Isaiah 41:8-28

8“But you, Israel, 1My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of 2Abraham My 3friend,9You whom I have 45taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its 6remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are 7My servant, I have 8chosen you and not rejected you.10Do not 9fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely 10I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous 11right hand.’11Behold, 12all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; 13Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.1214You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.13For I am the Lord your God, 15who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘16Do not fear, I will help you.’14Do not fear, you 17worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares the Lord, “18and 19your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.15Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; 20You will thresh the 21mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff.16You will 22winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will 23rejoice in the Lord, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17“The 24afflicted and needy are seeking 25water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the Lord, 26will answer them Myself, As the God of Israel I 27will not forsake them.18I will open 28rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make 29the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water.19I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia and the 30myrtle and the 31olive tree; I will place the 32juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress,20That 33they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the 34hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21“35Present your case,” the Lord says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The 36King of Jacob says.2237Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the 38former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;2339Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, 40do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.24Behold, 41you are of 42no account, And 43your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an 44abomination.

25“I have aroused 45one 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 46mortar, Even as the potter treads clay.”26Who has 47declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was 48no one who declared, Surely there was no one who proclaimed, Surely there was no one who heard your words.27“49Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a 50messenger of good news.’28But 51when I look, there is no one, And there is no 52counselor 53among them Who, if I ask, can 54give an answer.