Isaiah 41

¹Keep silence, and hear me, ye distant lands. Ye nations, gather your strength! Let them come near; then let them speak; Let us go together into judgment.

²Who hath raised up from the region of the East Him whom victory meeteth in his march? Who hath subdued nations before him, And given him dominion over kings? Who made their swords like dust, And their bows like driven stubble?

³He pursued them, and passed in safety, By a path which his foot had never trodden.

⁴Who hath wrought and done it? I, who have called the generations from the beginning, I, Jehovah, the first; And with the last also am I.

⁵Distant nations saw it, and were afraid; The ends of the earth, and trembled; They drew near, and came together.

⁶One helped another, And said to him, "Be of good courage!"

⁷The carpenter encouraged the smith, He that smoothed with the hammer him that smote on the anvil, And said, "The soldering is good," And he fastened it with nails that it might not fall.

⁸But thou, O Israel, my servant, Thou, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Offspring of Abraham, my friend!

⁹Thou, whom I have led by the hand from the ends of the earth, And called from the extremities thereof, And said to thee, "Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away!"

¹⁰Fear not, for I am with thee; Faint not, for I, thy God, will strengthen thee; I will help thee, and sustain thee, with my right hand of salvation!

¹¹Behold, all who are enraged against thee Shall be ashamed and confounded; All that contend with thee Shall come to nothing and perish.

¹²Thou shalt seek and not find Them that contend with thee; They shall come to nothing, and be no more, Who make war against thee.

¹³For I, Jehovah, am thy God, that holdeth thee by the right hand, That saith to thee, "Fear not, I am thy helper!"

¹⁴Fear not, thou worm Jacob, thou feeble people of Israel! I am thy helper, saith Jehovah; Thy redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵Behold, I will make thee a thrashing-wain, sharp and new, With double edges; Thou shalt thrash the mountains, and beat them small, And make the hills as chaff.

¹⁶Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them. But thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, And glory in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst, I, Jehovah, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

¹⁸I will open rivers upon the bare hills, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.

¹⁹I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia, The myrtle and the olive-tree; I will place in the desert the cypress, The plane-tree and the larch together.

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

²¹Bring forward your cause, saith Jehovah; Produce your strong reasons, saith the king of Jacob.

²²Let them produce them, and show us what shall happen! Tell us what ye have predicted in times past, That we may consider, and know its fulfilment! Or declare to us things that are to come!

²³Let us hear what shall happen in future times, That we may know whether ye are gods; Do something, be it good or evil, That we may be astonished, and see it together!

²⁴Behold, ye are less than nothing, And your work is less than naught; An abomination is he that chooseth you!

²⁵I have raised up one from the north, and he cometh; From the rising of the sun he calleth upon my name; He trampleth upon princes as upon mortar; As the potter treadeth down the clay.

²⁶Who hath declared this from the beginning, that we might know it, And long ago, that we might say, It is true? There was not one that foretold it, not one that declared it, Not one that heard your words.

²⁷I first said to Zion, Behold! behold them! And I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of glad tidings.

²⁸I looked, but there was no man; Even among them, but there was none that gave counsel; I inquired of them that they might give an answer;

²⁹But behold, they are all vanity; Their works are nothing; Wind and emptiness are their molten images.

Isaiah 41

¹Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.

²Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.

³He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.

⁴Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.

⁵The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.

⁶They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.

⁷So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened 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.

⁹Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

¹⁰Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

¹¹Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.

¹²Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

¹³For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

¹⁴Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, 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, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

¹⁸I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

¹⁹I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, 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.

²¹Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.

²²Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

²³Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

²⁴Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.

²⁵I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

²⁶Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

²⁷The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

²⁸For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

²⁹Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.