Font Size
Isaiah 41:17-29
Common English Bible
Isaiah 41:17-29
Common English Bible
17 The poor and the needy seek water, and there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to them;
I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.
18 I will open streams on treeless hilltops
and springs in valleys.
I will make the desert into ponds
and dry land into cascades of water.
19 I will plant in the desert cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees;
I will put in the wilderness cypress, elm, and pine as well,
20 so that they will see and know
and observe and comprehend
that the Lord’s hand has done this,
and the holy one of Israel has created it.
Other gods challenged
21 Present your case, says the Lord.
Bring forward your evidence, says Jacob’s king.
22 Let the idols[a] approach
and tell us what will happen.
The prior things—what are they?
Announce them, and we’ll think about them
and know their significance.
Or proclaim to us what is to come!
23 Report things that will happen in the future,
then we’ll know that you are gods.
Do good! Or do bad!
Then we will all be afraid and fearful.
24 Look! You are nobody, and your deeds are nothing.
Whoever chooses you is disgusting.
25 I woke up one from the north and he came;
from the east, one who calls my name.
He tramples governors like mud,
as a potter treads clay.
26 Who announced this from the start
so that we would know;
from an earlier time
so we would say, “That’s right”?
Truly, no one announced it,
no one proclaimed it,
and no one heard your words.
27 I first said it to Zion, “Look, here they are”;
to Jerusalem I now send a herald.
28 But I look, and there’s no one
among them, no counselor;
and when I ask,
no one can answer.
29 Look, all of them are frauds;
their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are a total delusion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:22 Or them
Isaiah 41:17-29
New International Version
Isaiah 41:17-29
New International Version
17 “The poor and needy search for water,(A)
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.(B)
But I the Lord will answer(C) them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake(D) them.
18 I will make rivers flow(E) on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert(F) into pools of water,(G)
and the parched ground into springs.(H)
19 I will put in the desert(I)
the cedar and the acacia,(J) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers(K) in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress(L) together,(M)
20 so that people may see and know,(N)
may consider and understand,(O)
that the hand(P) of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One(Q) of Israel has created(R) it.
21 “Present your case,(S)” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.(T)
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.(U)
Tell us what the former things(V) were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,(W)
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know(X) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,(Y)
so that we will be dismayed(Z) and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing(AA)
and your works are utterly worthless;(AB)
whoever chooses you is detestable.(AC)
25 “I have stirred(AD) up one from the north,(AE) and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads(AF) on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,(AG) so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold(AH) it,
no one heard any words(AI) from you.
27 I was the first to tell(AJ) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.(AK)
28 I look but there is no one(AL)—
no one among the gods to give counsel,(AM)
no one to give answer(AN) when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;(AO)
their images(AP) are but wind(AQ) and confusion.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.