isaiah-42:1-9,-luke-9:28-36

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:1

Behold - This word is designed to call attention to the person that is immediately referred to. It is an intimation that the subject is of importance, and should command their regard.My servant - This phrase denotes properly anyone who acknowledges or worships God; anyone who is regarded as serving or obeying him. It is a term which may be applied to anyone who is esteemed to be a pious man, or who is obedient to the commands of God, and is often applied to the people of God Gen 50:17; 1... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:2

He shall not cry - He will not make a clamor or noise; he will not be boisterous, in the manner of a man of strife and contention.Nor lift up - That is, his voice.Nor cause his voice to be heard in the street - He shall not t use loud and angry words, as they do who are engaged in conflict, but all his teaching shall be gentle, humble, and mild. How well this agrees with the character of the Lord Jesus it is not necessary to pause to show. He was uniformly unostentatious, modest, and retiring.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:3

A bruised reed - The word ‘reed’ means the cane or calamus which grows up in marshy or wet places (Isaiah 36:6; see the note at Isaiah 43:24). The word, therefore, literally denotes that which is fragile, weak, easily waved by the wind, or broken down; and stands in contrast with a lofty and firm tree (compare Matthew 11:7): ‘What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?’ The word here, therefore, may be applied to people who are conscious of feebleness and sin; that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:4

He shall not fail - He shall not be weak, feeble, or disheartened. However much there may be that shall tend to discourage, yet his purpose is fixed, and he will pursue it with steadiness and ardor until the great work shall be fully accomplished. There may be an allusion in the Hebrew word here (יכהה yı̂kheh) to that which is applied to the flax (כהה kēhâh); and the idea may be that he shall not become in his purposes like the smoking, flickering, dying flame of a lamp. There shall never be... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:5

Thus saith God the Lord - This verse commences a new form of discourse. It is still Yahweh who speaks; but in the previous verses he had spoken of the Messiah in the third person; here he is introduced as speaking to him directly. He introduces the discourse by showing that he is the Creator and Lord of all things. The object of his dwelling on this seems to have been, to show that he had power to sustain the Messiah in the work to which he had called him; and to secure for him respect as... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:6

I the Lord have called thee in righteousness - The phrase ‘in righteousness’ has been very differently understood by different expositors (see the note at Isaiah 41:10). The most probable meaning may be, ‘I have done it as a righteous and just God, or in the accomplishment of my righteous purposes. I am the just moral governor of the universe, and to accomplish my purposes of justice and fidelity, I have designated thee to this work.’ Lowth has well rendered it, ‘For a righteous purpose.’ In... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:7

To open the blind eyes - This is equivalent to saying that he would impart instruction to those who were ignorant. It relates to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles. He would acquaint them with God, and with the way of salvation. The condition of the world is often represented as one of darkness and blindness. Men see not their true character; they see not their real condition; they are ignorant of God, and of the truths pertaining to their future existence; and they need, therefore, some one... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord - I am Yahweh. Here is also a change in the address. In the previous verses, God had addressed the Messiah. Here he turns to the people, and assures them that he is the only true God, and that he will not suffer the praise that is due to him to be given to any other, or to any graven image. The name Yahweh signifies being, or essential existence (see the note at Isaiah 1:9). It is a name which is given to none but the true God, and which is everywhere in the Scriptures used to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:9

Behold, the former things are come to pass - That is, the former things which he had foretold. This is the evidence to which he appeals in proof that he alone was God, and this is the basis on which he calls upon them to believe that what he had predicted in regard to future things would also come to pass. He had by his prophets foretold events which had now been fulfilled, and this should lead them to confide in him alone as the true God.And new things do I declare - Things pertaining to... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 42:1

Isaiah 42:1. Behold my servant, &c. “The prophet, having opened his subject with the preparation for the return from the captivity at Babylon, and intimated that a much greater deliverance was covered under the veil of that event, proceeded to vindicate the power of God, as Creator and Disposer of all things, and his infinite knowledge from his prediction of future events, and in particular of that deliverance; he then went still further, and pointed out the instrument by which he... read more

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:1

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:2

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:5

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:6

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:7

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:8

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 42:9

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 42:1

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