Behold my servant, whom I will uphold;
My chosen, in whom my soul delighteth;
I will make my spirit rest upon
him,
And he shall publish judgment to
the nations.
He shall not cry aloud, nor clamour,
Nor cause his voice to be heard
in the streets.
The bruised reed he shall not break,
And the smoking flax he shall not
quench.
He shall publish justice, and establish
it.
His force shall not be abated, nor
broken,
Until he has firmly seated justice
in the earth,
And the distant nations shall wait
for his Law.
Thus saith the God, even Jehovah,
Who created the heavens, and stretched
them out;
Who spread abroad the earth, and
its produce:
I, Jehovah, have called thee for
a righteous end,
And I will take hold of thy hand,
and preserve thee,
And I will give thee for a covenant
to the people,
And for a light to the nations;
To open the eyes of the blind,
To bring the captives out of prison,
And from the dungeon those who dwell
in darkness.
I am Jehovah—that is
my name;
And my glory will I not give to
another,
Nor my praise to the graven idols.
Who saith to Cyrus—Thou
art my shepherd,
And he shall fulfil all my pleasure:
Who saith to Jerusalem—Thou
shalt be built;
And to the Temple—Thou
shalt be founded.
Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed,
To Cyrus whom I hold fast by his
right hand,
That I may subdue nations under
him,
And loose the loins of kings;
That I may open before him the two-leaved
doors,
And the gates shall not be shut;
I will go before thee
And bring the mountains low.
The gates of brass will I break
in sunder,
And the bars of iron hew down.
And I will give thee the treasures
of darkness,
And the hoards hid deep in secret
places,
That thou mayest know that I am
Jehovah.
I have surnamed thee, though thou
knowest not me.
I am Jehovah, and none else;
Beside me there is no God.
I will gird thee, though thou hast
not known me,
That they may know from the rising
of the sun,
And from the west, that there is
none beside me;
I am Jehovah, and none else;
Forming light and creating darkness;
Forming peace, and creating evil.
I, Jehovah, make all these.
This is the Hebrew prophet’s conception of the great Puritan of the Old World who went forth with such a commission as this, to destroy the idols of the East, while
The isles saw that, and feared,
And the ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near, they came together;
Everyone helped his neighbour,
And said to his brother, Be of good
courage.
The carver encouraged the smith,
He that smoothed with the hammer
Him that smote on the anvil;
Saying of the solder, It is good;
And fixing the idol with nails,
lest it be moved;