41:1 “Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.
41:2 “Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? 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.
41:3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before.
41:4 Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD–with the first of them and with the last–I am he.”
41:5 The islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward;
41:6 each helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
41:7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil. He says of the welding, “It is good.” He nails down the idol so it will not topple.
41:8 “But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,
41:9 I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
41:10So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
41:11 “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
41:12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
41:13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
41:14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
41:15 “See, 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.
41:16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
41:17 “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
41:18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
41:19 I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
41:20 so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
41:21 “Present your case,” says the LORD. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
41:22 “Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come,
41:23 tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
41:24 But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; he who chooses you is detestable.
41:25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes–one from the rising sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay.
41:26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’? No one told of this, no one foretold it, no one heard any words from you.
41:27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’ I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings.
41:28 I look but there is no one–no one among them to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them.
41:29 See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion.
41:1 Listen to Me in silence, O coastlands. / Let the people renew their strength; / Let them approach, then let them speak; / Let us come together for judgment.
41:2 Who has stirred up someone from the east, / Called him in righteousness to His feet? / He gave up the nations before him, / And caused him to have dominion over kings. / He made them like dust with his sword, / Like driven stubble with his bow.
41:3 He pursues them and passes on in safety, / He will not come on a way known to his feet.
41:4 Who has wrought this and done this, / Calling the generations from the beginning? / I, Jehovah, am the first, / And with the last, I am He.
41:5 The coastlands saw it and were afraid; / The ends of the earth trembled; / They drew near and came.
41:6 Each one helps his neighbor, / And each one says to his brother, Be strong.
41:7 So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith, / And he who smoothes metal with a hammer encourages him who strikes the / anvil, / Saying that the soldering is good; / And he fastens it with nails so that it should not be moved.
41:8 But you, Israel, My servant, / Jacob, whom I have chosen, / The seed of Abraham My friend;
41:9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, / And from its extremities have called, / And said to you, You are My servant; / I have chosen you and have not cast you away.
41:10 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; / Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. / I will strengthen you; surely I will help you; / Surely I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.
41:11 Indeed all those who were incensed against you / Will be ashamed and confounded; / The men who strive against you / Will be as nothing and will perish.
41:12 You will seek but not find / The men who contend with you; / The men who war with you / Will be as nothing and as without existence.
41:13 For I am Jehovah your God, / Who takes hold of your right hand, / Who says to you, Do not be afraid; / I will help you.
41:14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, / You few men of Israel; / I will help you, declares Jehovah, / Even your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
41:15 Now I will make you into a sharp threshing instrument, / One that is new and possessing teeth. / You shall thresh the mountains and make them powder, / And you shall make the hills like chaff.
41:16 You shall winnow them, and the wind will carry them away / And the storm wind will scatter them. / And you will rejoice in Jehovah, / You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
41:17 When the poor and needy seek for water, and there is none, / And their tongue is dry from thirst, / I, Jehovah, will answer them; / As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.
41:18 I will open up rivers on the bare heights, / And in the midst of the valleys, springs. / I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, / And the dry land into springs of water.
41:19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, / The acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree; / I will place in the desert the fir tree, / The pine tree, and the box tree together;
41:20 That they may see and know, / And consider and understand together, / That the hand of Jehovah has done this, / And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
41:21 Present your case, says Jehovah; / Bring forward your arguments, says the King of Jacob.
41:22 Let them bring forth and declare to us / What will take place; / Let them show what the former things were, / That we may consider them, / And may know the end of them; / Or let us hear the things that are coming.
41:23 Declare to us the things that are coming afterward, / That we may know that you are gods; / Indeed do good or do evil, / That we may look at one another anxiously and be afraid together.
41:24 You are indeed nothing, / And your work is of no consequence; / He who chooses you is an abomination.
41:25 I have raised up one from the north and he has come; / From the rising of the sun he will call upon My name. / He will come upon rulers as upon mortar, / As the potter treads the clay.
41:26 Who has declared it from the beginning that we may know, / And in advance that we may say, He is right? / Indeed there was no one who declared it; indeed no one who let us hear; / Indeed no one who heard your words.
41:27 Formerly I said to Zion, Here, here they are; / And to Jerusalem, I will give someone who preaches glad tidings.
41:28 But I looked and there was no man, / And from among these there was no counselor, / Who, when I asked, would give Me an answer.
41:29 Indeed all of them are vanity; / Their works are of no consequence; / Their molten images are a wind and a waste.