Yeshayah 41
41
1Keep silence before Me, O iyim (islands); and let the people renew their ko'ach (strength); let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together for mishpat (judgment, i.e., G-dʼs tribunal).
2Who awakened the just one#41:2 Koresh, Cyrus 44:28 from the mizrach (east), called him to His raglayim, gave the Goyim before him, and made him rule over melachim? He gave them as the aphar to his#41:2 the conquerorʼs cherev, and as windblown kash (chaff, stubble) to his#41:2 the conquerorʼs keshet (bow).
3He#41:3 the conqueror pursued them, and passed on in shalom; even by the orach (path) that his feet do not even come.
4Who hath wrought and done it, calling forth the dorot from the beginning? I Hashem, the Rishon (First), and with the Acharonim (Last ones); I am He.
5The iyim (islands) saw it, and feared; the ketzot ha'aretz (ends of the earth) trembled; they approached and came near.
6They helped everyone his re'a; and everyone said to his brother, chazak!
7So the charash (craftsman) encouraged the tzoref (goldsmith), and he that smootheth with the patish (hammer) encouraged him that strikes the anvil, saying, of the soldering, tov hu; and he fastened it with nails, so that it should not topple.
8But thou, Yisroel, art Avdi, Ya'akov whom I have chosen, the zera Avraham Ohavi (My friend).
9Thou whom I have taken hold of from the ketzot ha'aretz, and called thee from the farthest borders thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art Avdi; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am Eloheicha; I will strengthen thee; indeed, I will help thee; indeed, I will uphold thee with My yamin tzedek.
11Surely, all they that were raging against thee shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing; and the anshei rivecha (they that strive with thee) shall perish.
12Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even the anshei matzutecha (them that contended with thee): the anshei matzutecha (they that war against thee) shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught.
13For I Hashem Eloheicha will take hold of thy yamin (right hand), saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14Fear not, thou tola'at (worm) Ya'akov, and ye men of Yisroel; I will help thee, saith Hashem, and thy Go'el (Redeemer), the Kadosh Yisroel.
15Hinei, I will make thee a new sharp threshing iron having pifiyyot (blades); thou shalt thresh the harim, and beat them small, and shalt make the geva'ot (hills) as motz (chaff).
16Thou shalt winnow them, and the ruach shall carry them away, and the se'arah shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Hashem, and shalt glory in Kadosh Yisroel.
17When the aniyim and evyonim seek mayim, and there is none, and their leshon faileth for tzama (thirst), I Hashem will hear them, I the Elohei Yisroel will not forsake them.
18I will open neharot on the hilltops, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the midbar a pool of mayim, and the dry land sources of mayim.
19I will plant in the midbar the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the etz shemen; I will set in the Aravah the cypress, and the fir, and the box tree together;
20So that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the Yad Hashem hath done this, and the Kadosh Yisroel hath created it.
21Present your case, saith Hashem; bring forth your strong arguments for proof, saith Melech Ya'akov.
22Let them bring them forth, and tell us what shall happen; let them tell the rishonot (former things), what they are, that we may consider them, and know the acharit (latter end, final outcome) of them; or declare us things to come.
23Tell the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are elohim; indeed, do tov, or do rah, that we may be afraid, and terrified.
24See, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought; a toevah (abomination) is he that chooseth you.
25I have awakened one#41:25 Koresh, Cyrus from the tzafon (north), and he shall come; from the rising of the shemesh shall he call upon My Shem; and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the yotzer (potter) treadeth clay.
26Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? And from beforehand, that we may say, He was in the right? Indeed, there is none that telleth, indeed, there is none that preacheth, indeed, there is none that heareth your words.
27The rishon shall say to Tziyon, Hinei, behold them; and I will give to Yerushalayim mevaser (one that bringeth good news).
28For I beheld, and there was no ish; even among them, and there was no Yo'etz (counselor), that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29See, they#41:29 the idols are all aven (wickedness); their ma'asim are nothing; their molten images are ruach and tohu.
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Yeshayah 41: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
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.