Isaiah 41

Israel Encouraged

1“1Listen to Me 2in silence, you coastlands, And let the peoples 3gain new strength; 4Let them come forward, then let them speak; 5Let’s come together for judgment.26Who has stirred one from the east Whom He 7calls in righteousness to His 8feet? He 9turns nations over to him And subdues kings. He makes them like 10dust with his sword, Like the wind-driven 11chaff with his bow.3He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been 12traversing with his feet.413Who has performed and accomplished it, Summoning the generations from the beginning? ‘14I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. 15I am He.’”

5The 16coastlands have seen and are afraid; The 17ends of the earth tremble; They have approached and have come.6Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, “Be strong!”7So the 18craftsman encourages the 19smelter, 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, 20So that it will not totter.8“But you, Israel, 21My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of 22Abraham My 23friend,9You whom I have 2425taken from the ends of the earth And called from its 26remotest parts, And said to you, ‘You are 27My servant, I have 28chosen you and have not rejected you.10Do not 29fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, 30I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous 31right hand.’11Behold, 32all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; 33Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.1234You 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 35who takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you, ‘36Do not fear, I will help you.’14Do not fear, you 37worm Jacob, you people of Israel; I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and 38your 39Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.15Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; 40You will thresh the 41mountains and pulverize them, And make the hills like chaff.16You will 42winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will 43rejoice in the Lord, You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

17“The poor and needy are seeking 44water, but there is none, And their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, 45will answer them Myself; As the God of Israel I 46will not abandon them.18I will open 47rivers on the bare heights, And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make 48the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land fountains of water.19I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia, the 49myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place the 50juniper in the desert, Together with the elm tree and the cypress,20So that 51they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the 52hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21“53Present your case,” the Lord says. “Bring forward your evidence,” The 54King of Jacob says.2255Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the 56former events, declare what they were, So that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;2357Declare the things that are going to come afterward, So that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, 58do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.24Behold, 59you are less than nothing, And 60your work is less than nothing! He who chooses you is an 61abomination.

25“I have put 62one from the north into motion, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as upon 6364mortar, As the potter treads on clay.”26Who has 65declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? There was 66no one at all who declared, There was no one at all who proclaimed, There was no one at all who heard your words.27“67Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a 68messenger of good news.’28But 69when I look, there is no one, And there is no 70counselor 71among them Who, if I ask, can 72give an answer.29Behold, all of them are 73false; Their 74works are 75nothing, Their cast metal images are 76wind and emptiness.