Isaiah 41:17-29

New American Standard Bible

¹⁷ “The poor and needy are seeking ^(A)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, ^(B)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I ^(C)will not abandon them.
¹⁸ I will open ^(D)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make ^(E)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 ^(F)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the ^(G)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
²⁰ So that ^(H)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the ^(I)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹ “^[a]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The ^(J)King of Jacob says.
^22 (K)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the ^(L)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
^23 (M)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, ^(N)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
²⁴ Behold, ^(O)you are less than nothing,
And ^(P)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an ^(Q)abomination.

²⁵ “I have put ^(R)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 ^[b](S)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
²⁶ Who has ^(T)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was ^(U)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 “^(V)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a ^(W)messenger of good news.’
²⁸ But ^(X)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no ^(Y)counselor ^[c]among them
Who, if I ask, can ^(Z)give an answer.
²⁹ Behold, all of them are ^[d]false;
Their ^(AA)works are ^(AB)nothing,
Their cast metal images are ^(AC)wind and emptiness.