Isaiah 41
1 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.'
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 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.
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 He pursueth them, he passeth over in safety A path with his feet he entereth not.
He chases them down, and goes on unharmed, not following the usual routes.
4 Who hath wrought and done, Calling the generations from the first? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last I [am] He.
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 Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.
The islands watch in fear, the distant lands tremble. They get together and consult.
6 Each his neighbour they help, And to his brother he saith, 'Be strong.'
They all help each other, encouraging one another to “Be strong!”
7 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!
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 — And thou, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham, My lover,
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 its near places I have called thee, And I say to thee, My servant Thou [art], I have chosen thee, and not rejected thee.
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 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.
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 Lo, all those displeased with thee, They are ashamed and blush, They are as nothing, yea, perish Do the men who strive with thee.
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 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.
Even though you look for your enemies, you won't find them. Those who attack you will become absolutely nothing.
13 For I, Jehovah thy God, Am strengthening thy right hand, He who is saying to thee, 'Fear not, I have helped thee.'
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, O worm Jacob, ye men of Israel, I helped thee, an affirmation of Jehovah, Even thy redeemer, the Holy One of 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 give in a wilderness the cedar, Shittah, and myrtle, and oil-tree, I set in a desert the fir-pine and box-wood together.
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 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.
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 Bring near your cause, saith Jehovah, Bring nigh your mighty ones, saith the king of Jacob.
“Now you submit your case,” says the Lord. “Present your evidence,” says the King of Jacob.
22 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.
“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 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.
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 Lo, ye [are] of nothing, and your work of nought, An abomination — it fixeth on you.
But look at you! You're nothing, and you can't do anything! Anyone who chooses you is disgusting!
25 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.
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 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.
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 First to Zion, Behold, behold them, And to Jerusalem one proclaiming tidings I give,
I was the first to announce to Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ I was the one who brought to Jerusalem the good news.
28 And I see that there is no man, Yea, of these that there is no counsellor, And I ask them, and they return word:
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 'Lo, all of them [are] vanity, Nought [are] their works, Wind and emptiness their molten images!'
Look at them! They're all evil, deceptive things. They can't do anything! They're just idols full of hot air!”
