Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 41
41
1“Keep silence before me, coastlands!
Let the peoples replenish their strength!
Let them approach; then let them speak.
Let us assemble for judgment.”
2Who has raised from the east one who is just
and called him to be in his service?
He hands nations over to him
and subjects kings to him;
his sword reduces them to dust,
his bow to driven straw.
3He pursues them, passing on unscathed,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
4Whose work is this? Who has brought it about?
He who called the generations from the beginning,
“I, Adonai, am the first;
and I am the same with those who are last.”
5The coastlands have seen and became afraid.
The ends of the earth have trembled.
They have approached, and now they have come.
6Every one helps his fellow workman,
everyone says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7The woodworker encourages the goldsmith,
the polisher encourages the hammerer;
he says of the soldering, “Yes, that’s good,”
then puts nails in [the idol] to keep it from moving.
8“But you, Isra’el, my servant;
Ya‘akov, whom I have chosen,
descendants of Avraham my friend,
9I have taken you from the ends of the earth,
summoned you from its most distant parts
and said to you, ‘You are my servant’ —
I have chosen you, not rejected you.
10Don’t be afraid, for I am with you;
don’t be distressed, for I am your God.
I give you strength, I give you help,
I support you with my victorious right hand.
11All those who were angry with you
will be disgraced, put to shame;
those who fought against you
will be destroyed, brought to nothing.
12You will seek them but not find them,
those who contended with you;
yes, those who made war with you
will be brought to nothing, nothing at all.
13For I, Adonai, your God,
say to you, as I hold your right hand,
‘Have no fear; I will help you.
14Have no fear, Ya‘akov, you worm,
you men of Isra’el!’
I will help you,” says Adonai;
“Your redeemer is the Holy One of Isra’el.
15“I will make you into a threshing-sledge,
new, with sharp, pointed teeth,
to thresh the mountains and crush them to dust,
to reduce the hills to chaff.
16As you fan them, the wind will carry them off,
and the whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in Adonai,
you will glory in the Holy One of Isra’el.
17“The poor and needy look for water in vain;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, Adonai, will answer them.
I, the God of Isra’el, will not leave them.
18I will open up rivers on the barren hills
and wells down in the broad valleys.
I will turn the desert into a lake
and dry ground into springs.
19I will plant the desert with cedars,
acacias, myrtles and olive trees;
In the ‘Aravah I will put cypresses
together with elm trees and larches.”
20Then the people will see and know,
together observe and understand
that the hand of Adonai has done this,
that the Holy One of Isra’el created it.
21“Present your case,” says Adonai,
“Produce your arguments,” says Ya‘akov’s king.
22Bring out those idols!
Have them foretell the future for us,
tell us about past events,
so that we can reflect on them
and understand their consequences.
Or tell us about events yet to come,
23state what will happen in the future,
so that we can know you are gods.
At least, do something, either good or bad —
anything, to make us awestruck and fearful!
24You can’t! — because you are less than nothing.
Whoever chooses you is an abomination!
25“I roused someone from the north,
and he has come from the rising sun;
he will call on my name.
He will trample on rulers as if they were mud,
like a potter treading clay.”
26Who said this at the start, so we could know,
or foretold it, so we could say, “He’s right”?
In fact, no one said it; no one foretold it —
the fact is, nobody hears what you say.
27I am the first to declare it to Tziyon,
to send Yerushalayim a messenger with good news.
28But when I look around, there is no one —
not a single one can give counsel,
who, when I ask, can give an answer.
29Look at them all! What they do is nothing!
Their idols are so much wind and waste.
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Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 41: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleIsaiah 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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