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 silent towards Me, O isles, And the peoples pass on [to] power, They come nigh, then they speak, 'Together — to judgment we draw near.'

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 stirred up from the east a righteous one? He calleth him to His foot, He giveth before him nations, And kings He causeth him to rule, He giveth [them] as dust [to] his sword, As driven stubble [to] his bow.

3 He will pursue them. He will pass by in peace. No trace will appear after his feet.

He pursueth them, he passeth over in safety A path with his feet he entereth not.

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, Calling the generations from the first? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last I [am] He.

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

Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.

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

Each his neighbour they help, And to his brother he saith, 'Be strong.'

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.

And strengthen doth an artisan the refiner, A smoother [with] a hammer, Him who is beating [on] an anvil, Saying, 'For joining it [is] good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!

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

— And thou, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham, My lover,

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.”

Whom I have taken hold of, from the ends of the earth, And from its near places I have called thee, And I say to thee, My servant Thou [art], I have chosen thee, and not rejected thee.

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.

Be not afraid, for with thee I [am], Look not around, for I [am] thy God, I have strengthened thee, Yea, I have helped thee, yea, I upheld thee, With the right hand of My righteousness.

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.

Lo, all those displeased with thee, They are ashamed and blush, They are as nothing, yea, perish Do the men who strive with thee.

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 seekest them, and findest them not, The men who debate with thee, They are as nothing, yea, as nothing, The men who war with 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 thy God, Am strengthening thy right hand, He who is saying to thee, 'Fear not, I have helped thee.'

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, O worm Jacob, ye men of Israel, I helped thee, an affirmation of Jehovah, Even thy redeemer, 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.

Lo, I have set thee for a new sharp threshing instrument, Possessing teeth, thou threshest mountains, And beatest small, and hills as chaff thou makest.

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 winnowest them, and a wind lifteth them up, And a whirlwind scattereth them, And thou — thou rejoicest in Jehovah, In the Holy One of Israel dost boast thyself.

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.

The poor and the needy are seeking water, And there is none, Their tongue with thirst hath failed, I, Jehovah do answer them, The God of Israel — I forsake them not.

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 open on high places rivers, And in midst of valleys fountains, I make a wilderness become a pond of water, And a dry land become 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 give in a wilderness the cedar, Shittah, and myrtle, and oil-tree, I set in a desert the fir-pine and box-wood 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.

So that they see, and know, And regard, and act wisely together, For the hand of Jehovah hath done this, And the Holy One of Israel hath prepared it.

21 Bring your case forward, says the Lord. Bring it here, if you have anything to allege, says the King of Jacob.

Bring near your cause, saith Jehovah, Bring nigh your mighty ones, 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.

They bring nigh, and declare to us that which doth happen, The first things — what they [are] declare ye, And we set our heart, and know their latter end, Or the coming things cause us to hear.

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.

Declare the things that are coming hereafter, And we know that ye [are] gods, Yea, ye may do good or do evil, And we look around 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.

Lo, ye [are] of nothing, and your work of nought, An abomination — it fixeth on 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 stirred up [one] from the north, And he cometh, From the rising of the sun he calleth in My name, And he cometh in [on] prefects as [on] clay, And as a potter treadeth down mire.

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 from the first, and we know? And beforetime, and we say, 'Righteous?' yea, there is none declaring, Yea, there is none proclaiming, Yea, there is none hearing your sayings.

27 The first one will say to Zion: “Behold, they are here,” and to Jerusalem, “I will present an evangelist.”

First to Zion, Behold, behold them, And to Jerusalem one proclaiming tidings I give,

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

And I see that there is no man, Yea, of these that there is no counsellor, And I ask them, and they return word:

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

'Lo, all of them [are] vanity, Nought [are] their works, Wind and emptiness their molten images!'