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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Isaiah 41
41
God’s Help to Israel
1“Be silent before Me, O islands,#41:1 Or coastlands; also in verse 5
and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come forward and testify;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2Who has aroused one from the east
and called him to his feet in righteousness #41:2 Or from the east, whom victory meets at every step?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
4Who has performed this and carried it out,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—the first and the last—
I am He.”
5The islands see and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward.
6Each one helps the other
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and he who wields the hammer
cheers him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the welding, “It is good.”
He nails it down so it will not be toppled.
8“But you, O Israel, My servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
descendant of Abraham My friend—
9I brought you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its farthest corners.
I said, ‘You are My servant.’
I have chosen and not rejected you.
10Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will surely help you;
I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
11Behold, all who rage against you
will be ashamed and disgraced;
those who contend with you
will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
12You will seek them but will not find them.
Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.
13For I am the Lord your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and tells you: Do not fear,
I will help you.
14Do not fear, O worm of Jacob,
O few men of Israel.
I will help you,” declares the Lord.
“Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away;
a gale will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the Lord;
you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17The poor and needy seek water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18I will open rivers on the barren heights,
and fountains in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water,
and the dry land into flowing springs.
19I will plant cedars in the wilderness,
acacias, myrtles, and olive trees.
I will set cypresses #41:19 Or pines or junipers or firs in the desert,
elms and boxwood together,
20so that all may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this
and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Meaningless Idols
21“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.
22“Let them come and tell us what will happen.
Tell the former things,
so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming.
23Tell us the things that are to come,
so that we may know that you are gods.
Yes, do something good or evil,
that we may look on together in dismay.
24Behold, you are nothing
and your work is of no value.
Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
25I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—
one from the east who calls on My name.
He will march over rulers as if they were mortar,
like a potter who treads the clay.
26Who has declared this from the beginning,
so that we may know,
and from times past,
so that we may say: ‘He was right’?
No one announced it, no one foretold it,
no one heard your words.
27I was the first to tell Zion:#41:27 Or Formerly I said to Zion:
‘Look, here they are!’
And I gave to Jerusalem
a herald of good news.
28When I look, there is no one;
there is no counselor among them;
when I ask them,
they have nothing to say.
29See, they are all a delusion;
their works amount to nothing;
their images are as empty as the wind.
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