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].
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 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 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 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 pursued them, and passed in safety, By a path which his foot had never trodden.
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 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 [People who live on] [PRS] islands in the ocean are afraid while they watch. People in remote areas tremble and gather together.
Distant nations saw it, and were afraid; The ends of the earth, and trembled; They drew near, and came together.
6 They encourage each other and say to each other, “Be strong!'
One helped another, And said to him, “Be of good courage!”
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 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 [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 thou, O Israel, my servant, Thou, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Offspring 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.’
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, 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.
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 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 are enraged against thee Shall be ashamed and confounded; All that contend with thee Shall come to nothing and 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].
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 [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, Jehovah, am thy God, that holdeth thee by the right hand, That saith to thee, “Fear not, I am thy helper!”
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.
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 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 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 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.
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 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.
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 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 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 [trees] in the desert— cedar [trees], acacia [trees], myrtle [trees], olive [trees], cypress [trees], fir [trees], and pine [trees].
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 [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.
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 [I], Yahweh, the true king of Israel say [to you nations], “Tell what your idols can do for you!
Bring forward your cause, saith Jehovah; Produce your strong reasons, saith 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 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 [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!
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 But [that is impossible, because] idols are absolutely worthless [HYP]; they can do nothing, and I detest those who decide [to worship] idols.”
Behold, ye are less than nothing, And your work is less than naught; An abomination is he that chooseth you!
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 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 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 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 one to tell [the people of] Jerusalem, ‘Listen to this! I have appointed a messenger to tell good news to you!’
I first said to Zion, Behold! behold them! And I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of glad tidings.
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.
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 Think about it: Those idols are all useless, worthless [DOU] things. They are [as meaningless as] [MET] the wind.”
But behold, they are all vanity; Their works are nothing; Wind and emptiness are their molten images.
