Isaiah 41
Legacy Standard Bible
Do Not Fear, for I Am with You
41 “(A)Coastlands, listen to Me (B)in silence,
And let the peoples (C)gain new power;
(D)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(E)Let us draw near together for judgment.
2 (F)Who has awakened one from the east
Whom He (G)calls in righteousness to His [a]feet?
He (H)gives up nations before him
And [b]has dominion over kings.
He makes them like (I)dust with his sword,
As the wind-driven (J)chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them, passing on in peace,
By a way he had not [c]come with his feet.
4 (K)Who has worked and done it,
Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
‘(L)I, Yahweh, 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 drawn near and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 So the (P)craftsman strengthens the (Q)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer strengthens him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he strengthens it with nails,
(R)So that it will not be shaken.
8 “But you, Israel, (S)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Seed of (T)Abraham My (U)friend,
9 You whom I have [d](V)strongly taken hold of 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 not rejected you.
10 Do not (Z)fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will make you mighty, surely (AA)I will help you;
Surely I will 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 Yahweh your God, (AF)who [e]strongly 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 men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares Yahweh, “[f]and (AI)your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
(AJ)You will thresh the (AK)mountains and pulverize them,
And will 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 Yahweh;
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The [g]afflicted and needy are seeking (AN)water, but there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst;
I, Yahweh, (AO)will answer them Myself,
As the God of Israel I (AP)will not forsake 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 and the (AS)myrtle and the [h]olive tree;
I will place the (AT)juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,
20 That (AU)they may see and know,
And establish and gain insight as well,
That the (AV)hand of Yahweh has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “Bring near your case,” Yahweh says.
“Bring forward your mighty arguments,”
The (AW)King of Jacob says.
22 (AX)Let them bring it forth and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the (AY)former events, declare what they were,
That we may establish our heart on them and know their outcome.
Or cause us to hear of what is coming;
23 (AZ)Declare the things that are to come afterward,
That we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, (BA)do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.
24 Behold, (BB)you are nothing,
And (BC)your work is non-existent;
He who chooses you is an (BD)abomination.
25 “I have awakened (BE)one from the north, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon officials as upon (BF)mortar,
Even as the potter treads 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!”?
Surely there was (BH)no one who declared;
Surely there was no one who caused those words to be heard;
Surely there was no one who heard your words.
27 “(BI)Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a (BJ)messenger of good news.’
28 But (BK)I look, and there is no one,
And there is no (BL)counselor [i]among them
Who, if I ask, can (BM)respond with a word.
29 Behold, all of them are [j]false;
Their (BN)works are (BO)non-existent;
Their molten images are (BP)wind and utter formlessness.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 Lit foot
- Isaiah 41:2 Or subdues
- Isaiah 41:3 Lit coming
- Isaiah 41:9 Normally taken hold of, but cf. 41:7
- Isaiah 41:13 Normally takes hold of, but cf. 41:7
- Isaiah 41:14 Or even your Redeemer, the Holy One
- Isaiah 41:17 Or poor
- Isaiah 41:19 Or oleaster
- Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
- Isaiah 41:29 Or nothing
Isaiah 41
English Standard Version
Fear Not, for I Am with You
41 (A)Listen to me in silence, (B)O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2 (C)Who stirred up one from the east
whom victory meets at every (D)step?[a]
(E)He gives up nations before him,
so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
(F)like driven stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes on safely,
by paths his feet have not trod.
4 (G)Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
(H)I, the Lord, the first,
and with the last; I am he.
5 (I)The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
6 Everyone helps his neighbor
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 (J)The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
and they strengthen it with nails (K)so that it cannot be moved.
8 But you, Israel, (L)my servant,
Jacob, (M)whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, (N)my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called (O)from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are (P)my servant,
(Q)I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with (R)my righteous right hand.
11 (S)Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 (T)You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
(U)those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”
14 Fear not, you (V)worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
your (W)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 (X)Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh (Y)the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
16 (Z)you shall winnow them, and (AA)the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
(AB)And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
17 (AC)When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 (AD)I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
(AE)I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 (AF)I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert (AG)the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that (AH)the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Futility of Idols
21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them, and (AI)tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
or declare to us the things to come.
23 (AJ)Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
(AK)do good, or do harm,
that we may be dismayed and terrified.[b]
24 Behold, (AL)you are nothing,
and your work is less than nothing;
an abomination is he who chooses you.
25 (AM)I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
(AN)from the rising of the sun, (AO)and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 (AP)Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 (AQ)I was the first to say[c] to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
and (AR)I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 (AS)But when I look, there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 (AT)Behold, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their metal images are empty wind.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow?
- Isaiah 41:23 Or that we may both be dismayed and see
- Isaiah 41:27 Or Formerly I said
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
