Isaiah 41

¹Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations take new strength. Let them draw near, and then speak. Let us apply for judgment together.

²Who has raised up a just man from the east, and has called him to follow him? He will place the nations under his gaze, and he will rule over kings. He will cause them to be like dust before his sword, like chaff driven by the wind before his bow.

³He will pursue them. He will pass by in peace. No trace will appear after his feet.

⁴Who has worked and accomplished these things, calling to the generations from the beginning? “It is I, the Lord! I am the first and the last.”

⁵The islands saw it and were afraid. The ends of the earth were stupefied. They drew near and arrived.

⁶Each one will help his neighbor and will say to his brother, “Be strengthened.”

⁷The coppersmith striking with the mallet encouraged him who was forging at that time, saying, “It is ready for soldering.” And he strengthened it with nails, so that it would not be moved.

⁸But you, O Israel, are my servant, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of my friend Abraham.

⁹For his sake, I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and I have called you from its distant places. And I said to you: “You are my servant. I have chosen you, and I have not cast you aside.”

¹⁰Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.

¹¹Behold, all who fight against you shall be confounded and ashamed. They will be as if they did not exist, and the men who contradict you will perish.

¹²You will seek them, and you will not find them. The men who rebel against you will be as if they did not exist. And the men who make war against you will be like something that has been consumed.

¹³For I am the Lord your God. I take you by your hand, and I say to you: Do not be afraid. I have helped you.

¹⁴Fear not, O worm of Jacob, you who are dead within Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵I have established you like a new threshing cart, having serrated blades. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. And you will turn the hills into chaff.

¹⁶You will winnow them, and the wind will blow them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. And you shall exult in the Lord; you shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷The indigent and the poor are seeking water, but there is none. Their tongue has been dried up by thirst. I, the Lord, will heed them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

¹⁸I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of water.

¹⁹I will plant the cedar in a deserted place, with the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. In the desert, I will plant the pine, and the elm, and the box tree together,

²⁰so that they may see and know, acknowledge and understand, together, that the hand of the Lord has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹Bring your case forward, says the Lord. Bring it here, if you have anything to allege, says the King of Jacob.

²²Let them approach and announce to us the things that will occur. Announce to us the things that were before. And we will apply our heart to them, and we will know their end. And so, reveal to us the things that will occur.

²³Announce the things that will occur in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Likewise, accomplish good or evil, if you are able, and let us speak of it and see it together.

²⁴Behold, you exist out of nothing, and your work is from what does not exist; he who has chosen you is an abomination.

²⁵I have raised up one from the north, and he will arrive from the rising of the sun. He will call upon my name, and he will reduce magistrates to mud, like a potter working with clay.

²⁶Who has announced this from its rising, so that we may know it, or from its beginning, so that we may say, “You are just.” There is no one who either announces, or predicts, or hears your words.

²⁷The first one will say to Zion: “Behold, they are here,” and to Jerusalem, “I will present an evangelist.”

²⁸And I saw, and there was no one among any of them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.

²⁹Behold, they are all unjust, and their works are empty. Their idols are wind and emptiness.

Isaiah 41

¹Let the islands keep silence before me, and the nations take new strength: let them come near, and then speak, let us come near to judgment together.

²Who hath raised up the just one from the east, hath called him to follow him? he shall give the nations in his sight, and he shall rule over kings: he shall give them as the dust to his sword, as stubble driven by the wind, to his bow.

³He shall pursue them, he shall pass in peace, no path shall appear after his feet.

⁴Who hath wrought and done these things, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, I am the first and the last.

⁵The islands saw it, and feared, the ends of the earth were astonished, they drew near, and came.

⁶Every one shall help his neighbour, and shall say to his brother: Be of good courage.

⁷The coppersmith striking with the hammer encouraged him that forged at that time, saying: It is ready for soldering: and he strengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

⁸But thou Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend:

⁹In whom I have taken thee from the ends of the earth, and from the remote parts thereof have called thee, and said to thee: Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and have not cast thee away.

¹⁰Fear not, for I am with thee: turn not aside, for I am thy God: I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just one hath upheld thee.

¹¹Behold all that fight against thee shall be confounded and ashamed, they shall be as nothing, and the men shall perish that strive against thee.

¹²Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find the men that resist thee: they shall be as nothing: and as a thing consumed the men that war against thee.

¹³For I am the Lord thy God, who take thee by the hand, and say to thee: Fear not, I have helped thee.

¹⁴Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, you that are dead of Israel: I have helped thee, saith the Lord: and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵I have made thee as a new thrashing wain, with teeth like a saw: thou shalt thrash the mountains, and break them in pieces: and shalt make the hills as chaff.

¹⁶Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, in the Holy One of Israel thou shalt be joyful.

¹⁷The needy and the poor seek for waters, and there are none: their tongue hath been dry with thirst. I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

¹⁸I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains: I will turn the desert into pools of waters, and the impassable land into streams of waters.

¹⁹I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, and the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree: I will set in the desert the fir tree, the elm, and the box tree together:

²⁰That they may see and know, and consider, and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

²¹Bring your cause near, saith the Lord: bring hither, if you have any thing to allege, saith the King of Jacob.

²²Let them come, and tell us all things that are to come: tell us the former things what they were: and we will set our heart upon them and shall know the latter end of them, and tell us the things that are to come.

²³Shew the things that are to come hereafter, and we shall know that ye are gods. Do ye also good or evil, if you can: and let us speak, and see together.

²⁴Behold, you are of nothing, and your work of that which hath no being: he that hath chosen you is an abomination.

²⁵I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun: he shall call upon my name, and he shall make princes to be as dirt, and as the potter treading clay.

²⁶Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know: and from time of old, that we may say: Thou art just. There is none that sheweth, nor that foretelleth, nor that heareth your words.

²⁷The first shall say to Sion: Behold they are here, and to Jerusalem I will give an evangelist.

²⁸And I saw, and there was no one even among them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.

²⁹Behold they are all in the wrong, and their works are vain: their idols are wind and vanity.