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.

Come quietly before me, O sea-lands, and let the peoples get together their strength: let them come near; then let them say what they have to say: let us put forward our cause against one another.

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 sent out from the east one who is right wherever he goes? he gives the nations into his hands, and makes him ruler over kings; he gives them as the dust to his sword, as dry stems before the wind to his bow.

3 He pursues them and passes by safely, by a swift path that his feet scarcely touch.

He goes after them safely, not touching the road 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.

Whose purpose and work was it? His who sent out the generations from the start. I the Lord, 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 sea-lands saw it, and were in fear; the ends of the earth were shaking: they came near.

6 Everyone helps his neighbor, and every one says to one another, 'Be encouraged.'

They gave help everyone to his neighbour; and everyone said to his brother, Take heart!

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 metal-worker put heart into the gold-worker, and he who was hammering the metal smooth said kind words to the iron-worker, saying of the plate, It is ready: and he put it together with nails, so that there might be no slipping.

8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,

But as for you, Israel, my servant, and you, Jacob, whom I have taken for myself, 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.

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and sent for from its farthest parts, saying to you, You are my servant, whom I have taken for myself, and whom I have not given up:

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.

Have no fear, for I am with you; do not be looking about in trouble, for I am your God; I will give you strength, yes, I will be your helper; yes, my true right hand will be your support.

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.

Truly, all those who are angry with you will be made low and put to shame: those desiring to do you wrong will come to nothing and never again be seen.

12 You will seek and will not find those who contended with you; those who warred against you will be like nothing, absolutely nothing.

You will make search for your haters but they will not be there; those who make war against you will be as nothing and will come to destruction.

13 For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Do not fear; I am helping you.'

For I, the Lord your God, have taken your right hand in mine, saying to you, Have no fear; I will be your helper.

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.

Have no fear, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will be your helper, says the Lord, even he who takes up your cause, 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.

See, I will make you like a new grain-crushing instrument with teeth, crushing the mountains small, and making the hills like dry stems.

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.

You will send the wind over them, and it will take them away; they will go in all directions before the storm-wind: you will have joy in the Lord, and be glad 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.

The poor and crushed are looking for water where no water is, and their tongue is dry for need of it: I the Lord will give ear to their prayer, I the God of Israel will not give them up.

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 make rivers on the dry mountain-tops, and fountains in the valleys: I will make the waste land 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 put in the waste land the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive-tree; and in the lowland will be planted the fir-tree, the plane, and the cypress 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.

So that they may see and be wise and give their mind to it, and that it may be clear to them all that the hand of the Lord has done this, and that the Holy One of Israel has made it.

21 “Present your case,” says Yahweh, “present your best arguments for your idols,” says the King of Jacob.

Put forward your cause, says the Lord; let your strong argument come out, says 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 the future be made clear to us: give us news of the past things, so that we may give thought to them; or of the things to come, so that we may see if they are true.

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.

Give us word of what will be after this, so that we may be certain that you are gods: yes, do good or do evil, so that we may all see it and be surprised.

24 See, you idols are nothing and your deeds are nothing; the one who chooses you is detestable.

But you are nothing, and your work is of no value: foolish is he who takes you for his gods.

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 sent for one from the north, and from the dawn he has come; in my name he will get rulers together and go against them; they will be like dust, even as the wet earth is stamped on by the feet of the potter.

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 has given knowledge of it from the first, so that we may be certain of it? and from the start, so that we may say, His word is true? There is no one who gives news, or says anything, or who gives ear to your words.

27 I first said to Zion, “Look here they are;” I sent a herald to Jerusalem.

I was the first to give word of it to Zion, and I gave the good news to Jerusalem.

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.

And I saw that there was no man, even no wise man among them, who might give an answer to my questions.

29 Look, all of them are nothing, and their deeds are nothing; their cast metal figures are wind and emptiness.

Truly they are all nothing, their works are nothing and of no value: their metal images are of no more use than wind.