42:1 my servant Identified as “Israel” in Isa 41:8, also having been “chosen.” The Servant here may also be a messianic figure (compare with 11:2–4).

I have put my spirit on him The Servant is described with language similar to the Davidic Messiah from 11:2; He receives the Spirit of God, which enables Him to act with wisdom and justice.

he will bring justice forth to the nations See 11:3–4.

42:2 He will not cry out He will come quietly, not drawing attention to himself (compare 53:7).

42:3 He will not break a broken reed The Servant will not oppress those already beaten down and weakened. Bringing justice involves caring for the weak and oppressed (see 1:17–18).

42:4 He will not grow faint He is supported by the Spirit and resting in Yahweh (see 40:31).

he has established justice in the earth One of the hallmarks of the Messiah’s reign is the establishment of perfect justice on earth (see vv. 1; 11:1–10).

Justice

the coastlands Symbolizes the nations of the earth (see 60:9).

42:5 who created the heavens and stretched them out A common poetic image describing God’s creative activity (see 44:24; 45:12). The people can trust in God’s ability to keep these promises of future justice because He is both the Creator of all things from long ago and the One Who sustains life here and now.

42:6 I have called you in righteousness The pronoun “you” is singular here, demonstrating that the Servant figure is the light for the nations and the covenant for the people—not the collective nation of Israel.

a covenant of the people, as a light of Compare 49:6–8, which reinforces the identification of the individual Servant as the light for the nations and the covenant for the people. The Servant represents and serves God’s chosen people. In Luke 2:32, this concept is linked to ancient Jewish messianic expectation.

42:7 to open the blind eyes The restoration of Israel and the advent of the Messiah is accompanied by miraculous signs (see Isa 35:5).

bring the prisoner out The exiles are essentially imprisoned in a foreign land. The prophet’s message is meant to reassure them that God—through His Servant—will lead them to salvation.

42:9 the former things have come The things Yahweh predicted through His prophets have happened—proof of His deity (Isa 42:8).

42:10 a new song to Yahweh The “new song” is in praise of the “new things” Yahweh declared in v. 9. It refers to the new experience of Yahweh, rather than an entirely new song. Compare Psa 33:3.

42:11 the villages that Kedar inhabits Praise of Yahweh should come from all parts of the world—the geographical description started with “end of the earth” (Isa 42:10) and moved to greater specificity.

Sela A fortress in the wilderness of Edom.

42:13 Yahweh goes forth like a mighty warrior The praise in vv. 10–12 preceded Yahweh’s arrival; He arrives prepared to do battle on behalf of His people (see 40:10; 59:17).

he stirs up zeal The zeal of Yahweh brings salvation (see 9:7).

42:14 I have been silent The exile of Jewish captives to Babylon began in 605 bc; the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple occurred in 586 bc; and Cyrus announced their freedom to return in 539 bc. The exile had been prophesied to last 70 years; some of the first generation taken into captivity would have spent their entire lives in exile. To that generation, and even to those who had no memory of a homeland besides Babylon, it would have seemed like God abandoned them for a long time.

like one giving birth May draw on the idea of prolonged waiting followed by an intense period of activity or exertion.

42:15 I will cause mountains and hills to dry up Reversing the imagery of a revived wilderness in 41:18–19.

42:16 rough places into level ground See 40:4.

42:17 You are our gods The Babylonians treated images of their gods as embodiments of the gods themselves. See note on 21:9.

42:19 blind but my servant Here, the servant is used to describe wayward, sinful Israel in language reminiscent of 1:3 and 6:9–10. A comparison with the servant description in 41:8–10 suggests a contrast between the servant figures: collective Israel in need of salvation and the individual Servant through whom salvation will be accomplished.

42:22 a people plundered and looted God gave them the means to understand Him and His will—the Law (v. 21)—but Israel’s failure to understand required the judgment of being plundered (see v. 24 and 1:2–4).

all of them are trapped in holes Compare 2:19–22.