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 have not rejected you.10Do not 9fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, 10I will also help you, I will also 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 takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you, ‘16Do not fear, I will help you.’14Do not fear, you 17worm Jacob, you people of Israel; I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and 18your 19Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.15Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; 20You will thresh the 21mountains and pulverize them, And 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 boast in the Holy One of Israel.

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

21“33Present your case,” the Lord says. “Bring forward your evidence,” The 34King of Jacob says.2235Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the 36former events, declare what they were, So that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;2337Declare the things that are going to come afterward, So that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, 38do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.24Behold, 39you are less than nothing, And 40your work is less than nothing! He who chooses you is an 41abomination.

25“I have put 42one 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 4344mortar, As the potter treads on clay.”26Who has 45declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? There was 46no one at all who declared, There was no one at all who proclaimed, There was no one at all who heard your words.27“47Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a 48messenger of good news.’28But 49when I look, there is no one, And there is no 50counselor 51among them Who, if I ask, can 52give an answer.