Isaiah 41
1 [Yahweh says], “You [people who live on] [APO] islands in the ocean, be silent in front of me [while I ask you some questions]! Then you can be courageous and talk to me. We will meet together and decide [which one of us is right].
“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.
2 Who has urged this king to come from the east? Who has enabled his [army] to righteously defeat many nations and to trample their kings under their feet? With their swords they cut [their enemies] into tiny pieces [HYP]; with their arrows they cause their enemies to scatter like [SIM] the wind scatters chaff.
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.
3 Even though they march through areas where they have not gone previously, they pursue [their enemies] and continue to march, and nothing stops them.
He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet.
4 Who has enabled rulers to do [DOU] mighty things like that? Who has done that throughout all generations? It is I, Yahweh; I was the first [one to do things like that], and I will be the last one [to do them].”
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.”
5 [People who live on] [PRS] islands in the ocean are afraid while they watch. People in remote areas tremble and gather together.
The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
6 They encourage each other and say to each other, “Be strong!'
Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 The craftsmen encourage those who make things from gold, and the men who flatten metal encourage those who hammer metal (on an anvil/into shape). They all say, “The idol has been well made!” And then they carefully nail down the idol in order that it will not topple over!
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.
8 [Yahweh says], “[You people of] Israel [are like] my servants; you are [descendants of] Jacob, whom I chose; [you are] descendants of Abraham, who [I said is] my friend.
“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
9 I summoned you from very distant places [DOU] on the earth, and I said ‘I [want you to] serve me; I have chosen you, and I will not reject you.’
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.
10 Do not be afraid, because I will (be with/help) you. Do not be discouraged, because I am your God. I will enable you to be strong, and I will help you; I will hold you up with my powerful arm by which you will be rescued.
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.
11 It is certain that all those who are angry with you [Israeli people] will be disgraced [DOU]. Those who oppose you will be wiped out; they will all die.
Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
12 If you search for those who tried to conquer you, you will not find them, [because they will all have disappeared]. Those who attacked you will not exist [any more].
You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.
13 [It will be as though] I will hold you up by your right hand. I am Yahweh, your God, and I say to you, ‘Do not be afraid, [because] I will help you.’
For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.
14 Although you people of Israel [DOU] [think that you are as insignificant as] worms, do not be afraid [of your enemies], because I will help you. I am Yahweh, the one who rescues you; I am the Holy One of Israel.
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.
15 [I will cause] you to be like [MET] a (threshing sledge/big piece of metal that has sharp teeth for separating grain from chaff). You will tear [your enemies to bits], causing them to be like bits of chaff on the mountains.
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.
16 You will toss them up into the air, and a strong wind will blow them away [DOU]. [When that happens], you will rejoice about what I [have done for you]; you will praise me, the Holy One of Israel.
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.
17 When poor and needy people need water and they have no water, and their tongues are very dry because they are very thirsty, I, Yahweh, will come and help them. I, the God to whom you Israeli people belong, will never abandon them.
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.
18 I will cause rivers to flow for them on the barren hills. I will give them fountains in the valleys. I will fill [HYP] the desert with pools of water. Water from springs will flow into rivers, and the rivers will flow across the dry ground.
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.
19 I will plant [trees] in the desert— cedar [trees], acacia [trees], myrtle [trees], olive [trees], cypress [trees], fir [trees], and pine [trees].
I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses in the desert, elms and boxwood together,
20 [I will do that] in order that people who see it will think about it, and they will know and understand [DOU] that it is [I], Yahweh, who have done it; it is what [I], the Holy One of Israel, have done.
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.”
21 [I], Yahweh, the true king of Israel say [to you nations], “Tell what your idols can do for you!
“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.
22 Bring them here to tell us what is going to happen! Ask them to tell us what things happened long ago, in order that we may think about those things, and learn if those things that they predicted really happened. Or, ask them to tell us about the future, in order that we can know what will happen.
“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.
23 [Yes], those idols should tell us what will happen in the future. If they do that, we will know that they are really gods. Tell them to do something—either something good or something bad! Tell them to do something that will cause us to be amazed and afraid!
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.
24 But [that is impossible, because] idols are absolutely worthless [HYP]; they can do nothing, and I detest those who decide [to worship] idols.”
Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
25 “[But] I have incited/urged a ruler who will come [with his army] from the north. I have summoned him to come from [his country, which is] east [of Israel], and I have given him my authority [MTY]. I will [enable his army to conquer other rulers]; they will trample those leaders like [SIM] a man who makes clay pots first tramples the clay.
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.
26 (Who told you people long ago that this would happen?/No one told you people long ago that this would happen!) [RHQ] (Who predicted it, with the result that we can say, ‘What he predicted was correct!’?/No one predicted it, with the result that we can say, ‘What he predicted was correct!’) [RHQ] No one else said that it would happen.
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.
27 I was the first one to tell [the people of] Jerusalem, ‘Listen to this! I have appointed a messenger to tell good news to you!’
I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 None of your idols told you that [DOU]. And when I asked them questions, none of them was able to give me any answers.
When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
29 Think about it: Those idols are all useless, worthless [DOU] things. They are [as meaningless as] [MET] the wind.”
See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.
