Isaiah 41:17-43:13

New Living Translation

¹⁷ “When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
    and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them.
    I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
¹⁸ I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
    I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
    Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
¹⁹ I will plant trees in the barren desert—
    cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
²⁰ I am doing this so all who see this miracle
    will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this,
    the Holy One of Israel who created it.

²¹ “Present the case for your idols,”
    says the Lord.
“Let them show what they can do,”
    says the King of Israel.^[a]
22 “Let them try to tell us what happened long ago
    so that we may consider the evidence.
Or let them tell us what the future holds,
    so we can know what’s going to happen.
²³ Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead.
    Then we will know you are gods.
In fact, do anything—good or bad!
    Do something that will amaze and frighten us.
²⁴ But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all.
    Those who choose you pollute themselves.

²⁵ “But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north.
    From the east he will call on my name.
I will give him victory over kings and princes.
    He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.

²⁶ “Who told you from the beginning
    that this would happen?
Who predicted this,
    making you admit that he was right?
    No one said a word!
²⁷ I was the first to tell Zion,
    ‘Look! Help is on the way!’^[b]
    I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.
²⁸ Not one of your idols told you this.
    Not one gave any answer when I asked.
²⁹ See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
    All your idols are as empty as the wind.

⁵ God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.
    He created the earth and everything in it.
He gives breath to everyone,
    life to everyone who walks the earth.
And it is he who says,
⁶ “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
    I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people, Israel,
    as a symbol of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide the nations.
⁷     You will open the eyes of the blind.
You will free the captives from prison,
    releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.

⁸ “I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not give my glory to anyone else,
    nor share my praise with carved idols.
⁹ Everything I prophesied has come true,
    and now I will prophesy again.
I will tell you the future before it happens.”

¹⁴ He will say, “I have long been silent;
    yes, I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman in labor,
    I will cry and groan and pant.
¹⁵ I will level the mountains and hills
    and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
    and will dry up all the pools.
¹⁶ I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
    guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
    and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
    I will not forsake them.
¹⁷ But those who trust in idols,
    who say, ‘You are our gods,’
    will be turned away in shame.

²¹ Because he is righteous,
    the Lord has exalted his glorious law.
²² But his own people have been robbed and plundered,
    enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.
They are fair game for anyone
    and have no one to protect them,
    no one to take them back home.

²³ Who will hear these lessons from the past
    and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
²⁴ Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt?
    It was the Lord, against whom we sinned,
for the people would not walk in his path,
    nor would they obey his law.
²⁵ Therefore, he poured out his fury on them
    and destroyed them in battle.
They were enveloped in flames,
    but they still refused to understand.
They were consumed by fire,
    but they did not learn their lesson.

⁵ “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
    I will gather you and your children from east and west.
⁶ I will say to the north and south,
    ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
    from the distant corners of the earth.
⁷ Bring all who claim me as their God,
    for I have made them for my glory.
    It was I who created them.’”

⁸ Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,
    who have ears but are deaf.
⁹ Gather the nations together!
    Assemble the peoples of the world!
Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?
    Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses of such predictions?
    Who can verify that they spoke the truth?

¹⁰ “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord.
    “You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
    and understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God—
    there never has been, and there never will be.
¹¹ I, yes I, am the Lord,
    and there is no other Savior.
¹² First I predicted your rescue,
    then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.
No foreign god has ever done this.
    You are witnesses that I am the only God,”
    says the Lord.
¹³ “From eternity to eternity I am God.
    No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.
    No one can undo what I have done.”