Isaiah 41
41
Isaiah 41
1¶ Listen unto me, O islands; and let the peoples strengthen themselves; let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.
2Who raised up righteousness from the east, called him that he might follow him, gave the Gentiles 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 in peace by the way that his feet had never entered.
4Who has wrought and done it? Who calls the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and I, myself am with those who are last.
5The isles saw it and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid; they congregated and came.
6Each one helped his neighbour; and each one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smooths with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is well joined and he strengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
8But thou, Israel, my slave, Jacob whom I have chosen, art the seed of Abraham my friend.
9For I have taken thee from the ends of the earth and called thee from the boundaries thereof and said unto thee Thou shalt be my slave; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10¶ Do not fear for I am with thee; do not be dismayed, for I am thy God, who strengthens thee; I will help thee always; I will always uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11Behold, all those that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and those that strive with thee shall perish.
12Thou shalt seek them and shalt not find them, even those that contended with thee; those that war against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought.
13For I am the Lord thy God that holds thy right hand saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye dead of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15Behold, I have placed thee as a threshing instrument, as 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; but thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17The poor and needy seek the waters that are not; their tongue fails 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 plains; I will turn the wilderness into pools of water and the dry land into springs of water.
19I will bring forth in the wilderness cedars, thorns, myrtles, and olive trees; I will set in the desert the fir tree and the pine and the box tree together:
20That they may see and know and take warning and understand together that the hand of the Lord does this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21¶ Explain your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your foundations, saith the King of Jacob.
22Let them bring forth and declare unto us what shall happen; tell us what has happened from the beginning, and we shall consider it in our hearts; and we shall know what his end shall be, and cause us to understand that which is to come.
23Give us news of that which is to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods; or at least do good or do evil that we may have something to tell, and together we shall marvel.
24Behold, ye are of nothing and your works of vanity; an abomination is he that chooses you.
25I have raised up one from the north, and he came from the rising of the sun; he called in my name and came unto princes as upon clay and as the potter treads clay.
26Who has declared from the beginning, that we shall know? and beforetime that we shall say, He is righteous? yea, there is no one that declares this, yea, there is no one that teaches, yea, there is no one that hears your words.
27I am the first that has taught these things unto Zion, and unto Jerusalem I brought the news.
28For I beheld, and there was no one; and I asked regarding these things, and there was no counsellor; I asked them, and they did not answer a word.
29Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
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Isaiah 41: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Isaiah 41
41
God's Assurance to Israel
1God says,
“Be silent and listen to me, you distant lands!
Get ready to present your case in court;
you will have your chance to speak.
Let us come together to decide who is right.
2“Who was it that brought the conqueror from the east,#41.2 the conqueror from the east: Cyrus, the emperor of Persia (see 45.1).
and makes him triumphant wherever he goes?
Who gives him victory over kings and nations?
His sword strikes them down as if they were dust.
His arrows scatter them like straw before the wind.
3He follows in pursuit and marches safely on,
so fast that he hardly touches the ground!
4Who was it that made this happen?
Who has determined the course of history?
I, the LORD, was there at the beginning,
and I, the LORD, will be there at the end.
5“The people of distant lands have seen what I have done;
they are frightened and tremble with fear.
So they all assemble and come.
6The craftsmen help and encourage one another.
7The carpenter says to the goldsmith, ‘Well done!’
The man who beats the idol smooth
encourages the one who nails it together.
They say, ‘The soldering is good’ —
and they fasten the idol in place with nails.
8 #
2 Chr 20.7; Jas 2.23 “But you, Israel my servant,
you are the people that I have chosen,
the descendants of Abraham, my friend.
9I brought you from the ends of the earth;
I called you from its farthest corners
and said to you, ‘You are my servant.’
I did not reject you, but chose you.
10Do not be afraid — I am with you!
I am your God — let nothing terrify you!
I will make you strong and help you;
I will protect you and save you.
11“Those who are angry with you
will know the shame of defeat.
Those who fight against you will die
12and will disappear from the earth.
13I am the LORD your God;
I strengthen you and say,
‘Do not be afraid; I will help you.’ ”
14The LORD says,
“Small and weak as you are, Israel,
don't be afraid; I will help you.
I, the holy God of Israel, am the one who saves you.
15I will make you like a threshing board,
with spikes that are new and sharp.
You will thresh mountains and destroy them;
hills will crumble into dust.
16You will toss them in the air;
the wind will carry them off,
and they will be scattered by the storm.
Then you will be happy because I am your God;
you will praise me, the holy God of Israel.
17“When my people in their need look for water,
when their throats are dry with thirst,
then I, the LORD, will answer their prayer;
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
18I will make rivers flow among barren hills
and springs of water run in the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water
and the dry land into flowing springs.
19I will make cedars grow in the desert,
and acacias and myrtles and olive trees.
Forests will grow in barren land,
forests of pine and juniper and cypress.
20People will see this and know
that I, the LORD, have done it.
They will come to understand
that Israel's holy God has made it happen.”
The LORD's Challenge to False Gods
21The LORD, the king of Israel, has this to say:
“You gods of the nations, present your case.
Bring the best arguments you have!
22Come here and predict what will happen,
so that we will know it when it takes place.
Explain to the court the events of the past,
and tell us what they mean.
23Tell us what the future holds —
then we will know that you are gods!
Do something good or bring some disaster;
fill us with fear and awe!
24You and all you do are nothing;
those who worship you are disgusting!
25“I have chosen a man who lives in the east;#41.25 a man who lives in the east: See 41.2.
I will bring him to attack from the north.
He tramples on rulers as if they were mud,
like a potter trampling clay.
26Which of you predicted that this would happen,
so that we could say that you were right?
None of you said a word about it;
no one heard you say a thing!
27I, the LORD, was the first to tell Zion the news;
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say,
‘Your people are coming! They are coming home!’#41.27 Verse 27 in Hebrew is unclear.
28When I looked among the gods,
none of them had a thing to say;
not one could answer the questions I asked.
29All these gods are useless;
they can do nothing at all —
these idols are weak and powerless.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.