Isaiah 41
41
Israel Assured of God’s Help
1“Keep #Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13silence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us #Is. 1:18come near together for judgment.
2“Who raised up one #Is. 46:11from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who #Gen. 14:14; Is. 45:1, 13gave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3Who pursued them, and passed safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4#Is. 41:26Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am #Rev. 1:8, 17; 22:13the first;
And with the last I am #Is. 43:10; 44:6He.’ ”
5The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
6#Is. 40:19Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
“Be of good courage!”
7#Is. 44:13So the craftsman encouraged the #Is. 40:19goldsmith;
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
#Is. 40:20That it might not totter.
8“But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have #Deut. 7:6; 10:15; Ps. 135:4; (Is. 43:1)chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My #2 Chr. 20:7; James 2:23friend.
9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10#Is. 41:13, 14; 43:5Fear not, #(Deut. 31:6)for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11“Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be #Ex. 23:22; Is. 45:24; 60:12; Zech. 12:3ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12You shall seek them and not find them—
Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
13For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
14“Fear not, you #Job 25:6; Ps. 22:6worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15“Behold, #Mic. 4:13; Hab. 3:12; (2 Cor. 10:4)I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16You shall #Jer. 51:2winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And#Is. 45:25 glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not #Ps. 94:14; Rom. 11:2forsake them.
18I will open #Is. 35:6, 7; 43:19; 44:3rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the #Ps. 107:35wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the #Is. 35:1desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20#Job 12:9; Is. 66:14That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Futility of Idols
21“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the #Is. 43:15King of Jacob.
22“Let#Is. 45:21 them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the #Is. 43:9former things, what they were,
That we may consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
23#Is. 42:9; 44:7, 8; 45:3; (John 13:19)Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, #Jer. 10:5do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24Indeed #Ps. 115:8; Is. 44:9; (Rom. 3:10–20; 1 Cor. 8:4)you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25“I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the rising of the sun #Ezra 1:2he shall call on My name;
#Is. 41:2; Jer. 50:3And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
26#Is. 43:9Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
27#Is. 41:4The first time #Is. 40:9; Nah. 1:15I said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28#Is. 63:5For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29#Is. 41:24Indeed they are all worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
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Isaiah 41: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 41
41
Israel Encouraged
1“Listen to Me in silence, you islands and coastlands,
And let the nations gain their strength;
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us come together for judgment [and decide the issue between us concerning the enemy from the east].
2Who has stirred up and put into action one from the east [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great]
Whom He calls in righteousness to His service and whom victory meets at every step?
The Lord turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
Like wind-driven chaff with his bow.
3He (Cyrus) pursues them and passes along safely,
By a way his feet had not traveled before.
4Who has performed and done this,
Calling forth [and guiding the destinies of] the generations [of the nations] from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord—the first, and with the last [existing before history began, the ever-present, unchanging God]—I am He.’ ”
5The islands and coastlands have seen and they fear;
The ends of the earth tremble;
They have drawn near and have come.
6They each help his neighbor
And say to his brother [as he fashions his idols], “Be of good courage!”
7So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
And he who smooths metal with the smith’s hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering (welding), “That is good”;
And he fastens the idol with nails,
So that it will not totter nor be moved.
8“But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The offspring of Abraham My friend,
9You whom I [the Lord] have #Lit seized.taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not rejected you [even though you are exiled].
10Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;
I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’
11Indeed, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and humiliated;
Those who strive against you will be as nothing and will perish.
12You shall search for those who quarrel with you, but will not find them;
They who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all.
13For I the Lord your God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord],
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’
14Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15In fact, I have made of you a new, sharp #A heavy flat wooden sledge composed of several thick boards with sharp pieces of flint or metal embedded on one side. It was dragged over harvested stalks of grain to separate the kernels from the straw.threshing implement with sharp edges;
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
And make the hills like chaff.
16You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And a high wind will scatter them;
But you will rejoice in the Lord,
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none;
Their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them Myself;
I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them.
18I will open rivers on the barren heights
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a reed-pool of water
And the dry land springs of water.
19I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the myrtle and the olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,
20So that they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
That the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21“Present your case [for idols made by men’s hands],” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence [of divinity],”
Says the king of Jacob.
22Let them bring forward [their evidence] and tell us what is going to happen.
Regarding the former events, tell what they were,
That we may consider them and know their outcome;
Or announce to us the things that are going to come.
23Tell us the things that are to come afterward,
That we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, you should do something good or do evil, #Lit and let us be.that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle].
24Hear this! You [idols] are less than nothing,
And your work is worthless;
The worshiper who chooses you [as a god] is repulsive.
25“I have stirred up and put into action #Cyrus originally came from the east (Is 41:2), but defeated a number of kingdoms north of Babylon early in his reign.one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].
And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,
Even as a potter treads clay.”
26Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know?
Or from earlier times, so that we could say, “He is [unquestionably] right!”?
In fact, there was no one who declared it,
Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it;
There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless].
27“I was first to say to Zion, ‘Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [#This prophecy was declared about a hundred and fifty years before it occurred.that Cyrus will be stirred up and put into action to save them].’
28But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],
And there is no counselor #Lit out of those.among them,
Who, if I ask, can give an answer.
29In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false;
Their works are worthless,
Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.
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