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
Isaiah 41
King James Version
41 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21 Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
Jesaja 41
Svenska Folkbibeln
Herren eller avgudarna
41 Var tysta inför mig, ni kustländer.
Låt folken hämta ny kraft,
låt dem komma fram och sedan tala.
Låt oss tillsammans träda inför rätta.
2 Vem har låtit denne uppstå i öster,
han som möts av rättfärdighet?
Vem ger folkslag i hans våld
och gör honom till härskare över kungar?
Vem gör dem till stoft för hans svärd
och som bortblåst halm för hans båge?
3 Han driver bort dem, där han trygg vandrar fram,
på vägar där hans fötter aldrig gått.
4 Vem har planerat och utfört detta?
Det är han som från begynnelsen
kallade fram människors släkten.
Jag, Herren, är den förste och den siste.
Jag är denne Gud.
5 Havsländerna ser det och bävar,
jordens ändar förskräcks.
De närmar sig och kommer.
6 Den ene vill hjälpa den andre
och säger till honom: "Var stark!"
7 Den som snidar i trä styrker guldsmeden,
och bleckslagaren styrker den som hamrar på städ.
Han säger om lödningen: "Den är god"
och nitar fast avguden, så att den inte faller omkull.
8 Men du Israel, min tjänare,
du Jakob, som jag har utvalt,
du ättling av Abraham, min vän!
9 Jag har hämtat dig från jordens ändar,
kallat dig hit från dess yttersta hörn
och jag har sagt till dig: "Du är min tjänare,
dig har jag utvalt och inte förkastat."
10 Frukta inte, ty jag är med dig,
se dig inte ängsligt om, ty jag är din Gud.
Jag styrker dig, jag hjälper dig,
jag uppehåller dig med min rättfärdighets högra hand.
11 Se, alla som hatar dig
skall komma på skam och blygas.
Dina motståndare skall bli till intet och förgås.
12 Du skall söka efter dina motståndare men inte finna dem.
De som strider mot dig
skall gå under och bli till intet.
13 Ty jag är Herren, din Gud,
som fattar din högra hand
och som säger till dig: Frukta inte, jag hjälper dig.
14 Frukta därför inte, du mask Jakob,
ni Israels män.
Jag hjälper dig, säger Herren.
Israels Helige är din återlösare.
15 Se, jag gör dig till en ny tröskvagn med skarpa taggar.
Du skall tröska sönder berg och krossa dem till stoft
och göra höjder lika agnar.
16 Du skall kasta dem med kastskovel,
och vinden skall föra bort dem
och stormen skingra dem.
Men själv skall du fröjda dig i Herren,
jubla över Israels Helige.
17 De betryckta och fattiga söker förgäves efter vatten,
deras tunga förtorkar av törst.
Men jag, Herren, skall bönhöra dem,
Israels Gud skall inte överge dem.
18 Jag skall låta strömmar rinna upp på höjderna
och källor i dalarna.
Jag skall göra öknen till sjö
och torrt land till källsprång.
19 Jag skall låta cedrar och akacieträd växa upp i öknen
med myrten och olivträd.
På hedmarken skall jag plantera cypress
tillsammans med alm och buxbom,
20 för att man tillsammans skall se och veta,
ge akt på och förstå
att Herrens hand har gjort detta,
att Israels Helige har skapat det.
21 För fram er sak, säger Herren,
kom med era bevis, säger Jakobs Konung.
22 Låt dem komma och förkunna för oss vad som skall ske.
Var finns era tidigare utsagor?
Lägg fram dem, så skall vi ge akt på dem
och se efter hur de har gått i fullbordan.
Eller låt oss höra vad som skall komma.
23 Tala om vad som skall hända i framtiden,
så att vi kan se att ni är gudar.
Gör något, vad det vara må,
så att vi alla häpnar när vi ser det.
24 Men se, ni är mindre än ett intet,
ert verk är ingenting alls.
Den som väljer er är avskyvärd.
25 Jag har låtit en man uppstå i norr,
och han kommer ifrån öster.
Han skall åkalla mitt namn.
Han skall gå fram över de styrande,
som vore de lerjord,
lik en krukmakare som trampar lera.
26 Vem talade om detta från begynnelsen,
så att vi fick veta det,
eller i förväg så att vi kunde säga:
"Han har rätt".
Det fanns ingen som talade om det,
ingen som lät oss höra det,
ingen som hörde er tala om det.
27 Jag är den förste som säger till Sion: "Se, där är de!",
den förste som ger Jerusalem detta glädjebud.
28 Jag ser mig om, men här finns ingen.
Av dessa är det ingen som kan ge besked,
ingen som kan ge ett svar på min fråga.
29 Se, de är alla fåfänglighet,
deras verk är ett intet,
deras avgudabilder är vind och tomhet.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
1996, 1998 by Stiftelsen Svenska Folkbibeln