42:18 “Listen, you deaf ones!
Take notice, you blind ones!
42:19 My servant is truly blind,
my messenger is truly deaf.
My covenant partner, the servant of the Lord, is truly blind.
42:20 You see many things, but don’t comprehend;
their ears are open, but do not hear.”
42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice
by magnifying his law and displaying it.
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits
and held captive in prisons.
They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;
they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!”
42:23 Who among you will pay attention to this?
Who will listen attentively in the future?
42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?
Who handed Israel over to the looters?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?
They refused to follow his commands;
they disobeyed his law.
42:25 So he poured out his fierce anger on them,
along with the devastation of war.
Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it;
it burned against them, but they did notice.