He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands will wait for his law.”
- KJV He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
- NKJV He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
- NASB “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice on the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
- NLT He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Servant will not fail or grow discouraged until He establishes justice throughout the earth.
Overview
Despite opposition, the Servant perseveres until His mission of worldwide justice is complete, and distant lands await His teaching. His unwavering resolve guarantees the success of God's redemptive purpose. The reach to 'the islands' anticipates the gospel going to all nations, fulfilled as Christ's law goes forth to the ends of the earth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 25
- Isa 55:5Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory on you.”
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
- Isa 53:2–12He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
- Isa 52:13–15Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
- Ps 22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Isa 9:7Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
- Matt 12:21In His name the nations will put their hope.”
- Zech 2:11“On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
- Isa 24:15–16Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea.
- Isa 42:12Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.
- Isa 66:19I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.
- Ps 72:8–11May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
- Ps 98:2–3The LORD has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
- Isa 11:9–12They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
- Isa 60:9Surely the islands will wait for Me, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.
- Mic 4:1–3In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
- 1 Cor 9:21To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.
- Isa 2:2–4In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Heb 12:2–4Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- 1 Pet 2:22–24“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- Isa 49:1Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
- Isa 41:5The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
- Rom 16:26but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—
- Isa 49:5–10And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—
- John 17:4–5I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 42:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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