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.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 41: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 41
41
God Helps Israel
1Listen to me in silence, coastlands,
and let nations renew their strength.
Let them approach, then let them speak;
let us draw near together for judgment.
2Who has roused salvation from the east,
summoned#Or “called” him to his foot,
gives nations in his presence,#Literally “before his face”
and subjugates kings?
He makes#Or “gives” them like the dust with his sword,
like scattered stubble with his bow.
3He pursues them and passes on in peace;
he does not enter the path with his feet.
4Who has accomplished and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?#Literally “head”
I, Yahweh, am first;
and I am the one with the last.
5The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They have drawn near,
and they have come.
6Each one helps#Hebrew “help” his neighbor;
he says to his brother, “Take courage!”
7And the artisan encourages the goldsmith,#Literally “refiner”
the one who makes smooth with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good!”
And they strengthen it with nails so it cannot be knocked over.
8But#Or “And” you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you, the offspring#Literally “seed” of Abraham my friend,#Literally “beloved”
9you whom I grasped from the ends of the earth
and called from its remotest parts
and told, “You are my servant;
I have chosen you and I have not rejected you.”
10You must not fear, for I am with you;
you must not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, indeed I will help you,
indeed I will take hold of you with the right hand of my salvation.
11Look! All those who are angry with you shall be ashamed and humiliated;
your opponents#Literally “the men of your strife” shall be like nothing and shall become lost.
12You shall seek them,
but#Or “and” you shall not find them;
your opponents#Literally “the men of your strife” shall be like nothing,
and the men of your war like nothing.
13For I, Yahweh your God, am grasping your right hand;
it is I who say#Literally “the sayer” to you,
“You must not fear;
I myself, I will help you.
14You must not fear, O worm of Jacob;
people of Israel, I myself, I will help you,”
declares#Literally “declaration of” Yahweh,
“and your redeemer is the holy one of Israel.
15Look! I will make you into a new sharp threshing sledge,
with#Literally “owner of” sharp edges.
You shall thresh and crush the mountains,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
16You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
And you yourself shall rejoice in Yahweh;
you shall boast in the holy one of Israel.
17The poor and the needy are seeking water and there is none;
their tongue is dried up with thirst.
I, Yahweh, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18I will open rivers on the barren heights
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness like a pool of water
and the land of dryness like springs of water.
19I will put#Literally “give” the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive oil tree in the wilderness;
I will set the cypress, elm, and box tree together in the desert
20so that they may see and know,
and take to heart and understand together
that the hand of Yahweh has done this,
and the holy one of Israel has created it.”
21“Present your legal case,” says Yahweh.
“Bring your evidence,” says the king of Jacob.
22Let them bring them,
and let them tell us what will happen.
Tell us what the former things are
so that#Or “And” we may take them to our heart
and know their outcome.#Or “end”
Declare to us the things to come;
23tell us the things coming hereafter,#Literally “later”
that#Or “and” we may know that you are gods.
Indeed, do good or#Or “and” do evil,
that#Or “and” we may be afraid and see#Following the reading tradition (Qere); the written text (Kethib) has “fear” together.
24Look! you are nothing,
and your work is something worthless;
whoever chooses you is an abomination.
25I stirred up one from the north,
and he has come from the rising of the sun.
He shall call on my name,
and he shall come on officials as on mortar,
and as the potter#Literally “creator” treads clay.
26Who declared it from the beginning#Literally “head” so that#Or “and” we might know,
and beforehand#Literally “from before faces” so that#Or “and” we might say, “He is right!”#Literally “righteous”
Indeed, there was no one who declared it;
Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it.
Indeed there was no one who heard your words.
27First to Zion, look! Look at them!
And I give a herald#Or “bringer” of good tidings to Jerusalem.
28But#Or “And” I look and there is no man,
and I look among these and there is no counselor,
that#Or “and” I might ask them and they might answer a word.
29Look! All of them are deception;
their works are nothing;
their images are wind and emptiness.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software