The Lord versus the Nations’ Gods

41 “Be silent before Me, islands!(A)
And let peoples renew their strength.
Let them approach, then let them testify;
let us come together for the trial.
Who has stirred him up from the east?(B)
He calls righteousness to his feet.[a](C)
The Lord hands nations over to him,(D)
and he subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like wind-driven stubble with his bow.
He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, Yahweh, am the first,
and with the last(E)—I am He.”(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 41:2 Hb obscure

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.

“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.
He chases them away and goes on safely,
    though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.
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.”

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