Isaiah 41-42
New American Standard Bible 1995
Israel Encouraged
41 “(A)Coastlands, listen to Me (B)in silence,
And let the peoples (C)gain new strength;
(D)Let them come forward, then let them speak;
(E)Let us come together for judgment.
2 “(F)Who has aroused one from the east
Whom He (G)calls in righteousness to His [a]feet?
He (H)delivers up nations before him
And subdues 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 safety,
By a way he had not been [b]traversing with his feet.
4 “(K)Who has performed and accomplished it,
Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
‘(L)I, the Lord, 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 encourages the (Q)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(R)So that it will not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, (S)My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of (T)Abraham My (U)friend,
9 You whom I have [c](V)taken 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 strengthen you, 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 the Lord your God, (AF)who upholds 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 the Lord, “[d]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 the Lord,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The [e]afflicted and needy are seeking (AN)water, but there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst;
I, the Lord, (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 [f]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 recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the (AV)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “[g]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your strong arguments,”
The (AW)King of Jacob says.
22 (AX)Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the (AY)former events, declare what they were,
That we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23 (AZ)Declare the things that are going 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 of [h]no account,
And (BC)your work amounts to nothing;
He who chooses you is an (BD)abomination.
25 “I have aroused (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 rulers 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 proclaimed,
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)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no (BL)counselor [i]among them
Who, if I ask, can (BM)give an answer.
29 “Behold, all of them are [j]false;
Their (BN)works are (BO)worthless,
Their molten images are (BP)wind and emptiness.
God’s Promise concerning His Servant
42 “(BQ)Behold, My (BR)Servant, whom I [k]uphold;
My (BS)chosen one in whom My (BT)soul delights.
I have put My (BU)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth (BV)justice to the [l]nations.
2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 “A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth (BW)justice.
4 “He will not be (BX)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the (BY)coastlands will wait expectantly for His [m]law.”
5 Thus says God the Lord,
Who (BZ)created the heavens and (CA)stretched them out,
Who spread out the (CB)earth and its [n]offspring,
Who (CC)gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6 “I am the Lord, I have (CD)called You in righteousness,
I will also (CE)hold You by the hand and (CF)watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a (CG)covenant to the people,
As a (CH)light to the nations,
7 To (CI)open blind eyes,
To (CJ)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 “(CK)I am the Lord, that is (CL)My name;
I will not give My (CM)glory to another,
Nor My praise to [o]graven images.
9 “Behold, the (CN)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare (CO)new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a (CP)new song,
Sing His praise from the (CQ)end of the earth!
(CR)You who go down to the sea, and (CS)all that is in it.
You (CT)islands, and those who dwell on them.
11 Let the (CU)wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The settlements where (CV)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of (CW)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the (CX)mountains.
12 Let them (CY)give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the (CZ)coastlands.
13 (DA)The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His (DB)zeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will (DC)prevail against His enemies.
The Blindness of the People
14 “(DD)I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
15 “I will (DE)lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will (DF)make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 “I will (DG)lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will (DH)make darkness into light before them
And (DI)rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will (DJ)not leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be (DK)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in [p]idols,
Who say to molten images,
“You are our gods.”
18 (DL)Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My (DM)servant,
Or so deaf as My (DN)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is [q](DO)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 (DP)You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the law (DQ)great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and despoiled;
All of them are (DR)trapped in [r]caves,
Or are (DS)hidden away in prisons;
They have become a prey with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!”
23 Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and listen hereafter?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they (DT)were not willing to walk,
And whose law they did not (DU)obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the (DV)fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he [s](DW)paid no attention.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 Lit foot
- Isaiah 41:3 Lit going
- Isaiah 41:9 Or taken hold of
- Isaiah 41:14 Or even your Redeemer, the Holy One
- Isaiah 41:17 Or poor
- Isaiah 41:19 Or oleaster
- Isaiah 41:21 Lit Bring near
- Isaiah 41:24 Lit nothing
- Isaiah 41:28 Lit out of those
- Isaiah 41:29 Another reading is nothing
- Isaiah 42:1 Or hold fast
- Isaiah 42:1 Or Gentiles
- Isaiah 42:4 Or instruction
- Isaiah 42:5 Or vegetation
- Isaiah 42:8 Or idols
- Isaiah 42:17 Or graven images
- Isaiah 42:19 Or the devoted one
- Isaiah 42:22 Or holes
- Isaiah 42:25 Lit did not lay it to heart
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
