Esias 41
1 Hold a feast to me, you islands: for the princes shall renew [their] strength: let them draw near and speak together: then let them declare judgment.
Listen to me in silence, you people who live in lands beyond the sea. Let the nations regain their strength. Then let them come and speak, and let us join together for judgment.
2 Who raised up righteousness from the east, [and] called it to his feet, so that it should go? shall appoint [it] an adversary of Gentiles, and shall dismay kings, and bury their swords in the earth, and cast forth their bows and arrows as sticks?
Who has encouraged this one from the east who is called into God's service to do what is right? He gives him nations, and helps him trample kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, and turns them into chaff with his bow, blown before him on the wind.
3 And he shall pursue them; the way of his feet shall proceed in peace.
He chases them down, and goes on unharmed, not following the usual routes.
4 Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to [all] futurity, I AM.
Who has achieved and done this, calling into existence each generation from the beginning of time? I, the Lord, the first and the last, I am the one.
5 The nations saw, and feared; the ends of the earth drew near, and came together,
The islands watch in fear, the distant lands tremble. They get together and consult.
6 every one judging for his neighbor and [that] to assist his brother: and one will say,
They all help each other, encouraging one another to “Be strong!”
7 The artificer has become strong, and the coppersmith that smites with the hammer, [and] forges also: sometimes he will say, It is a piece well joined: they have fastened them with nails; they will fix them, and they shall not be moved.
The craftsman encourages the goldsmith; the one who beats out the metal with a hammer encourages the one hitting the anvil, saying the soldering is good. They nail the idol down so it won't fall over.
8 But you, Israel, are my servant Jacob, and he whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraam, whom I have loved:
But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, the ones I have chosen, descendants of my friend Abraham,
9 whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and from the high places of it I have called you, and said to you, You are my servant; I have chosen you, and I have not forsaken you.
I brought you back from distant lands, I called you back from faraway places, telling you, “You are my servants.” I have chosen you, and I have not abandoned you.
10 Fear not; for I am with you: wander not; for I am your God, who have strengthened you; and I have helped you, and have established you with my just right hand.
Don't be afraid, for I am with you! Don't be frightened for I, your God, will make you strong, and I will certainly help you. I will support you with my strong hand, acting for what is right.
11 Behold, all your adversaries shall be ashamed and confounded; for they shall be as if they were not: and all your opponents shall perish.
See—everyone who is angry with you will be ashamed and disgraced. Those who fight against you will end up as nothing and die.
12 You shall seek them, and you shall not find the men who shall insolently rage against you: for they shall be as if they were not, and they that war against you shall not be.
Even though you look for your enemies, you won't find them. Those who attack you will become absolutely nothing.
13 For I am your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you,
For I the Lord will grab you by the hand and tell you, “Don't be afraid! I myself will help you.
14 Fear not, Jacob, [and you] Israel few in number; I have helped you, says your God, he that redeems you, O Israel.
Don't be frightened, Jacob, you little worm, you people of Israel, for I will help you,” declared the Lord your Savior, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I have made you as new saw-shaped threshing wheels of a waggon; and you shall thresh the mountains, and beat the hills to powder, and make [them] as chaff:
Look! I will make you into a new and sharp threshing device, with many pointed teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush the hills, turning them into chaff.
16 and you shall winnow [them], and the wind shall carry them away, and a tempest shall scatter them: but you shall rejoice in the holy ones of Israel.
You will throw them into the air, the wind will carry them away, and a storm will scatter them. Then you will be happy in the Lord, and boast about the Holy One of Israel.
17 And the poor and the needy shall exult; for [when] they shall seek water, and there shall be none, [and] their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord God, I the God of Israel will hear, and will not forsake them:
The poor and needy search for water, but don't find any—their tongues are dry with thirst. I, the Lord, will respond to them; I, the God of Israel, won't abandon them.
18 but I will open rivers on the mountains, and fountains in the midst of plains: I will make the desert pools of water, and a thirsty land watercourses.
I will open up rivers in the desolate highlands and springs in the valleys. I will make pools in the wilderness and springs in the desert.
19 I will plant in the dry land the cedar and box, the myrtle and cypress, and white poplar:
I will plant cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees in the desert. I will place evergreens in the desert, firs and box trees together.
20 that they may see, and know, and perceive, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has wrought these [works], and the Holy One of Israel has displayed [them].
In this way everyone can see and know, they can think about it and draw the conclusion that the it is the Lord who has done this, that the Holy One of Israel made it happen.
21 Your judgment draws near, says the Lord God; your counsels have drawn near, says the King of Jacob.
“Now you submit your case,” says the Lord. “Present your evidence,” says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them draw near, and declare to you what things shall come to pass; or tell [us] what things were of old, and we will apply [our] understanding, and we shall know what are the last and the future things:
“Let them come and tell us what's about to happen. Let them explain the things of the past, so that we can think about them and discover the final outcome. Or they can tell us about the future.
23 tell us, declare you to us the things that are coming on at the last [time], and we shall know that you are gods: do good, and do evil, and we shall wonder, and see at the same time
Predict what's coming so we can know for sure that you are gods. At least do something, good or bad, to impress us when we see it.
24 whence you are, and whence is your works: they have chosen you an abomination out of the earth.
But look at you! You're nothing, and you can't do anything! Anyone who chooses you is disgusting!
25 But I have raised up him that [comes] from the north, and him that [comes] from the rising of the sun: they shall be called by my name: let the princes come, and as potter's clay, and as a potter treading clay, so shall you be trodden down.
I have encouraged the one who comes from the north. He is from the east, and will respect me. He will tread on rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter treading on clay.
26 For who will declare the things from the beginning, that we may know also the former things, and we will say that they are true? there is no one that speaks beforehand, nor anyone that hears your words.
Who announced this beforehand so that we could know about it? Who let us know in the past, so that now we could say: ‘He was right’? None of you announced it, none of you predicted it, and nobody heard you say a word!
27 I will give dominion to Sion, and will comfort Jerusalem by the way.
I was the first to announce to Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ I was the one who brought to Jerusalem the good news.
28 For from among the nations, behold, [there was] no one; and of their idols there was none to declare [anything]: and if I should ask them, Whence are you? they could not answer me.
I look at these idols, and find there is no one who can say anything. None of them can give advice; when I ask them something, they can't even answer.
29 For [these] are your makers, [as you think], and they that cause you to err in vain.
Look at them! They're all evil, deceptive things. They can't do anything! They're just idols full of hot air!”
