IsaiahChapter 41

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¹"Be quiet before me, you islands.
Let the nations get new strength.
Let them come forward and speak.
Let us meet together in court. ²Who has stirred up a man from the east?
Who has called him to serve in what is right?
God hands nations over to him.
He makes kings bow down before him.
His sword turns them to dust.
His bow turns them to straw blown by the wind. ³He chases them and goes on safely.
His feet barely touch the path. ⁴Who has done this and made it happen?
Who has called each generation from the beginning?
I, the LORD, am the first and the last.
I am he." ⁵The islands see it and are afraid.
The ends of the earth shake.
They come near and step forward. ⁶Each one helps the other.
Each says to his brother, "Be strong!" ⁷The craftsman cheers on the goldsmith.
The one who smooths the metal with a hammer
cheers on the one who strikes the anvil.
He says about the joining, "It is good."
Then he nails the idol down so it will not fall over. ⁸"But you, Israel, are my servant.
You are Jacob, whom I have chosen.
You come from Abraham, my friend. ⁹I brought you from the ends of the earth.
I called you from its farthest corners.
I said, 'You are my servant.'
I have chosen you, and I have not turned you away. ¹⁰Do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will make you strong.
I will surely help you.
I will hold you up with my righteous right hand. ¹¹Look, all who are angry with you
will be ashamed and put to shame.
Those who fight with you
will become nothing and will perish. ¹²You will look for them,
but you will not find them.
Those who go to war against you
will come to nothing. ¹³For I am the LORD your God.
I take hold of your right hand and tell you,
'Do not fear. I will help you.' ¹⁴Do not fear, Jacob, you worm.
Do not fear, you few people of Israel.
I will help you," says the LORD.
"Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.a ¹⁵Look, I will make you into a threshing sled.
It will be new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them.
You will turn the hills into chaff. ¹⁶You will toss them into the air,
and the wind will carry them away.
A strong wind will scatter them.
But you will be full of joy in the LORD.
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁷The poor and needy look for water,
but there is none.
Their tongues are dry with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸I will make rivers flow on the bare hills.
I will make springs in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water.
I will turn the dry land into flowing springs. ¹⁹I will plant cedars in the wilderness,
and acacias, myrtles, and olive trees.
I will put cypress trees in the desert,
with elms and boxwood trees together. ²⁰This is so that all may see and know.
They may think about it and understand
that the LORD's hand has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has made it." ²¹"Bring your case," says the LORD.
"Give your reasons," says the King of Jacob. ²²"Let your idols come and tell us what will happen.
Tell us about the things of the past,
so we can think about them and know how they turn out.
Or tell us what is coming. ²³Tell us what will happen in the future.
Then we will know that you are gods.
Yes, do something, good or bad.
Then we will all look on and be afraid. ²⁴Look, you are nothing.
What you do is worth nothing.
Anyone who chooses you is disgusting. ²⁵I have stirred up a man from the north, and he has come.
He comes from the east, and he calls on my name.
He will walk on rulers as if they were mud.
He will be like a potter who stomps on clay. ²⁶Who told about this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who told it long ago, so we could say, 'He was right'?
No one told about it.
No one said it ahead of time.
No one heard any words from you. ²⁷I was the first to tell Zion,
'Look, here they are!'
I gave Jerusalem a messenger of good news. ²⁸When I look, there is no one.
No one among them can give advice.
When I ask them,
they have nothing to say. ²⁹Look, they are all false.
What they do comes to nothing.
Their idols are as empty as the wind."