give glory to the Lord,

                               and declare His praise on the islands!

יְהוָה כַּגִּבֹּור יֵצֵא כְּאִישׁ מִלְחָמֹות יָעִיר קִנְאָה יָרִיעַ אַף־יַצְרִיחַ עַל־אֹיְבָיו יִתְגַּבָּר׃   42:13

Isai. 42:13   The Lord goes forth like a mighty man,

                               like a man of war.

                      He will stir up jealousy.

                              He will shout, even roar.

                      Against His enemies He will be mighty.

הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי מֵעֹולָם אַחֲרִישׁ אֶתְאַפָּק כַּיֹּולֵדָה אֶפְעֶה אֶשֹּׁם וְאֶשְׁאַף יָחַד׃   42:14

Isai. 42:14   “I have held peace from of old.

                                 I will be deaf; I will restrain Myself.

                      Like a woman in travail

                                 I will cry, I will gasp and pant at one time.”

Isaiah’s picturesque yet passionate view of God’s “anger,” patience, and compassion!

אַחֲרִיב הָרִים וּגְבָעֹות וְכָל־עֶשְׂבָּם אֹובִישׁ וְשַׂמְתִּי נְהָרֹות לָאִיִּים וַאֲגַמִּים אֹובִישׁ׃   42:15

Isai. 42:15   “I will devastate mountains and hills,

                                 and I will make all their herbs dry up.

                      And I will make the rivers to be islands,

                                 and I will make the pools dry up.”

וְהֹולַכְתִּי עִוְרִים בְּדֶרֶךְ לֹא יָדָעוּ בִּנְתִיבֹות לֹא־יָדְעוּ אַדְרִיכֵם אָשִׂים מַחְשָׁךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם לָאֹור   42:16 וּמַעֲקַשִּׁים לְמִישֹׁור אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים עֲשִׂיתִם וְלֹא עֲזַבְתִּים׃

Isai. 42:16   “And I will lead the blind

                                 by a way they have not known;

                       I will draw them on paths they do not know.

                                  I will change the darkness before them to light,

                       and the crooked places to straight ones.

                                 These are the things; I do them,

                       and I do not leave them undone.”

נָסֹגוּ אָחֹור יֵבֹשׁוּ בֹשֶׁת הַבֹּטְחִים בַּפָּסֶל הָאֹמְרִים לְמַסֵּכָה אַתֶּם אֱלֹהֵינוּ׃   42:17

Isai. 42:17   “Turned back, the believers in graven images,

                                 saying to molten images, ‘You are our gods,’

                      shall be greatly ashamed.

Once the blind are made to see (next verse).

הַחֵרְשִׁים שְׁמָעוּ וְהַעִוְרִים הַבִּיטוּ לִרְאֹות׃   42:18

Isai. 42:18   “Deaf, hear!

                                 And blind, look to see!”

מִי עִוֵּר כִּי אִם־עַבְדִּי וְחֵרֵשׁ כְּמַלְאָכִי אֶשְׁלָח מִי עִוֵּר כִּמְשֻׁלָּם וְעִוֵּר כְּעֶבֶד יְהוָה׃   42:19

Isai. 42:19   “Who is blind but is My servant?

                                 Or deaf yet a messenger I might send?

                      Who is blind yet is whole hearted,

                                 or blind yet a servant of the Lord?”                   [Return to Isai. 43:12]

None can be such while still blind.

רָאִיתָ) [רָאֹות] רַבֹּות וְלֹא תִשְׁמֹר פָּקֹוחַ אָזְנַיִם וְלֹא יִשְׁמָע׃   42:20

Isai. 42:20   “Seeing many things,

                                 but you cannot attend.

                      Open ears, but he cannot hear.”

The first word, before the left parenthesis, contains a yad, which should more properly be a vav.  The correction is in the brackets.  By the way, please ignore the absence of the right parentheses.

ְהוָה חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקֹו יַגְדִּיל תֹּורָה וְיַאְדִּיר׃   42:21

Isai. 42:21   The Lord will be pleased

                                 for the sake of his righteousness;

                      He will make the Torah great and glorious.

I believe Isaiah is speaking of Israel here (see next (verse).

וְהוּא עַם־בָּזוּז וְשָׁסוּי הָפֵחַ בַּחוּרִים כֻּלָּם וּבְבָתֵּי כְלָאִים הָחְבָּאוּ הָיוּ לָבַז וְאֵין מַצִּיל מְשִׁסָּה   42:22 וְאֵין־אֹמֵר הָשַׁב׃

Isai. 42:22   But this is a people robbed and spoiled,

                                snared in holes, all of them;

                       in prisons they are held.

                                They are for prey and there is no deliverer,

                       a spoil, and none says, “Repent!”                                        [Return to Jere. 37:4]

מִי בָכֶם יַאֲזִין זֹאת יַקְשִׁב וְיִשְׁמַע לְאָחֹור׃   42:23

Isai. 42:23   Who among you will hear this,

                                listen, and discern, for the time to come?

מִי־נָתַן (לִמְשֹׁוסֶה) [לִמְשִׁסָּה] יַעֲקֹב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל לְבֹזְזִים הֲלֹוא יְהוָה זוּ חָטָאנוּ לֹו וְלֹא־אָבוּ בִדְרָכָיו   42:24 הָלֹוךְ וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ בְּתֹורָתֹו׃

Isai. 42:24   Who has given Jacob for spoil,

                                and Israel, to the robbers?

                       Is it not the Lord,

                                against whom we have sinned?

                      And they were not willing to walk in His ways,

                                and did not listen in to His Torah.

The word in parentheses, translated as for spoil, has an extra vav that doesn’t belong in it.  The correct spelling is in the brackets.

וַיִּשְׁפֹּךְ עָלָיו חֵמָה אַפֹּו וֶעֱזוּז מִלְחָמָה וַתְּלַהֲטֵהוּ מִסָּבִיב וְלֹא יָדָע וַתִּבְעַר־בֹּו וְלֹא־יָשִׂים עַל־לֵב׃   42:25

Isai. 42:25   So He pours upon him

                                the heat of His “anger” and the pressure of war.

                      And it sets him on fire from all around

                                but he does not know,

                      and He is brutish with him

                                but he will not pay attention.

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