Isaiah 42:21 kjv
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
Isaiah 42:21 nkjv
The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
Isaiah 42:21 niv
It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.
Isaiah 42:21 esv
The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious.
Isaiah 42:21 nlt
Because he is righteous,
the LORD has exalted his glorious law.
Isaiah 42 21 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Psa 147:11 | The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. | God takes pleasure in obedience and hope. |
| Prov 11:20 | They that are of a perverse heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight. | God delights in righteousness. |
| Mal 3:16 | Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him... | God's attention and pleasure in His faithful. |
| Isa 5:16 | But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. | God's righteousness brings Him exaltation. |
| Psa 7:9 | ...for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. | God is a righteous judge. |
| Psa 119:137 | Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments. | God's righteousness in His decrees. |
| Deut 32:4 | He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. | God's perfect justice and righteousness. |
| Psa 119:142 | Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. | The eternality of God's righteousness and truth. |
| Matt 3:17 | And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. | God's ultimate pleasure in His Son, Jesus. |
| Matt 17:5 | While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. | God's divine affirmation of Jesus. |
| Matt 5:17 | Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. | Jesus affirms fulfilling the Law. |
| Matt 5:18 | For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. | The enduring authority and fulfillment of the Law. |
| Rom 3:31 | Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. | Faith upholds the Law, doesn't annul it. |
| Rom 7:12 | Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. | The inherent goodness and holiness of the Law. |
| Rom 8:4 | That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. | The Spirit enables fulfillment of Law's righteousness. |
| Gal 3:24 | Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. | Law's preparatory role for Christ. |
| Heb 10:1-10 | ...But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; ... then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. | Christ's perfect fulfillment of God's will (Law). |
| Jas 2:10 | For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. | The integrity and demanding nature of the Law. |
| Jas 2:12 | So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. | The Law understood through Christ. |
| 2 Cor 3:6 | Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. | The spiritual essence of the Law. |
| Jer 31:33 | But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. | God internalizes the Law in the New Covenant. |
| Isa 49:6 | And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. | The Servant's expanded role beyond Israel, embodying God's righteousness. |
Isaiah 42 verses
Isaiah 42 21 Meaning
The LORD, Yahweh, expresses profound delight and satisfaction, rooted in His own inherent righteousness and holy character. His pleasure is manifest in His sovereign intention to uplift, declare glorious, and fulfill His divine instruction (the Law). This declaration assures that despite any human failing, God's standards and His revealed will remain paramount and will ultimately be brought to their full, intended honor and glory through His own work.
Isaiah 42 21 Context
Isaiah 42 marks the beginning of the first of four "Servant Songs" in Isaiah, introducing the ideal Servant of the LORD. Preceding this verse, the LORD calls this Servant, empowering Him with the Spirit, and declaring His mission to bring justice to the Gentiles (vv. 1-4). However, the subsequent verses (vv. 18-20) highlight the failure of God's current "servant," Israel, describing them as spiritually blind and deaf despite having the Law. In this immediate context, verse 21 stands as a powerful declaration of God's unchanging character and purpose. It affirms that despite Israel's failure to uphold the Law, God's pleasure and commitment remain anchored in His own righteousness. He will not diminish the Law's standing but rather, through the Messiah, the perfect Servant, He will exalt it and bring it to its intended honor, making its principles profoundly manifest and deeply understood.
Isaiah 42 21 Word analysis
- The LORD: Hebrew יהוה (YHWH), the sacred covenant name of God, indicating His self-existent, faithful, and personal relationship with His people. This emphasizes the divine speaker as the ultimate sovereign, not merely an abstract concept.
- is well pleased: Hebrew חָפֵץ (ḥāp̄ēṣ). It signifies God's active desire, delight, or favorable disposition. This is not a passive approval but a strong, deliberate intention and pleasure stemming from His divine will.
- for his righteousness' sake: Hebrew צִדְקוֹ (ṣiḏqō). Refers to God's inherent attribute of righteousness, justice, and faithfulness to His covenant and His holy character. God's actions are always consistent with who He is, demonstrating His unwavering moral perfection and adherence to what is right.
