Isaiah 41
1 “Be silent before Me, O islands, and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come forward and testify; let us together draw near for judgment.
Keep silence, and hear me, ye distant lands. Ye nations, gather your strength! Let them come near; then let them speak; Let us go together into judgment.
2 Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
Who hath raised up from the region of the East Him whom victory meeteth in his march? Who hath subdued nations before him, And given him dominion over kings? Who made their swords like dust, And their bows like driven stubble?
3 He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet.
He pursued them, and passed in safety, By a path which his foot had never trodden.
4 Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last— I am He.”
Who hath wrought and done it? I, who have called the generations from the beginning, I, Jehovah, the first; And with the last also am I.
5 The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
Distant nations saw it, and were afraid; The ends of the earth, and trembled; They drew near, and came together.
6 Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
One helped another, And said to him, “Be of good courage!”
7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.
The carpenter encouraged the smith, He that smoothed with the hammer him that smote on the anvil, And said, “The soldering is good,” And he fastened it with nails that it might not fall.
8 “But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
But thou, O Israel, my servant, Thou, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Offspring of Abraham, my friend!
9 I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said, ‘You are My servant.’ I have chosen and not rejected you.
Thou, whom I have led by the hand from the ends of the earth, And called from the extremities thereof, And said to thee, “Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away!”
10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
Fear not, for I am with thee; Faint not, for I, thy God, will strengthen thee; I will help thee, and sustain thee, with my right hand of salvation!
11 Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
Behold, all who are enraged against thee Shall be ashamed and confounded; All that contend with thee Shall come to nothing and perish.
12 You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.
Thou shalt seek and not find Them that contend with thee; They shall come to nothing, and be no more, Who make war against thee.
13 For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.
For I, Jehovah, am thy God, that holdeth thee by the right hand, That saith to thee, “Fear not, I am thy helper!”
14 Do not fear, O worm of Jacob, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, thou feeble people of Israel! I am thy helper, saith Jehovah; Thy redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
Behold, I will make thee a thrashing-wain, sharp and new, With double edges; Thou shalt thrash the mountains, and beat them small, And make the hills as chaff.
16 You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them. But thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, And glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst, I, Jehovah, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.
I will open rivers upon the bare hills, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses in the desert, elms and boxwood together,
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia, The myrtle and the olive-tree; I will place in the desert the cypress, The plane-tree and the larch together.
20 so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
That they may see, and know, And consider, and understand together, That the hand of Jehovah hath done this, And that the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21 “Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.
Bring forward your cause, saith Jehovah; Produce your strong reasons, saith the king of Jacob.
22 “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.
Let them produce them, and show us what shall happen! Tell us what ye have predicted in times past, That we may consider, and know its fulfilment! Or declare to us things that are to come!
23 Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.
Let us hear what shall happen in future times, That we may know whether ye are gods; Do something, be it good or evil, That we may be astonished, and see it together!
24 Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
Behold, ye are less than nothing, And your work is less than naught; An abomination is he that chooseth you!
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he has come— one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay.
I have raised up one from the north, and he cometh; From the rising of the sun he calleth upon my name; He trampleth upon princes as upon mortar; As the potter treadeth down the clay.
26 Who has declared this from the beginning, so that we may know, and from times past, so that we may say: ‘He was right’? No one announced it, no one foretold it, no one heard your words.
Who hath declared this from the beginning, that we might know it, And long ago, that we might say, It is true? There was not one that foretold it, not one that declared it, Not one that heard your words.
27 I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
I first said to Zion, Behold! behold them! And I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of glad tidings.
28 When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
I looked, but there was no man; Even among them, but there was none that gave counsel; I inquired of them that they might give an answer;
29 See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.
But behold, they are all vanity; Their works are nothing; Wind and emptiness are their molten images.
