Isaiah 42:16

Finally, God brings us into the world of the Messiah himself. What kinds of things could the world look for in this unthinkably brave Son of God, who faced the fury of God over my sin in my place, and bore the agony of punishment in his own body? Like a watermark on a sheet of paper, the things to look for in the Christ would be things like this:

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

16 And I will lead the blind in by a way they did not know, in paths they did not know I will guide them. I will turn a dark place to the light before them, and the rough places into a plain. I have done these things; I have not left them.

וְהוֹלַכְתִּי עִוְרִים בְּדֶרֶךְ לֹא יָדָעוּ בִּנְתִיבוֹת לֹא־יָדְעוּ אַדְרִיכֵם And I will lead the blind in by a way they did not know, in paths they did not know I will guide them. וְהוֹלַכְתִּי is a hifil waw consecutive perfect (הָלַךְ). Leading the blind (עִוְרִים) was mentioned earlier in 35:5. These are people who were spiritually blind; unable to see, but now they are led by the Messiah "in paths they did not know." Out spiritual deadness made us unable to follow God, but Christ leads us on the mysterious paths and his mercy keeps us close to him. How will God keep us on this path? Through his word; through the sacraments. That is how he guides us (אַדְרִיכֵם, hifil 1st person imperfect from דָּרַךְ). The form וְהוֹלַכְתִּי occurs twice (Ezek. 36:12).

אָשִׂים מַחְשָׁךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם לָאוֹר I will turn a dark place to the light before them, The qal imperfect אָשִׂים is used here as a future tense; this is the promise of God, to turn the dark place (מַחְשָׁךְ is a poetic form of חֹשֶׁךְ, darkness) into a light one "before them" (לִפְנֵיהֶם). Another Mp notes tells us that מַחְשָׁךְ also occurs twice, here and in Psalm 88:19. A similar form occurs in Psalm 107:14. Yet another Mp note shows that לָאוֹר with the definite article occurs seven times: Gen. 1:5; Isaiah 42:16; 59:9; Micah 7:9; Zeph 3:5; Job 12:22 and Job 24:14.

וּמַעֲקַשִּׁים לְמִישׁוֹר and the rough places into a plain. This is a very similar statement to what was said in 40:4 (an Mp note draws our attention to these two places where לְמִישׁוֹר occurs); here God is the one who does this, on mankind's behalf.

אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים עֲשִׂיתִם וְלֹא עֲזַבְתִּים I have done these things; I have not left them. The qal perfect עֲשִׂיתִם shows that in God's mind, they are already accomplished; they will certainly not be left. The qal perfect 1 sg in וְלֹא עֲזַבְתִּים "I have not left them" could refer to the "things" God will not leave undone, or to the people he will not leave behind. Both are true, both fit the context, and both are rightfully on our minds.

The Mp note for עֲשִׂיתִם says that it occurs twice written defectively (without a yod in the final syllable); the second occurrence is in Genesis 6:7 (there is another with a waw in Ezek. 37:19). The note protects against known variant readings in manuscripts where the yod is present in this passage. One example of this is recorded here in the commentary by Vitringa. My copy is dated 1749 (Erster Thiel) and 1751 (Zweiter Theil); I assume I am not violating any copyright by posting this here: