Isaiah 41

1 “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 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 He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet.

4 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 The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.

6 Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

7 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 “But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—

9 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 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 righteous right hand.

11 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 You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.

13 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 Do not fear, O Jacob, you worm, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15 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 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 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 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 cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses in the desert, elms and boxwood together,

20 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 “Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.

22 “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 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 Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

25 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 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 to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

28 When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.

29 See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.

1 ¶ 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 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 pursued them, [and] passed safely; [even] by the way [that] he had not gone with his feet.

4 Who hath wrought and done [it], calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I [am] he.

5 The isles saw [it], and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.

6 They helped every one his neighbour; and [every one] said to his brother, Be of good courage.

7 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 thou, Israel, [art] my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

9 [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 ¶ Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 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 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 the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, [and] ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 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 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, [and] shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 [When] the poor and needy seek water, and [there is] none, [and] their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18 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 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 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

21 ¶ Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong [reasons], saith the King of Jacob.

22 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 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye [are] gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold [it] together.

24 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 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 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 The first [shall say] to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

28 For I beheld, and [there was] no man; even among them, and [there was] no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

29 Behold, they [are] all vanity; their works [are] nothing: their molten images [are] wind and confusion.

1 Let the isles be silent before me, and let the nations strengthen themselves. Let them come near and speak now; let us be right with one another!

2 Who hath raised up the righteous from his rising? Who called him to go? Who gave the nations and kings before him, that he might be mighty over them; and gave them to his sword as dust, and to his bow as scattered stubble,

3 That he followed them, and passed through with peace, and was never weary of the way?

4 Who doeth it, and maketh it, and calleth all men one by one from the beginning? It is I the LORD, both the first and the last.

5 And when the isles saw it, they were afraid, and the ends of the earth were afraid; and they drew nigh, and came near.

6 And one helped another, and said unto his neighbour, Be of good cheer.

7 And the carpenter took the goldsmith, and made the plate smooth with the hammer upon the anvil, and said: This will be fine. And they fastened it with nails, that it should not shake.

8 But thou, O Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my beloved,

9 Who strengthened thee from the end of the world, and called thee from their mighty ones, and said unto thee, Thou shalt be my servant: for I choose thee, and will not reject thee,

10 Fear not, I am with you; do not turn away, for I am your God. I strengthen you, I also help you; I uphold you by the right hand of my righteousness.

11 Behold, they shall be mocked and put to shame, all they that offend thee; they shall be as nothing: and the men that dispute with thee shall perish,

12 That thou mayest inquire of them, and shalt not find them. The men that quarrel with thee shall be as nothing; and the men that fight against thee shall come to an end.

13 For I am the LORD thy God, which strengthen thy right hand, and say unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

14 Fear not, O little worm of Jacob, ye poor multitude of Israel. I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 Behold, I have made thee a sharp new threshing-floor, having prongs; and thou shalt break down mountains, and bruise them, and make the hills as chaff.

16 Thou shalt scatter them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall weave them. But thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the holy things of Israel.

17 The wretched and the poor seek water, and there is none: their tongue is parched with thirst. But I the LORD will hear them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them,

18 But I will open rivers of water upon the high places, and fountains in the midst of the fields; I will make the wilderness lakes of water, and the dry land springs of water.

19 I will give in the wilderness cedars, and pines, and myrtles, and pines; and in the field I will give firs, and beeches, and box trees together,

20 That they may see, and know, and perceive, and understand at the same time, that the hand of the LORD hath done these things, and that the Holy One hath created these things in Israel.

21 Let your cause come, saith the LORD; bring hither that ye stand upon, saith the king in Jacob.

22 Let them come near, and tell us what is to come. Declare unto us, and give us knowledge beforehand; let us consider it with our hearts, and know how it shall be hereafter: or let us hear what is to come.

23 Tell us what shall come after this, and we will know that ye are gods. In spite of yourselves, do good or harm, and let us talk about it and look at it together.

24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your doings are also of nothing, and to choose you is abomination.

25 But I will raise up one from the north, and come from the rising of the sun. He shall preach my name unto them, and shall go over the mighty as over glues, and shall tread the dung as a potter.

26 Who can declare from the beginning? let us hear it; or prophesy beforehand? let us say, Thou speakest aright. But there is no proclaimer, no one to hear, no one to hear a word from you.

27 I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, here it is; and I give preachers unto Jerusalem.

28 But there I look, but there is none; and I look among them, but there is no counsellor; I ask them, but they answer nothing.

29 Behold, all is vain trouble, and nothing with their doings; their idols are wind and vain.