Isaiah 41:18-29

18I will open 1rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make 2the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water.19I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia and the 3myrtle and the 4olive tree; I will place the 5juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress,20That 6they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the 7hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21“8Present your case,” the Lord says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The 9King of Jacob says.2210Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the 11former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;2312Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, 13do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.24Behold, 14you are of 15no account, And 16your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an 17abomination.

25“I have aroused 18one 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 19mortar, Even as the potter treads clay.”26Who has 20declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was 21no one who declared, Surely there was no one who proclaimed, Surely there was no one who heard your words.27“22Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a 23messenger of good news.’28But 24when I look, there is no one, And there is no 25counselor 26among them Who, if I ask, can 27give an answer.29Behold, all of them are 28false; Their 29works are 30worthless, Their molten images are 31wind and emptiness.