Isaiah 42:7
ESV
to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
NIV
to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
NASB
To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
CSB
in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.
NLT
You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
KJV
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
NKJV
To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
What does Isaiah 42:7 mean?
The Lord is speaking to the Servant, His chosen, trusted representative to humanity, about what He will accomplish through Him (Isaiah 42:1). God has said that the Servant will be a "light for the nations" and now concludes the idea by saying that the light will open the eyes of the blind. In Hebrew thinking, light was a symbol for truth, knowledge, and goodness (John 14:5; 1 John 1:5).That the Servant will be a light to the nations means He will bring justice, peace, and order. These blessings apply beyond the nation of Israel. This Servant will be how God blesses the nations through His chosen people, as He had said He would from the very beginning of His relationship with Abraham (Genesis 18:17–18).
Jesus made the connection to this promise in John 8:12 when He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The powerful light that is Jesus the Messiah will free all who trust in Him from the darkness of both blindness and life in the prison dungeon. Through Jesus, God's representative on earth, the non-Jewish nations of the world will finally have the opportunity to leave behind the imprisoning darkness of sin, emerging into the freedom and joy of life in the light of God.
