The Lord’s Chosen Servant
1 bBehold cmy dservant, whom I uphold,
emy chosen, fin whom my soul delights;
gI have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged1
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
An Oracle Concerning Egypt
1 An oracle fconcerning Egypt.
Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and the gidols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
and they will fight, heach against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound1 their counsel;
and they will iinquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and the mediums and the necromancers;
4 and I will give over the Egyptians
jinto the hand of a hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
6 and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
4 The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 wI gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and xspitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face ylike a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will zwear out like a garment;
the amoth will eat them up.
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
1 uThe Spirit of the Lord God is vupon me,
because the Lord has wanointed me
to bring xgood news to the poor;1
he has sent me to ybind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and zthe opening of the prison to those who are bound;2
2 to proclaim athe year of the Lord’s favor,
and the bday of vengeance of our God;
to ccomfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the doil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,