< Isaiah 41 >
1 “Listen before me in silence, you coastlands; let the nations renew their strength; let them come near and speak; let us come near together to argue a dispute.
Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
2 Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and helps him subdue kings. He turns them to dust with his sword, like windblown stubble with his bow.
Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes by safely, by a swift path that his feet scarcely touch.
He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
4 Who has performed and accomplished these deeds? Who has summoned the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last ones, I am he.
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I YHWH, the first, and with the last; I am he.
5 The isles have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they approach and come.
The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
6 Everyone helps his neighbor, and every one says to one another, 'Be encouraged.'
They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7 So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith, and he who works with the hammer encourages him who works with an anvil, saying of the welding, 'It is good.' They fasten it with nails so it will not topple over.
So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,
But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 you whom I am bringing back from the ends of the earth, and whom I called from the far away places, and to whom I said, 'You are my servant;' I have chosen you and not rejected you.
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, and I will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy Elohim: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 See, they will be ashamed and disgraced, all who have been angry with you; they will be as nothing and will perish, those who oppose you.
Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 You will seek and will not find those who contended with you; those who warred against you will be like nothing, absolutely nothing.
Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Do not fear; I am helping you.'
For I YHWH thy Elohim will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Do not fear, Jacob you worm, and you men of Israel; I will help you—this is Yahweh's declaration, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith YHWH, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and two-edged; you will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like chaff.
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
16 You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away; the wind will scatter them. You will rejoice in Yahweh, you will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in YHWH, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 The oppressed and needy look for water, but there is none, and their tongues are parched for thirst; I, Yahweh, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I YHWH will hear them, I the Elohim of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will make streams to flow down the slopes, and springs in the middle of the valleys; I will make the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into springs of water.
I will open rivers in high places, 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 In the wilderness I will set the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. I will set the cypress in the desert plain, with the pines and the cypress box trees.
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
20 I will do this so that the people may see, recognize, and understand together, that the hand of Yahweh has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of YHWH hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21 “Present your case,” says Yahweh, “present your best arguments for your idols,” says the King of Jacob.
Produce your cause, saith YHWH; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring us their own arguments; have them come forward and declare to us what will happen, so we may know these things well. Have them tell us of earlier predictive declarations, so we can reflect on them and know how they were fulfilled.
Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
23 Tell things about the future, that we may know if you are gods; do something good or evil, that we may be frightened and impressed.
Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are elohim: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
24 See, you idols are nothing and your deeds are nothing; the one who chooses you is detestable.
Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he comes; from the sun's rising I summon him who calls on my name, and he will trample the rulers like mud, like a potter who is treading on the clay.
I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
26 Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know? Before this time, that we may say, “He is right”? Indeed none of them decreed it, yes, none heard you say anything.
Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
27 I first said to Zion, “Look here they are;” I sent a herald to Jerusalem.
The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
28 When I look, there is no one, not one among them who can give good advice, who, when I ask, can answer a word.
For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counseller, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 Look, all of them are nothing, and their deeds are nothing; their cast metal figures are wind and emptiness.
Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.