Isaiah 41
1“Listen before me in silence, you coastlands; let the nations renew their strength; 1 let them come near and speak; let us come near together to argue a dispute. 1
2Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? 1 He hands nations over to him and helps him subdue kings. 1 He turns them to dust with his sword, like windblown stubble with his bow. 1
3He pursues them and passes by safely, by a swift path that his feet scarcely touch. 1
4Who has performed and accomplished these deeds? Who has summoned the generations from the beginning? 1 I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last ones, I am he. 1
5The isles have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; 1 they approach and come. 1
6Everyone helps his neighbor, and every one says to one another, 'Be encouraged.' 1
7So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith, and he who works with the hammer encourages him who works with an anvil, 1 saying of the welding, 'It is good.' They fasten it with nails so it will not topple over. 1
8But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, 1 the offspring of Abraham my friend, 1
9you whom I am bringing back from the ends of the earth, and whom I called from the far away places, 1 and to whom I said, 'You are my servant;' I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your God. 1 I will strengthen you, and I will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 1
11See, they will be ashamed and disgraced, all who have been angry with you; 1 they will be as nothing and will perish, those who oppose you. 1
12You will seek and will not find those who contended with you; 1 those who warred against you will be like nothing, absolutely nothing. 1
13For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, 1 saying to you, 'Do not fear; I am helping you.' 1
14Do not fear, Jacob you worm, and you men of Israel; 1 I will help you—this is Yahweh's declaration, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 1
15Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and two-edged; 1 you will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like chaff. 1
16You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away; the wind will scatter them. 1 You will rejoice in Yahweh, you will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 1
17The oppressed and needy look for water, but there is none, and their tongues are parched for thirst; 1 I, Yahweh, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 1
18I will make streams to flow down the slopes, and springs in the middle of the valleys; 1 I will make the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into springs of water. 1
19In the wilderness I will set the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. 1 I will set the cypress in the desert plain, with the pines and the cypress box trees. 1
20I will do this so that the people may see, recognize, and understand together, 1 that the hand of Yahweh has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. 1
21“Present your case,” says Yahweh, 1 “present your best arguments for your idols,” says the King of Jacob. 1
22Let them bring us their own arguments; have them come forward and declare to us what will happen, 1 so we may know these things well. 1 Have them tell us of earlier predictive declarations, so we can reflect on them and know how they were fulfilled. 1
23Tell things about the future, that we may know if you are gods; 1 do something good or evil, that we may be frightened and impressed. 1
24See, you idols are nothing and your deeds are nothing; the one who chooses you is detestable. 1
25I have raised up one from the north, and he comes; from the sun's rising I summon him who calls on my name, 1 and he will trample the rulers like mud, like a potter who is treading on the clay. 1
26Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know? Before this time, that we may say, “He is right”? 1 Indeed none of them decreed it, yes, none heard you say anything. 1
27I first said to Zion, “Look here they are;” I sent a herald to Jerusalem. 1
28When I look, there is no one, not one among them who can give good advice, 1 who, when I ask, can answer a word. 1
29Look, all of them are nothing, 1 and their deeds are nothing; their cast metal figures are wind and emptiness.