Isaiah 41
41
The Lord Will Help Israel
1The Lord says, “Faraway countries, listen to me.
Let the nations become strong.
Come to me and speak;
we will meet together to decide who is right.
2“Who caused the one to come from the east?
Who gives him victories everywhere he goes?
The one who brought him gives nations over to him
and defeats kings.
He uses his sword, and kings become like dust.
He uses his bow, and they are blown away like chaff.
3He chases them and is never hurt,
going places he has never been before.
4Who caused this to happen?
Who has controlled history since the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the one. I was here at the beginning,
and I will be here when all things are finished.”
5All you faraway places, look and be afraid;
all you places far away on the earth, shake with fear.
Come close and listen to me.
6The workers help each other
and say to each other, “Be strong!”
7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and the workman who smooths the metal with a hammer encourages the one who shapes the metal.
He says, “This metal work is good.”
He nails the statue to a base so it can’t fall over.
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants.
People of Jacob, I chose you.
You are from the family of my friend Abraham.
9I took you from places far away on the earth
and called you from a faraway country.
I said, ‘You are my servants.’
I have chosen you and have not turned against you.
10So don’t worry, because I am with you.
Don’t be afraid, because I am your God.
I will make you strong and will help you;
I will support you with my right hand that saves you.
11“All those people who are angry with you
will be ashamed and disgraced.
Those who are against you
will disappear and be lost.
12You will look for your enemies,
but you will not find them.
Those who fought against you
will vanish completely.
13I am the Lord your God,
who holds your right hand,
and I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid.
I will help you.’
14You few people of Israel who are left,
do not be afraid even though you are weak as a worm.
I myself will help you,” says the Lord.
“The one who saves you is the Holy One of Israel.
15Look, I have made you like a new threshing board
with many sharp teeth.
So you will walk on mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like chaff.
16You will throw them into the air, and the wind will carry them away;
a windstorm will scatter them.
Then you will be happy in the Lord;
you will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.
17“The poor and needy people look for water,
but they can’t find any.
Their tongues are dry with thirst.
But I, the Lord, will answer their prayers;
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.
18I will make rivers flow on the dry hills
and springs flow through the valleys.
I will change the desert into a lake of water
and the dry land into fountains of water.
19I will make trees grow in the desert—
cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees
growing together in the desert.
20People will see these things and understand;
they will think carefully about these things and learn
that the Lord’s power did this,
that the Holy One of Israel made these things.”
The Lord Challenges False Gods
21The Lord says, “Present your case.”
The King of Jacob says, “Tell me your arguments.
22Bring in your idols to tell us
what is going to happen.
Have them tell us what happened in the beginning.
Then we will think about these things,
and we will know how they will turn out.
Or tell us what will happen in the future.
23Tell us what is coming next
so we will believe that you are gods.
Do something, whether it is good or bad,
and make us afraid.
24You gods are less than nothing;
you can’t do anything.
Those who worship you should be hated.
25“I have brought someone to come out of the north
I have called by name a man from the east, and he knows me.
He walks on kings as if they were mud,
just as a potter walks on the clay.
26Who told us about this before it happened?
Who told us ahead of time so we could say, ‘He was right’?
None of you told us anything;
none of you told us before it happened;
no one heard you tell about it.
27I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Jerusalem that the people were coming home.
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28I look at the idols, but there is not one that can answer.
None of them can give advice;
none of them can answer my questions.
29Look, all these idols are false.
They cannot do anything;
they are worth nothing.
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Isaiah 41: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 41
41
God’s Help to Israel
1“Be silent before Me, O islands,#41:1 Or coastlands; also in verse 5
and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come forward and testify;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2Who has aroused one from the east
and called him to his feet in righteousness #41:2 Or from the east, whom victory meets at every step?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
4Who has performed this and carried it out,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—the first and the last—
I am He.”
5The islands see and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward.
6Each one helps the other
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and he who wields the hammer
cheers him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the welding, “It is good.”
He nails it down so it will not be toppled.
8“But you, O Israel, My servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
descendant of Abraham My friend—
9I brought you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its farthest corners.
I said, ‘You are My servant.’
I have chosen and not rejected you.
10Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will surely help you;
I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
11Behold, all who rage against you
will be ashamed and disgraced;
those who contend with you
will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
12You will seek them but will not find them.
Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.
13For I am the Lord your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and tells you: Do not fear,
I will help you.
14Do not fear, O worm of Jacob,
O few men of Israel.
I will help you,” declares the Lord.
“Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away;
a gale will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the Lord;
you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17The poor and needy seek water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18I will open rivers on the barren heights,
and fountains in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water,
and the dry land into flowing springs.
19I will plant cedars in the wilderness,
acacias, myrtles, and olive trees.
I will set cypresses #41:19 Or pines or junipers or firs in the desert,
elms and boxwood together,
20so that all may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this
and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Meaningless Idols
21“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.
22“Let them come and tell us what will happen.
Tell the former things,
so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming.
23Tell us the things that are to come,
so that we may know that you are gods.
Yes, do something good or evil,
that we may look on together in dismay.
24Behold, you are nothing
and your work is of no value.
Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
25I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—
one from the east who calls on My name.
He will march over rulers as if they were mortar,
like a potter who treads the clay.
26Who has declared this from the beginning,
so that we may know,
and from times past,
so that we may say: ‘He was right’?
No one announced it, no one foretold it,
no one heard your words.
27I was the first to tell Zion:#41:27 Or Formerly I said to Zion:
‘Look, here they are!’
And I gave to Jerusalem
a herald of good news.
28When I look, there is no one;
there is no counselor among them;
when I ask them,
they have nothing to say.
29See, they are all a delusion;
their works amount to nothing;
their images are as empty as the wind.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.