Isaiah 41

1 Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations take new strength. Let them draw near, and then speak. Let us apply for judgment together.

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 raised up a just man from the east, and has called him to follow him? He will place the nations under his gaze, and he will rule over kings. He will cause them to be like dust before his sword, like chaff driven by the wind before 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 will pursue them. He will pass by in peace. No trace will appear after his feet.

He pursued them, and passed in safety, By a path which his foot had never trodden.

4 Who has worked and accomplished these things, calling to the generations from the beginning? “It is I, the Lord! I am the first and the last.”

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 saw it and were afraid. The ends of the earth were stupefied. They drew near and arrived.

Distant nations saw it, and were afraid; The ends of the earth, and trembled; They drew near, and came together.

6 Each one will help his neighbor and will say to his brother, “Be strengthened.”

One helped another, And said to him, “Be of good courage!”

7 The coppersmith striking with the mallet encouraged him who was forging at that time, saying, “It is ready for soldering.” And he strengthened it with nails, so that it would not be moved.

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, are my servant, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of my friend Abraham.

But thou, O Israel, my servant, Thou, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Offspring of Abraham, my friend!

9 For his sake, I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and I have called you from its distant places. And I said to you: “You are my servant. I have chosen you, and I have not cast you aside.”

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 be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.

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 fight against you shall be confounded and ashamed. They will be as if they did not exist, and the men who contradict you 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, and you will not find them. The men who rebel against you will be as if they did not exist. And the men who make war against you will be like something that has been consumed.

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. I take you by your hand, and I say to you: Do not be afraid. I have helped 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 Fear not, O worm of Jacob, you who are dead within Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, your Redeemer, 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 I have established you like a new threshing cart, having serrated blades. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. And you will turn the hills into 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 the wind will blow them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. And you shall exult in the Lord; you shall rejoice 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 indigent and the poor are seeking water, but there is none. Their tongue has been dried up by thirst. I, the Lord, will heed them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon 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 in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of water.

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 the cedar in a deserted place, with the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. In the desert, I will plant the pine, and the elm, and the box tree 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 they may see and know, acknowledge and understand, together, that the hand of the Lord has accomplished this, and that 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 Bring your case forward, says the Lord. Bring it here, if you have anything to allege, says the King of Jacob.

Bring forward your cause, saith Jehovah; Produce your strong reasons, saith the king of Jacob.

22 Let them approach and announce to us the things that will occur. Announce to us the things that were before. And we will apply our heart to them, and we will know their end. And so, reveal to us the things that will occur.

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 Announce the things that will occur in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Likewise, accomplish good or evil, if you are able, and let us speak of it and see it together.

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 exist out of nothing, and your work is from what does not exist; he who has chosen you is an abomination.

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 will arrive from the rising of the sun. He will call upon my name, and he will reduce magistrates to mud, like a potter working with 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 announced this from its rising, so that we may know it, or from its beginning, so that we may say, “You are just.” There is no one who either announces, or predicts, or hears 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 The first one will say to Zion: “Behold, they are here,” and to Jerusalem, “I will present an evangelist.”

I first said to Zion, Behold! behold them! And I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of glad tidings.

28 And I saw, and there was no one among any of them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.

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 Behold, they are all unjust, and their works are empty. Their idols are wind and emptiness.

But behold, they are all vanity; Their works are nothing; Wind and emptiness are their molten images.