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Israel Assured of God’s Help

41 Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
    let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
    let us together draw near for judgment.(A)

Who has roused a victor from the east,
    summoned him to his service?
He delivers up nations to him
    and tramples kings under foot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
    like driven stubble with his bow.(B)
He pursues them and passes on safely,
    scarcely touching the path with his feet.
Who has performed and done this,
    calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am first
    and will be with the last.(C)
The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
    the ends of the earth tremble;
    they have drawn near and come.(D)
Each one helps the other,
    saying to one another, “Take courage!”(E)
The artisan encourages the goldsmith,
    and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good,”
    and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.(F)
But you, Israel, my servant,
    Jacob, whom I have chosen,
    the offspring of Abraham, my friend;(G)
you whom I took from the ends of the earth
    and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant;
    I have chosen you and not cast you off”;(H)
10 do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
    I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.(I)

11 All who are incensed against you
    shall be ashamed and disgraced;
those who strive against you
    shall be as nothing and shall perish.(J)
12 You shall seek those who contend with you,
    but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
    shall be as nothing at all.(K)
13 For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Do not fear,
    I will help you.”(L)

14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
    you maggot[a] Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
    your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.(M)
15 I will make of you a threshing sledge,
    sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
    and you shall make the hills like chaff.(N)
16 You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,
    and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.(O)

17 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.(P)
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights
    and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
    and the dry land springs of water.(Q)
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
    the plane and the pine together,
20 so that all may see and know,
    all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
    the Holy One of Israel has created it.(R)

The Futility of Idols

21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
    bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.(S)
22 Let them bring them and tell us
    what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they were,
    so that we may consider them
and that we may know their outcome
    or declare to us the things to come.(T)
23 Tell us what is to come hereafter,
    that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
    that we may be afraid and terrified.(U)
24 You, indeed, are nothing,
    and your work is nothing at all;
    whoever chooses you is an abomination.(V)

25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
    from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name.[b]
He shall trample[c] on rulers as on mortar,
    as the potter treads clay.(W)
26 Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know,
    and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”?
There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed,
    none who heard your words.(X)
27 I first have declared it to Zion,[d]
    and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.(Y)
28 But when I look there is no one;
    among these there is no counselor
    who, when I ask, gives an answer.(Z)
29 No, they are all a delusion;
    their works are nothing;
    their images are empty wind.(AA)

Footnotes

  1. 41.14 Cn: Heb men of
  2. 41.25 Compare Q ms Gk: MT he shall call on my name
  3. 41.25 Cn: Heb come
  4. 41.27 Cn Compare Q ms: Heb First to Zion—Behold, behold them

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.
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?
And[d] who pursues them
    and[e] moves on unscathed
        by a path that his feet don’t know?[f]
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

“The coastlands have looked and are afraid;
    the ends of the earth have drawn near together[g]
        and come forward.
Each helps his neighbor,
    saying[h] to each other, ‘Be strong!’
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

“But as for you, Israel, my servant,
    Jacob, whom I’ve chosen,
        the offspring of my friend Abraham—
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

  1. Isaiah 41:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
  2. Isaiah 41:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
  3. Isaiah 41:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
  4. Isaiah 41:3 So 1QIsaa LXX; the Heb. lacks and
  5. Isaiah 41:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
  6. Isaiah 41:3 So 1QIsaa; MT reads travel
  7. Isaiah 41:5 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads earth tremble
  8. Isaiah 41:6 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read and saying; cf. LXX
  9. Isaiah 41:7 Lit. he who smoothes with the hammer
  10. Isaiah 41:7 So 1QIsaa; MT reads saying
  11. Isaiah 41:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads will become nothing and die; cf. LXX
  12. Isaiah 41:12 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read You will seek them and not find those who quarrel with you
  13. Isaiah 41:14 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
  14. Isaiah 41:14 1QIsaa is masculine; MT is feminine
  15. Isaiah 41:14 1QIsaa is masculine; MT is feminine
  16. Isaiah 41:15 1QIsaa is masculine; MT is feminine
  17. Isaiah 41:16 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
  18. Isaiah 41:17 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read poor and the needy seeking
  19. Isaiah 41:18 So 1QIsaa; MT implies the
  20. Isaiah 41:19 Or elm
  21. Isaiah 41:20 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa corrector MT LXX read to consider
  22. Isaiah 41:22 So 1QIsaa; MT reads them. And we may know
  23. Isaiah 41:23 So 1QIsaa; MT reads stare at one another; cf. LXX
  24. Isaiah 41:24 So 1QIsaa; MT reads you are nothing, and your work means nothing
  25. Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read I am raising
  26. Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads I am raising
  27. Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack and
  28. Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read my
  29. Isaiah 41:25 I.e. like an overflowing river; so 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads He will come, rulers like mud
  30. Isaiah 41:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and
  31. Isaiah 41:26 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads He was right
  32. Isaiah 41:27 So 1QIsaa; MT reads look, there they are
  33. Isaiah 41:29 So 1QIsaa; MT reads all of their works are utterly nothing