Isaiah 41
Lexham English Bible
God Helps Israel
41 Listen to me in silence, coastlands,
and let nations renew their strength.
Let them approach, then let them speak;
let us draw near together for judgment.
2 Who has roused salvation from the east,
summoned[a] him to his foot,
gives nations in his presence,[b]
and subjugates kings?
He makes[c] them like the dust with his sword,
like scattered stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes on in peace;
he does not enter the path with his feet.
4 Who has accomplished and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?[d]
I, Yahweh, am first;
and I am the one with the last.
5 The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They have drawn near,
and they have come.
6 Each one helps[e] his neighbor;
he says to his brother, “Take courage!”
7 And the artisan encourages the goldsmith,[f]
the one who makes smooth with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good!”
And they strengthen it with nails so it cannot be knocked over.
8 But[g] you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you, the offspring[h] of Abraham my friend,[i]
9 you whom I grasped from the ends of the earth
and called from its remotest parts
and told, “You are my servant;
I have chosen you and I have not rejected you.”
10 You must not fear, for I am with you;
you must not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, indeed I will help you,
indeed I will take hold of you with the right hand of my salvation.
11 Look! All those who are angry with you shall be ashamed and humiliated;
your opponents[j] shall be like nothing and shall become lost.
12 You shall seek them,
but[k] you shall not find them;
your opponents[l] shall be like nothing,
and the men of your war like nothing.
13 For I, Yahweh your God, am grasping your right hand;
it is I who say[m] to you,
“You must not fear;
I myself, I will help you.
14 You must not fear, O worm of Jacob;
people of Israel,
I myself, I will help you,” declares[n] Yahweh,
“and your redeemer is the holy one of Israel.
15 Look! I will make you into a new sharp threshing sledge,
with[o] sharp edges.
You shall thresh and crush the mountains,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
And you yourself shall rejoice in Yahweh;
you shall boast in the holy one of Israel.
17 The poor and the needy are seeking water and there is none;
their tongue is dried up with thirst.
I, Yahweh, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the barren heights
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness like a pool of water
and the land of dryness like springs of water.
19 I will put[p] the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive oil tree in the wilderness;
I will set the cypress, elm, and box tree together in the desert
20 so that they may see and know,
and take to heart and understand together
that the hand of Yahweh has done this,
and the holy one of Israel has created it.”
21 “Present your legal case,” says Yahweh.
“Bring your evidence,” says the king of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them,
and let them tell us what will happen.
Tell us what the former things are
so that[q] we may take them to our heart
and know their outcome.[r]
Declare to us the things to come;
23 tell us the things coming hereafter,[s]
that[t] we may know that you are gods.
Indeed, do good or[u] do evil,
that[v] we may be afraid and see[w] together.
24 Look! you are nothing,
and your work is something worthless;
whoever chooses you is an abomination.
25 I stirred up one from the north,
and he has come from the rising of the sun.
He shall call on my name,
and he shall come on officials as on mortar,
and as the potter[x] treads clay.
26 Who declared it from the beginning[y] so that[z] we might know,
and beforehand[aa] so that[ab] we might say, “He is right!”[ac]
Indeed, there was no one who declared it;
Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it.
Indeed there was no one who heard your words.
27 First to Zion, look! Look at them!
And I give a herald[ad] of good tidings to Jerusalem.
28 But[ae] I look and there is no man,
and I look among these and there is no counselor,
that[af] I might ask them and they might answer a word.
29 Look! All of them are deception;
their works are nothing;
their images are wind and emptiness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 Or “called”
- Isaiah 41:2 Literally “before his face”
- Isaiah 41:2 Or “gives”
- Isaiah 41:4 Literally “head”
- Isaiah 41:6 Hebrew “help”
- Isaiah 41:7 Literally “refiner”
- Isaiah 41:8 Or “And”
- Isaiah 41:8 Literally “seed”
- Isaiah 41:8 Literally “beloved”
- Isaiah 41:11 Literally “the men of your strife”
- Isaiah 41:12 Or “and”
- Isaiah 41:12 Literally “the men of your strife”
- Isaiah 41:13 Literally “the sayer”
- Isaiah 41:14 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 41:15 Literally “owner of”
- Isaiah 41:19 Literally “give”
- Isaiah 41:22 Or “And”
- Isaiah 41:22 Or “end”
- Isaiah 41:23 Literally “later”
- Isaiah 41:23 Or “and”
- Isaiah 41:23 Or “and”
- Isaiah 41:23 Or “and”
- Isaiah 41:23 Following the reading tradition (Qere); the written text (Kethib) has “fear”
- Isaiah 41:25 Literally “creator”
- Isaiah 41:26 Literally “head”
- Isaiah 41:26 Or “and”
- Isaiah 41:26 Literally “from before faces”
- Isaiah 41:26 Or “and”
- Isaiah 41:26 Literally “righteous”
- Isaiah 41:27 Or “bringer”
- Isaiah 41:28 Or “And”
- Isaiah 41:28 Or “and”
Isaiah 41
World English Bible
41 “Keep silent before me, islands,
and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come near,
then let them speak.
Let’s meet together for judgment.
2 Who has raised up one from the east?
Who called him to his foot in righteousness?
He hands over nations to him
and makes him rule over kings.
He gives them like the dust to his sword,
like the driven stubble to his bow.
3 He pursues them
and passes by safely,
even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.
4 Who has worked and done it,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last, I am he.”
5 The islands have seen, and fear.
The ends of the earth tremble.
They approach, and come.
6 Everyone helps his neighbor.
They say to their brothers, “Be strong!”
7 So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith.
He who smoothes with the hammer encourages him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good;”
and he fastens it with nails, that it might not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham my friend,
9 You whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth,
and called from its corners,
and said to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away.’
10 Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you.
Yes, I will help you.
Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded.
Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish.
12 You will seek them, and won’t find them,
even those who contend with you.
Those who war against you will be as nothing,
as a non-existent thing.
13 For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand,
saying to you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I will help you.’
14 Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob,
and you men of Israel.
I will help you,” says Yahweh.
“Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth.
You will thresh the mountains,
and beat them small,
and will make the hills like chaff.
16 You will winnow them,
and the wind will carry them away,
and the whirlwind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in Yahweh.
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none.
Their tongue fails for thirst.
I, Yahweh, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and springs in the middle of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness.
I will set cypress trees, pine, and box trees together in the desert;
20 that they may see, know, consider, and understand together,
that Yahweh’s hand has done this,
and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 Produce your cause,” says Yahweh.
“Bring out your strong reasons!” says the King of Jacob.
22 “Let them announce and declare to us what will happen!
Declare 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 you are gods.
Yes, do good, or do evil,
that we may be dismayed,
and see it together.
24 Behold, you are nothing,
and your work is nothing.
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25 “I have raised up one from the north, and he has come,
from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name,
and he shall come on rulers as on mortar,
and as the potter treads clay.
26 Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know?
and before, that we may say, ‘He is right?’
Surely, there is no one who declares.
Surely, there is no one who shows.
Surely, there is no one who hears your words.
27 I am the first to say to Zion, ‘Behold, look at them;’
and I will give one who brings good news to Jerusalem.
28 When I look, there is no man,
even among them there is no counselor who, when I ask of them, can answer a word.
29 Behold, all of their deeds are vanity and nothing.
Their molten images are wind and confusion.
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