Isaiah 41
Expanded Bible
The Lord Will Help Israel
41 The Lord says, “·Faraway countries [or Coastlands; or Islands], listen to me.
Let the nations ·become strong [renew their strength].
·Come to me [Approach] and speak;
·we will [or let us] meet together ·to decide who is right [for judgment/or debate].
2 “Who ·caused the one to come [stirs up one] from the east [C the Persian king Cyrus the Great; 44:28—45:6; 46:11; 48:14–16]?
Who ·gives him victories everywhere he goes [or calls him in righteousness to his service/L foot]?
He [C the Lord] gives nations over to him
and ·defeats [subdues] kings.
He uses his sword, and kings become like dust.
He uses his bow, and they are blown away like ·chaff [straw].
3 He chases them and ·is never hurt [L passes by in peace],
·going places he has never been before [L by a path his feet have not gone].
4 Who caused this to happen?
·Who has controlled history [L …calling generations] since the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the one. ·I was here at the beginning,
and I will be here when all things are finished [or…the First and the Last; or…with them at the first and the last; L first and with them at the last].”
5 All you ·faraway places [or islands; or coastlands], look and be afraid;
all you ·places far away on [ends of] the earth, shake with fear.
Come close and ·listen to [approach] me.
6 ·The workers help each other [A man helps his companion/neighbor]
and say to ·each other [his brother], “Be strong!”
7 The ·craftsman [engraver; metal worker] encourages the goldsmith,
and the workman who smooths the metal with a hammer encourages the one who ·shapes the metal [strikes the anvil].
He says, “This ·metal work [welding; soldering] is ·good [sound; well crafted].”
He nails the statue to a base so it can’t fall over [C the nations find false hope and baseless courage in their idols; vv. 28–29].
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8 ·The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants [L “You Israel, my servant].
·People of Jacob, I chose you [L Jacob, whom I have chosen; 44:1].
You are ·from the family [descendants; offspring; seed] of my friend Abraham [Gen. 12:1–3].
9 I took you from ·places far away on [L the ends of] the earth
and called you from ·a faraway country [its farthest parts].
I said, ‘You are my ·servants [L servant].’
I have chosen you and have not ·turned against [rejected; thrown away] you.
10 So don’t ·worry [fear], because I am with you.
Don’t be ·afraid [dismayed], because I am your God.
I will ·make you strong [strengthen you] and will help you;
I will ·support [uphold] you with my ·right hand that saves you [or righteous right hand; C a symbol of power to save and protect; Ex. 15:6; Ps. 63:8].
11 “[L Look; T Behold] All those people who ·are angry with [seethe/rage against] you
will be ashamed and disgraced.
Those who ·are [strive] against you
will ·disappear [become nothing] and ·be lost [perish].
12 You will look for your enemies,
but you will not find them.
Those who ·fought [wage war] against you
will ·vanish completely [be as nothing].
13 [L For; Because] I am the Lord your God,
who holds your right hand,
and I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I will help you.’
14 Do not be afraid ·even though you are weak as a worm [L you worm, Jacob],
you ·few people of Israel who are left [or people of Israel; or maggot, Israel].
I myself will help you,” says the Lord.
“·The one who saves you [Your redeemer/protector] is the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
15 Look, I ·have made [or will make] you like a new threshing ·board [sledge]
with many sharp teeth.
So you will ·walk on [thresh the] mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like ·chaff [straw].
16 You will ·throw them into the air [winnow them], and the wind will carry them away;
a ·windstorm [gale; tempest] will scatter them.
Then you will ·be happy [rejoice] in the Lord;
you will ·be proud of [boast in] the Holy One of Israel [1:4].
17 “The poor and needy people look for water,
but ·they can’t find any [there is none].
Their tongues are ·dry [parched] with thirst.
But I, the Lord, will answer ·their prayers [L them];
I, the God of Israel, will not ·leave them to die [L abandon/forsake them].
18 I will ·make rivers flow [L open rivers] on the ·dry hills [barren heights]
and springs flow through the valleys.
I will change the ·desert [wilderness] into ·a lake [pools] of water
and the ·dry [arid; parched] land into ·fountains [springs] of water.
