Isaiah 41
New Living Translation
God’s Help for Israel
41 “Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea.
Bring your strongest arguments.
Come now and speak.
The court is ready for your case.
2 “Who has stirred up this king from the east,
rightly calling him to God’s service?
Who gives this man victory over many nations
and permits him to trample their kings underfoot?
With his sword, he reduces armies to dust.
With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind.
3 He chases them away and goes on safely,
though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.
4 Who has done such mighty deeds,
summoning each new generation from the beginning of time?
It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last.
I alone am he.”
5 The lands beyond the sea watch in fear.
Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.
6 The idol makers encourage one another,
saying to each other, “Be strong!”
7 The carver encourages the goldsmith,
and the molder helps at the anvil.
“Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.”
Carefully they join the parts together,
then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over.
8 “But as for you, Israel my servant,
Jacob my chosen one,
descended from Abraham my friend,
9 I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
saying, ‘You are my servant.’
For I have chosen you
and will not throw you away.
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
11 “See, all your angry enemies lie there,
confused and humiliated.
Anyone who opposes you will die
and come to nothing.
12 You will look in vain
for those who tried to conquer you.
Those who attack you
will come to nothing.
13 For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
And I say to you,
‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
14 Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob,
don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you.
I am the Lord, your Redeemer.
I am the Holy One of Israel.’
15 You will be a new threshing instrument
with many sharp teeth.
You will tear your enemies apart,
making chaff of mountains.
16 You will toss them into the air,
and the wind will blow them all away;
a whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in the Lord.
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
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.
Isaiah 41
International Standard Version
The Lord Comes as Judge
41 “Be silent before me, you coastlands,
and let the people renew their strength!
Let them come forward,
then let them speak together—
let’s draw near for a ruling.
2 Who has aroused victory from the east,
and[a] has summoned it to his service,
and[b] has handed over nations to him?
Who brings down kings,
and[c] turns them into dust with his sword,
into windblown stubble with his bow?
3 And[d] who pursues them
and[e] moves on unscathed
by a path that his feet don’t know?[f]
4 Who has performed and carried this out,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—the first
and will be with the last
—I am the One!”
Idolaters Encourage Each Other
5 “The coastlands have looked and are afraid;
the ends of the earth have drawn near together[g]
and come forward.
6 Each helps his neighbor,
saying[h] to each other, ‘Be strong!’
7 The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and the hammersmith[i] encourages the one who strikes the anvil.
He says[j] about the welding, ‘It’s good!’
and he reinforces it with nails so that it won’t topple.”
The Lord Encourages Israel
8 “But as for you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I’ve chosen,
the offspring of my friend Abraham—
9 you whom I encouraged from the ends of the earth
and called from its farthest corners,
and told you, ‘You’re my servant,
I’ve chosen you
and haven’t cast you aside.’
10 Don’t be afraid,
because I’m with you;
don’t be anxious,
because I am your God.
I keep on strengthening you;
I’m truly helping you.
I’m surely upholding you
with my victorious right hand.”
The Coming Defeat of God’s Enemies
11 “Look! All who are enraged at you
will be put to shame and disgraced;
those who contend with you
will all die.[k]
12 Those who quarrel with you[l]
will be as nothing;
those who fight you
like nothing at all!”
A Call to Courage
13 “For I am the Lord your God,
who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I’ll help you.
14 Don’t be afraid, you little worm Jacob,
and[m] you insects of Israel!
I myself will help you,’[n] declares the Lord,
your[o] Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”
A Promise of Victory
15 “See, I’m making you[p] into
a new, sharp, and multi-tooth threshing sledge.
You’ll thresh and crush the mountains,
and make the hills like chaff.
16 You’ll winnow them, and the wind will lift them up,
and a tempest will blow them away.
Then you’ll rejoice in the Lord,
and[q] you’ll make your boast in the Holy One of Israel.”
17 “As for the poor, the needy, those seeking[r] water—
when there is none
and their tongues are parched from thirst—
I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.
18 I’ll open up rivers on the barren heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I’ll turn the[s] desert into a pool of water,
and the parched land into springs of water.
19 I’ll put cedar trees in the wilderness,
along with acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I’ll plant cypresses in the desert—
box[t] trees, and pine trees together—
20 all so that people may see and recognize,
perceive,[u] consider, and comprehend at the same time,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Can God’s Enemies Predict the Future?
21 “Put forward your case!” says the Lord.
“Submit your arguments!” says Jacob’s King.
22 Let them approach and ask us,
‘What will happen?
As to the former things, what were they?
Tell us, so that we may consider them and know.
Or[v] the latter things or the things to come—
let us hear.
23 Tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods!
Yes, do something good or something bad,
so we may hear[w] and gaze at it together.’”
24 “Look! You and your work are less than nothing;[x]
whoever finds you pleasing is disgusting.”
25 “You are stirring up[y] one from the north,
and they are coming[z] from the rising of the sun;
and[aa] he will be called by his[ab] name.
Rulers will arrive like mud;[ac]
just[ad] like a potter, he will trample the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,
so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could ask,
‘Is it right?’[ae]
Indeed, no one told of this,
no one made an announcement,
and no one heard your words:
27 First, to Zion: “There is slumber.”[af]
And to Jerusalem: “I’ll send a messenger with good news.”
28 But when I look, there is no one—
among them there’s no one to give counsel,
no one to give an answer when I ask them.
29 See, none of them exist, and their deeds are nothing.[ag]
Their metal images are only wind and confusion.’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 41:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 41:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 41:3 So 1QIsaa LXX; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 41:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 41:3 So 1QIsaa; MT reads travel
- Isaiah 41:5 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads earth tremble
- Isaiah 41:6 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read and saying; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 41:7 Lit. he who smoothes with the hammer
- Isaiah 41:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads saying
- Isaiah 41:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads will become nothing and die; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 41:12 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read You will seek them and not find those who quarrel with you
- Isaiah 41:14 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 41:14 1QIsaa is masculine; MT is feminine
- Isaiah 41:14 1QIsaa is masculine; MT is feminine
- Isaiah 41:15 1QIsaa is masculine; MT is feminine
- Isaiah 41:16 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 41:17 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read poor and the needy seeking
- Isaiah 41:18 So 1QIsaa; MT implies the
- Isaiah 41:19 Or elm
- Isaiah 41:20 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa corrector MT LXX read to consider
- Isaiah 41:22 So 1QIsaa; MT reads them. And we may know
- Isaiah 41:23 So 1QIsaa; MT reads stare at one another; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 41:24 So 1QIsaa; MT reads you are nothing, and your work means nothing
- Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read I am raising
- Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads I am raising
- Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
- Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read my
- Isaiah 41:25 I.e. like an overflowing river; so 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads He will come, rulers like mud
- Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and
- Isaiah 41:26 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads He was right
- Isaiah 41:27 So 1QIsaa; MT reads look, there they are
- Isaiah 41:29 So 1QIsaa; MT reads all of their works are utterly nothing
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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