Isaiah 42:1 · World English Bible
Isaiah 42:1 Meaning Behold
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
What does Isaiah 42:1 mean?
God does all the giving, and the servant is held before he is sent. Upholding is a hand closed firmly on someone, fitting work heavy enough to carry.
From the Protestant reading below.
Isaiah 42:1 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Protestant
PROTESTANT
Protestant
God does all the giving, and the servant is held before he is sent. Upholding is a hand closed firmly on someone, fitting work heavy enough to carry. God's delight rests on him before the work begins, and the Spirit on him is God's equipping. The chosen servant is the Messiah God would send in Christ.
Justice here means right ordering, the ruling that sets a wronged person on his feet. God promises the servant will bring it to the nations outside Israel's covenant. He states it as settled, so those nations are already counted in what He will do.
Protestant lensGo deeper in the app
Protestant lens
Live Isaiah 42:1 today
- Start today knowing you are already thought well of, before a single thing on your list gets done. Let that change how you open your email.
- Tell one person what you value in them and say it about who they are, not about what they produced for you.
- When the pressure spikes, a deadline, a hard call, a traffic jam you cannot fix, do the next small right thing and let the result be out of your hands.
Would my work feel different if I stopped using it to prove I am worth keeping?
The same truth in other traditions
Bhagavad Gita
Krishna tells Arjuna to do the work that is his to do and release the grip on how it turns out, since the acting is his and the outcome is not.
Taoism · Tao Te Ching
The Tao holds and nourishes without dominating, and the one it carries accomplishes much without needing to announce it.
Sufism · Rumi
He spoke of being the reed flute, hollow and held to another's lips, so that the music belongs to the breath and not to the reed.
Free · No account needed
Read all of Isaiah 42 through 17 lenses
Lensightful opens every verse of the Bible through the traditions you choose. Save readings, ask a follow-up question, and get one verse a day.
Get Lensightful on the App Store