Isaiah 41

1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.2 Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow.3 He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he.5 The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come.6 They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage.7 So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be moved.8 But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend,9 thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners 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 are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish.12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.13 For I, Jehovah 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 Jehovah, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.15 Behold, I have made thee to be 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 winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.17 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.18 I will open rivers on the bare heights, 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 put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together:20 that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.21 Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.22 Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come.23 Declare 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 is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you.25 I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.26 Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.27 I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.28 And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word.29 Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.

ISAIAH 41

The [Lord] Controls //Human Events

1 Be silent and listen,
every island in the sea.
Have courage and come near,
every one of you nations.
Let's settle this matter!

2 Who appointed this ruler
from the east?t
Who puts nations and kings
in his power?t
His sword and his arrows
turn them to dust
blown by the wind.

3 He goes after them so quickly
that his feet
barely touch the ground—
he doesn't even get hurt.

4 Who makes these things happen?
Who controls human events?
I do! I am the [Lord].
I was there at the beginning;
I will be there at the end.

5 Islands and foreign nations
saw what I did and trembled
as they came near.

What Can Idols Do?

6 Worshipers of idols
comfort each other,
saying, “Don't worry!”

7 Woodcarvers, goldsmiths,
and other workerst
encourage one another and say,
“We've done a great job!”
Then they nail the idol down,
so it won't fall over.

The [Lord]'s Chosen Servant

8  t Israel, you are my servant.
I chose you, the family
of my friend Abraham.

9 From far across the earth
I brought you here and said,
“You are my chosen servant.
I haven't forgotten you.”

10 Don't be afraid. I am with you.
Don't tremble with fear.
I am your God.
I will make you strong,
as I protect you with my arm
and give you victories.

11 Everyone who hates you
will be terribly disgraced;
those who attack
will vanish into thin air.

12 You will look around
for those brutal enemies,
but you won't find them—
they will be gone.

13 I am the [Lord] your God.
I am holding your hand,
so don't be afraid.
I am here to help you.

14 People of Israel, don't worry,
though others may say,
“Israel is only a worm!”
I am the holy God of Israel,
who saves and protects you.

15 I will let you be like a log
covered with sharp spikes.t
You will grind and crush
every mountain and hillt
until they turn to dust.

16 A strong wind will scatter them
in all directions.
Then you will celebrate
and praise me, your [Lord],
the holy God of Israel.

The [Lord] Helps the Poor

17 When the poor and needy
are dying of thirst
and cannot find water,
I, the [Lord] God of Israel,
will come to their rescue.
I won't forget them.

18 I will make rivers flow
on mountain peaks.
I will send streams
to fill the valleys.
Dry and barren land
will flow with springs
and become a lake.

19 I will fill the desert
with all kinds of trees—
cedars, acacias, and myrtles;
olive and cypress trees;
fir trees and pines.

20 Everyone will see this
and know that I,
the holy [Lord] God of Israel,
created it all.

Idols Are Useless

21 I am the [Lord],
the King of Israel!
Come argue your case with me.
Present your evidence.

22 Come near me, you idols.t
Tell us about the past,
and we will think about it.
Tell us about the future,
so we will know
what is going to happen.

23 Prove that you are gods
by making your predictions
come true.
Do something good or evil,
so we can be amazed
and terrified.t

24 You idols are nothing,
and you are powerless.t
To worship you
would be disgusting.

25 I, the [Lord], appointed a ruler
in the north;
now he comes from the east
to honor my name.
He tramplest kings like mud,
as potters trample clay.t

26 Did any of you idols predict
what would happen?
Did any of you get it right?
None of you told about this
or even spoke a word.

27 I was the first to tell
the people of Jerusalem,
“Look, it's happening!”t
I was the one who announced
this good news to Zion.

28 None of these idols
are able to give advice
or answer questions.

29 They are nothing, t
and they can do nothing—
they are merely
a passing breeze.