Isaiah 42:6-7
“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;”
King James Version · the opening — all 2 verses are below
More of Isaiah 42 on this siteIsaiah 42:1 · Isaiah 42:2-3 · Isaiah 42:4 · Isaiah 42:6 · Isaiah 42:13-17
The Servant as covenant for the people and light for the Gentiles, opening blind eyes and freeing prisoners.
Read the whole passage — all 2 verses (KJV)
42:6I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
42:7To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Fulfillment References
Luke 2:32 Acts 13:47 Matthew 4:16
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
JewishThe Servant is Israel — called to be a light to the nations (cf. Gen 12:3). The blind and captive are both Israel in exile and Gentiles in ignorance.
CatholicSimeon's canticle (Luke 2:32) directly applies this to Jesus — 'a light for revelation to the Gentiles.' The Servant's mission is fulfilled in Christ and extended through the Church.
ProtestantChrist is the Servant who fulfills this — his healing of the blind is both literal and symbolic. Paul cites 42:6 in Acts 13:47 as authorizing the Gentile mission.
AcademicThe first of the four Servant Songs (42:1-9). Whether the Servant is Israel, an individual (pre-exilic prophet, Cyrus) or Messianic is the central hermeneutical question of Isaiah 40-55.
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