19 I will ·make trees grow [plant; put] in the ·desert [wilderness]—
cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20 [L …so that] People will see these things and ·understand [know];
they will ·think carefully about these things [consider] and ·learn [comprehend]
that the Lord’s ·power [L hand] did this,
that the Holy One of Israel [1:4] ·made these things [created it].”
The Lord Challenges False Gods
21 The Lord says, “Present your case.”
The King of Jacob says, “·Tell me [Produce; Bring forth] your ·arguments [evidence; L strong words].
22 ·Bring in your idols [L Let them come forward] to tell us
what is going to happen.
Have them tell us ·what happened in the beginning [the former things].
Then we will ·think about [consider] these things,
and we will know ·how they will turn out [their outcome; how they were fulfilled].
Or tell us ·what will happen in the future [things to come].
23 Tell us what is coming next
so we will ·believe [know] that you are gods.
Do something, whether it is good or bad,
and make us ·afraid [or dismayed and afraid].
24 [L Look; T Behold] ·You gods [L You] are less than nothing;
you can’t do anything.
Those who ·worship [L choose] you ·should be hated [are detestable/an abomination].
25 “I have ·brought [stirred up] someone to come out of the north [C Cyrus, king of Persia; 41:2; 44:28—45:6; 46:11; 48:14–16].
·I have called him by name from the east [or…one from the east/rising sun who calls on my name].
He ·walks on kings [tramples on rulers] as if they were ·mud [mortar],
just as a potter ·walks [treads] on the clay.
26 Who ·told us about [declared; decreed] this ·before it happened [L from the beginning]?
Who told us ahead of time so we could say, ‘He was right’?
·None of you [L Indeed no one] told us anything;
·none of you [L indeed no one] told us before it happened;
·no one [L indeed no one] heard you tell about it.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell ·Jerusalem [L Zion] ·that the people were coming home [or “Look, help is coming!”; L “Look, here they are!”].
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28 I ·look at the idols [L look], but there is ·not one that can answer [L no one/man].
None of them can give ·advice [counsel];
none of them can answer my questions.
29 Look, all these idols are ·false [a deception/delusion; or foolish; worthless].
They cannot do anything;
their images are ·worth nothing [wind and confusion/chaos; or empty wind].
Isaiah 41
New American Standard Bible
Israel Encouraged
41 “(A)Listen to Me (B)in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples (C)gain new strength;
(D)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(E)Let’s come together for judgment.
2 (F)Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He (G)calls in righteousness to His [a]feet?
He (H)turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like (I)dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven (J)chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been [b]traversing with his feet.
4 (K)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
‘(L)I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. (M)I am He.’”
5 The (N)coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The (O)ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 So the (P)craftsman encourages the (Q)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(R)So that it will not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, (S)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (T)Abraham My (U)friend,
9 You whom I have [c](V)taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its (W)remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are (X)My servant,
I have (Y)chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 Do not (Z)fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, (AA)I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous (AB)right hand.’
11 Behold, (AC)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
(AD)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 (AE)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 For I am the Lord your God (AF)who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘(AG)Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 Do not fear, you (AH)worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and (AI)your [d]Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(AJ)You will thresh the (AK)mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
16 You will (AL)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will (AM)rejoice in the Lord,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy are seeking (AN)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, (AO)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I (AP)will not abandon them.
18 I will open (AQ)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make (AR)the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
19 I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the (AS)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the (AT)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
20 So that (AU)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the (AV)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “[e]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The (AW)King of Jacob says.
22 (AX)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the (AY)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23 (AZ)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, (BA)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
24 Behold, (BB)you are less than nothing,
And (BC)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an (BD)abomination.
25 “I have put (BE)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon [f](BF)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
26 Who has (BG)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was (BH)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
27 “(BI)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a (BJ)messenger of good news.’
28 But (BK)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no (BL)counselor [g]among them
Who, if I ask, can (BM)give an answer.
29 Behold, all of them are [h]false;
Their (BN)works are (BO)nothing,
Their cast metal images are (BP)wind and emptiness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 Lit foot
- Isaiah 41:3 Lit going
- Isaiah 41:9 Lit seized
- Isaiah 41:14 Or Redeemer, the Holy One
- Isaiah 41:21 Lit Bring near
- Isaiah 41:25 I.e., the building material
- Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
- Isaiah 41:29 Another reading is nothing
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
