הֵן עַבְדִּי אֶתְמָךְ בּוֹ בְּחִירִי — רָצְתָה נַפְשִׁי נָתַתִּי רוּחִי עָלָיו מִשְׁפָּט לַגּוֹיִם יוֹצִיא

Behold, My servant, the Messiah; alternatively, it refers to the nation of Israel or the prophet, I will support him; My chosen one, the one My soul desires; I placed My spirit upon him. He will not lead the nation of Israel alone, rather he will dispense justice to the nations.

לֹא יִצְעַק וְלֹא יִשָּׂא וְלֹא יַשְׁמִיעַ בַּחוּץ קוֹלוֹ

He will not shout, will not raise or sound his voice in the street. He will not need to shout for all to hear his voice; his conduct will be calm and composed.

קָנֶה רָצוּץ לֹא יִשְׁבּוֹר וּפִשְׁתָּה כֵהָה לֹא יְכַבֶּנָּה לֶאֱמֶת יוֹצִיא מִשְׁפָּט

He will not, as opposed to what is usually done, break a crushed reed, and will not extinguish a flickering wick; he will ensure that the lower elements of society will not be harmed. He will dispense justice in truth.

לֹא יִכְהֶה וְלֹא יָרוּץ עַד יָשִׂים בָּאָרֶץ מִשְׁפָּט וּלְתוֹרָתוֹ אִיִּים יְיַחֵילוּ

Moreover, he himself will not weaken and will not be broken until he establishes justice in the land, and lands of the sea, distant nations, will long for his teaching. He will be known and sought out by the whole world. He will be heard everywhere without any effort on his part (see 11:10).

כֹּה אָמַר הָאֵל ה' בּוֹרֵא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְנוֹטֵיהֶם רֹקַע הָאָרֶץ וְצֶאֱצָאֶיהָ נֹתֵן נְשָׁמָה לָעָם עָלֶיהָ וְרוּחַ לַהֹלְכִים בָּהּ

So said the God, the Lord, Creator of the heavens and He who unfurled them; He who spread out the earth and its progeny, the living creatures and vegetation that sustain themselves from it; He who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it, giving them life:

אֲנִי ה' קְרָאתִיךָ בְצֶדֶק וְאַחְזֵק בְּיָדֶךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לבְרִית עָם לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם

I, the Lord, have called you and designated you, My servant, with justice, to achieve victory and salvation; I have supported your hand and have protected you, and I have set you for a covenant, to establish a covenant of the people as the king of Israel, and as a light of nations;

לִפְקֹחַ עֵינַיִם עִוְרוֹת לְהוֹצִיא מִמַּסְגֵּר אַסִּיר מִבֵּית כֶּלֶא יֹשְׁבֵי חֹשֶׁךְ

to open blind eyes, to release a prisoner from confinement and dwellers in darkness from prison. In addition to being responsible for maintaining proper social order, as mentioned in the previous verses, the servant will also free the oppressed members of society from their constraints.

אֲנִי ה' הוּא שְׁמִי וּכְבוֹדִי לְאַחֵר לֹא אֶתֵּן ותְהִלָּתִי לַפְּסִילִים

I am the Lord, that is My name; and I will not give My glory to another. I will not allow another to use My name exclusively or in combination with their own. Nor will I offer My praise to idols.

הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת הִנֵּה בָאוּ וחֲדָשׁוֹת אֲנִי מַגִּיד בְּטֶרֶם תִּצְמַחְנָה אַשְׁמִיעַ אֶתְכֶם

Behold, the first ones, prophecies, have come to pass and have been fulfilled, and the new ones, prophecies, I relate; before they burgeon I will pronounce them to you.

שִׁירוּ לַה' שִׁיר חָדָשׁ תְּהִלָּתוֹ מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם וּמְלֹאוֹ אִיִּים וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶם

The prophet now offers a general description of the revelation of God during the redemption: Sing to the Lord a new song, which will develop a new perspective on a subject that is not new; His praise will be sung from the ends of the earth, by those that are the most distant and isolated, by those who go to sea, and by all that fill it, islands and their inhabitants.

יִשְׂאוּ מִדְבָּר וְעָרָיו חֲצֵרִים תֵּשֵׁב קֵדָר יָרֹנּוּ יֹשְׁבֵי סֶלַע מֵרֹאשׁ הָרִים יִצְוָחוּ

Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voice in song, with courtyards inhabited by the community of Kedar; rock dwellers will sing, from mountain peaks they will shout.

יָשִׂימוּ לַה' כָּבוֹד וּתְהִלָּתוֹ בָּאִיִּים יַגִּידוּ

They will grant glory to the Lord and will relate His praise in the islands, the distant nations.

ה' כַּגִּבּוֹר יֵצֵא כְּאִישׁ מִלְחָמוֹת יָעִיר קִנְאָה יָרִיעַ אַף יַצְרִיחַ עַל אֹיְבָיו יִתְגַּבָּר

The Lord will emerge like the valiant one, He will arouse zealotry, anger, and revenge against the evildoers, as a man of war; He will roar, even scream like soldiers in battle; He will overwhelm His enemies.

הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי מֵעוֹלָם אַחֲרִישׁ אֶתְאַפָּק כַּיּוֹלֵדָה אֶפְעֶה אֶשֹּׁם וְאֶשְׁאַף יָחַד

The prophet now speaks in the name of God: I have been silent forever, I have been still and have restrained Myself. Until now, My voice has not been heard, but now I will cry out like a woman in childbirth, I will gasp and pant together in pain. Likewise, the redemption will commence after extensive restraint, erupting suddenly like a volcano:

אַחֲרִיב הָרִים וּגְבָעוֹת וְכָל עֶשְׂבָּם אוֹבִישׁ וְשַׂמְתִּי נְהָרוֹת לָאִיִּים וַאֲגַמִּים אוֹבִישׁ

I will destroy mountains and hills and all their vegetation will I wither; I will transform rivers into islands of dry land, and I will dry out marshes. The world will change; the existing order will collapse, and new possibilities will emerge:

וְהוֹלַכְתִּי עִוְרִים בְּדֶרֶךְ לֹא יָדָעוּ בִּנְתִיבוֹת לֹא יָדְעוּ אַדְרִיכֵם אָשִׂים מַחְשָׁךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם לָאוֹר וּמַעֲקַשִּׁים לְמִישׁוֹר אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים עֲשִׂיתִם וְלֹא עֲזַבְתִּים

I will lead the blind on a way that they did not know; on paths that they did not know will I guide them. All those who struggle will discover new solutions to their problems. I will render darkness before them into light and tortuous paths into a plain. I shall change the balance of power and the nature of the world. These are the things that I have done and I did not abandon them.

נָסֹגוּ אָחוֹר יֵבֹשׁוּ בֹשֶׁת הַבֹּטְחִים בַּפָּסֶל הָאֹמְרִים לְמַסֵּכָה אַתֶּם אֱלֹהֵינוּ

The prophet adds parenthetically: They will draw back, will be deeply ashamed, those who trust in idols, who say to cast images: You are our gods. At that time, all who trusted in other gods will recoil, due to their shame at their foolishness as well as their inability to stand before the greatness of God.

הַחֵרְשִׁים שְׁמָעוּ! וְהַעִוְרִים הַבִּיטוּ לִרְאוֹת !

Hear, the deaf, and look to see, the blind, the changes I shall implement in the world.

מִי עִוֵּר כִּי אִם עַבְדִּי וְחֵרֵשׁ כְּמַלְאָכִי אֶשְׁלָח מִי עִוֵּר כִּמְשֻׁלָּם וְעִוֵּר כְּעֶבֶד ה'!

Who is blind, but My servant? Or deaf, like My messenger whom I send? The servant and messenger of God is reclusive, ostensibly not seeing or hearing anything, like one who is blind and deaf. Who is blind like the perfect one and blind like the servant of the Lord?

רָאוֹת רַבּוֹת וְלֹא תִשְׁמֹר פָּקוֹחַ אָזְנַיִם — וְלֹא יִשְׁמָע

Seeing much, but you do not observe. Although he sees much, he does not contemplate what he sees. Opening ears, but he does not hear.

ה' חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר

The Lord is desirous of him, his servant, because of his righteousness; he will make the Torah great and glorious. Despite the blindness and deafness of the servant of God, there are many other qualities concealed within him, which allow him to spread and glorify the Torah.

וְהוּא עַם בָּזוּז וְשָׁסוּי הָפֵחַ בַּחוּרִים כֻּלָּם וּבְבָתֵּי כְלָאִים הָחְבָּאוּ הָיוּ לָבַז וְאֵין מַצִּיל מְשִׁסָּה וְאֵין אֹמֵר הָשַׁב

But it, the servant of God in its broader sense of Israel, is a people looted and despoiled; the young men, all of them, are blown away. All of Israel’s young men fled and disappeared as though the wind blew them away. And they have been trapped in prisons; they were taken as loot with no savior, they have been given as spoils of war with no one saying: Return it, the spoil.

מִי בָכֶם יַאֲזִין זֹאת יַקְשִׁב וְיִשְׁמַע לְאָחוֹר !

Who among you will listen to this, will pay attention and hear the ending, of how future events unfold?

מִי נָתַן לִמְשִׁסָּה יַעֲקֹב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל לְבֹזְזִים — הֲלוֹא ה' זוּ חָטָאנוּ לוֹ וְלֹא אָבוּ בִדְרָכָיו הָלוֹךְ וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ בְּתוֹרָתוֹ

He who listens will understand: Who subjected Jacob to despoiling and Israel to the looters? Was it not the Lord who caused this, He against whom we sinned and were unwilling to walk in His ways and did not heed His Torah? God has punished the nation of Israel for its sins.

וַיִּשְׁפֹּךְ ה' עָלָיו חֵמָה אַפּוֹ וֶעֱזוּז מִלְחָמָה וַתְּלַהֲטֵהוּ מִסָּבִיב וְלֹא יָדָע וַתִּבְעַר בּוֹ וְלֹא יָשִׂים עַל לֵב

He poured upon it, the Jewish people, the fury of His wrath and the might of war, scorched it from all around, but it did not know, it did not consider that its sins caused this, burned in it but would not take it to heart.