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, the 3myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place the 4juniper in the desert, Together with the elm tree and the cypress,20So that 5they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the 6hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21“7Present your case,” the Lord says. “Bring forward your evidence,” The 8King of Jacob says.229Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the 10former events, declare what they were, So that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;2311Declare the things that are going to come afterward, So that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, 12do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.24Behold, 13you are less than nothing, And 14your work is less than nothing! He who chooses you is an 15abomination.

25“I have put 16one 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 1718mortar, As the potter treads on clay.”26Who has 19declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? There was 20no one at all who declared, There was no one at all who proclaimed, There was no one at all who heard your words.27“21Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a 22messenger of good news.’28But 23when I look, there is no one, And there is no 24counselor 25among them Who, if I ask, can 26give an answer.29Behold, all of them are 27false; Their 28works are 29nothing, Their cast metal images are 30wind and emptiness.