- he will magnify: Hebrew יַגְדִּיל (yaghdîl). To make great, to enlarge, to cause to be high. It implies a raising up, an exalting, making prominent. This is an active, divine work of enhancement and elevation.
- the law: Hebrew תּוֹרָה (tôrāh). Originally meaning "instruction" or "teaching," it specifically refers to the divine revelation given to Moses (the Pentateuch) and more broadly, all of God's divine will and moral statutes. It encompasses principles, precepts, and moral guidelines.
- and make it honourable: Hebrew יַאְדִּיר (yaʾdîr). To make glorious, to cause to be splendid, magnificent, or majestic. It implies instilling respect, demonstrating its profound value, and revealing its full glory and authority.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- The LORD is well pleased: This phrase underscores God's personal initiative and deep satisfaction. It's His divine will and pleasure that drives the subsequent action, founded on His unwavering nature, not human performance.
- for his righteousness' sake: This clarifies the foundation of God's pleasure. It's not arbitrary or conditional on human behavior, but rooted in His unchanging righteous character and His covenant faithfulness, ensuring His promises and moral order endure.
- he will magnify the law: This declaration reveals God's active purpose regarding His Law. Despite Israel's failings (mentioned previously as blind and deaf), God Himself will not allow His Law to be diminished. Instead, He intends to elevate its status and reveal its deeper, more glorious intent. This often points towards Christ, who perfectly embodied and fulfilled its spiritual requirements beyond mere external adherence.
- and make it honourable: This further describes the outcome of God's work. The Law will not merely be "big" but respected, valued, revered, and seen in its full, inherent glory and moral weight, revealing its divine origin and wisdom.
Isaiah 42 21 Bonus section
This verse carries strong Messianic undertones, deeply woven into the fabric of the Servant Songs. While Israel, as God's initial corporate servant, failed to perfectly embody and honor the Law, the ultimate Servant (Jesus Christ) fulfills this divine mandate. He is the one in whom God is "well pleased" (cf. Matt 3:17), and through His perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection, He elevates the Law beyond mere external obedience. He demonstrated its full spiritual intent, bringing it to a glory (magnifying and making it honorable) that human performance could never achieve. This ensures that God's standard of righteousness remains supreme and is made attainable for those who trust in Christ, through the power of the New Covenant. This perspective provides immense comfort and hope, as God's commitment to His Word is not reliant on fallible humanity but on His own immutable character and His provision of the perfect mediator.
Isaiah 42 21 Commentary
Isaiah 42:21 profoundly asserts God's unwavering character and purpose amidst the spiritual failings of His chosen people, Israel. It declares that God's delight (חָפֵץ, ḥāp̄ēṣ) is not dependent on human perfection but firmly grounded in His own intrinsic righteousness (צִדְקוֹ, ṣiḏqō). Because God Himself is perfectly just and faithful, He cannot permit His divine instruction (תּוֹרָה, tôrāh), His moral Law, to be defiled or devalued.
Therefore, God, in His sovereign initiative, will magnify and honor the Law. This signifies more than just reiterating its commandments. It points to a divine action that elevates its stature, reveals its profound spiritual depth, and ensures its ultimate vindication and fulfillment. The pinnacle of this magnification is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the perfect Servant. He did not abolish the Law but perfectly fulfilled its demands and revealed its spiritual intent, even internalizing its principles and providing the means for humanity to align with God's righteousness through His sacrifice and indwelling Spirit (Matt 5:17; Rom 8:4). God's Law is shown as truly glorious not by human adherence alone, but by divine fulfillment and the transformation it brings.
Examples:
- God's magnifies His truth through creation's order, revealing His Law in physics and biology.
- The life of Christ exemplified magnifying the Law, showing its ultimate love-centered ethic (Matt 22:37-40).
- In a believer's heart, the Holy Spirit "honours" God's commands by enabling righteous living where it was once impossible (Jer 31:33; Heb 8:10).