HOLY BIBLE: Isaiah 42 (original) (raw)

[1] The servant of the Lord, frequently mentioned in these later chapters of the prophecy, is beyond doubt a type of our Lord (cf. Mt. 12.18). It is not clear whether the prophet was also referring to events nearer his own time; and, if so, who was meant by ‘the servant’. Some think the Servant means primarily the people of Israel, or at any rate that portion of it which returned from the exile at Babylon (cf. verse 19 below). Others would identify him with some individual figure, as king Ezechias, Zorobabel (who brought back the exiles), or Cyrus king of Persia; many other names have been suggested. Meanwhile, it is to be observed that there are numerous quotations in the New Testament from this part of the prophet’s writings; e.g. Mt. 12.18 (from the present passage), Phil. 2.19 (from 45.24), Acts 13.27 (from 49.6), Rom. 15.21 (from 52.15), Mt. 8.17 (from 53.4), Acts 8.33 (from 53.7), I Pet. 2.22 (from 53.9), Mk. 15.28 (from 53.12), Acts 13.34 (from 55.3), Rom. 11.26 (from 59.20) Rom. 10.20 (from 65.1).

[2] Cf. Mt. 12.18, where the text differs considerably from the text here. ‘A lover of faction’; literally, ‘an accepter of persons’; the Hebrew text here is obscure, but it is generally taken to mean ‘lift up his voice’ (as in St Matthew).

[3] Literally, ‘the things which were first’, but the context makes the meaning clear.

[4] The Hebrew text probably implies ‘its voice’, as in verse 2 above.

[5] According to the Hebrew text, ‘and those, too, who dwell in the settlements of Cedar’.

[6] Some think that verses 13-17 allude to the events of the Exodus (see verses 15, 16); if so, they should probably be enclosed in inverted commas, as a quotation, as far as the words, ‘such was my promise’.

[7] It is not certain whether the words ‘like a woman in labour’ should be taken with the verb which precedes, or with the verb which follows them. The second part of the sentence, according to the Hebrew text is generally interpreted as meaning, ‘I will cry out, and gasp, and pant, all at once’; but the verbs used are rare, and their meaning is somewhat doubtful.

[8] According to the Hebrew text, ‘he whom I sent as a messenger’.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd