Isaiah 41
41
Chapter 41
God judges the nations
1‘You islands, be quiet as you listen to me.
The nations need to come and stand in front of me.
So they must be brave and speak to me.
We must meet together to decide who is right.
2Tell me, who has woken up that king in the east?
Who has chosen that king to serve him?
He has given that king power over many nations,
so that the kings of those nations must obey him.
He uses that king's weapons to destroy other nations.
He blows them away like dust or straw.
3That king chases quickly after them,
and nothing hurts him.
His feet do not seem to touch the ground!
4Tell me, who has caused these things to happen?
Who has decided what should happen,
from the beginning, century after century?
It is I, the Lord!
I was there at the beginning,
and I will always be there, through to the end.
5The people on the islands see what I am doing,
and they are afraid.
People all over the world shake with fear.
They join together and they come near.
6They help each other,
and they say to one another, “Be strong!” ’
7The man who makes things with wood speaks to the man who works with gold and the man who works with iron. They help each other to work well. They say, ‘We have done a good job.’ Then they use nails to fix the idol that they have made, so that it does not fall over!
8‘But you, Israel, are my servant.
Yes, I have chosen you, descendants of Jacob.
You are descendants of my friend, Abraham.
9I led you back from the ends of the earth.
I called you to come from places far away.
I have said to you, “You are my servant.
I have chosen you. I have not thrown you away.
10I am with you,
so do not be afraid.
I am your God,
so do not be upset.
I will make you strong
and I will help you.
My powerful right hand will keep you safe.”
11Listen to this! Everyone who has been angry with you
will now become completely ashamed.
Those who have attacked you will disappear and die.
12Even if you look for your enemies,
you will not find them.
They will all disappear!
13Yes, I am the Lord, your God.
I will hold on to your right hand.
I say to you, “Do not be afraid. I will help you.”
14Do not be afraid, you Israelites, descendants of Jacob.
You may seem unimportant, like a worm,
but I myself will help you.’
That is what the Lord says.
He is your Redeemer, the Holy God of Israel.
15‘Look at this! I will cause you to destroy your enemies,
like a heavy weight that threshes grain. #41:15 ‘thresh’ means to hit hard, to remove seeds from wheat or other crops.
You will have new sharp metal points that are like teeth.
You will thresh the mountains
and you will break them into pieces.
You will make the hills become like straw.
16You will throw them into the air,
and the wind will blow them away in all directions!
You will be happy with what the Lord has done for you.
You will boast that the Holy God of Israel is your God.
17Poor and helpless people look for water to drink,
but there is none.
They are so thirsty that their tongues are dry.
But I, the Lord, will answer their prayers.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them alone.
18I will make rivers run over the dry hills.
I will make springs of water in the valleys.
I will make pools of water in the desert.
The dry land will become a place of streams.
19Many trees will grow in the wilderness.
Cedar, acacia, myrtle and olive trees will grow there.
In the dry valleys
there will be pine, fir and cypress trees. #41:19 These kinds of trees do not usually grow together in the same place.
20I will do this so that people see it happen.
They will watch carefully and they will understand.
They will know that the Lord's power
has caused it to happen.
They will know that the Holy God of Israel
has created it.’
False gods have no power
21The Lord, Israel's King, says,
‘Come and show me what you can do!
Tell me clearly what power you have!
22Bring your idols into court.
Let them tell us what will happen in future years.
Let them tell us what happened in the past.
Then we can think about those things.
We will understand what happened in the end.
Or ask them to tell us about future events!
23If they can tell us what will happen in future years,
we will know that they really are gods.
Tell them to do something,
a good thing or a bad thing.
That would really surprise us,
or even frighten us!
24But no! Your idols are useless.
There is nothing that they can do.
Anybody who chooses to worship them
has turned against God!
25I have woken up a ruler,
who is coming with his army from the north.
He comes from a land in the east, where the sun rises,
and he will use my name to call to me.
He will walk over rulers of other nations
as if they are mud.
He will push them down with his feet,
like a potter who prepares his clay.
26Tell me, who decided in the beginning,
that all these things must happen?
Who told us about them before they happened?
Then we could say, “He was right!”
None of your idols said anything about it!
Nobody heard them say a word!
27I, the Lord, was the first person
to tell the good news to Zion.
I sent someone to Jerusalem to say,
“Look, they have arrived!”
28I looked among your idols,
to see who might be a good advisor.
But none of them could help.
None of them could answer my questions.
29Look! All the idols are useless.
They can do nothing.
Their images are as weak as a breath of wind.’
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Isaiah 41: EASY
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MissionAssist 2018
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 41
41
1“Be silent before Me, you coastlands, and let peoples renew their power! Let them come near, then let them speak. Let us come together for right-ruling.
2“Who raised up the righteous one from the east, called him to His foot, gave the nations before him, and made sovereigns submit to him? He gave them as the dust to his sword, as driven stubble to his bow.
3“He pursued them, passed over in safety, by a path that he had not gone with his feet.
4“Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, יהוה, am the first, and with the last I am He.’ ”
5Coastlands see it and fear, the ends of the earth are afraid – they draw near and come.
6Everyone helps his neighbour, and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7And the craftsman strengthens the goldsmith. He who smooths with the hammer inspires him who strikes the anvil, saying of the joining, “It is good.” And he strengthens it with nails, so it does not totter.
8“But you, Yisra’ĕl, are My servant, Ya‛aqoḇ, whom I have chosen, the descendants of Aḇraham who loved Me,
9whom I have strengthened from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest parts, and said to You, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not look around, for I am your Elohim. I shall fortify you, I shall also help you, I shall also uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.’
11“See, all those who raged against you are ashamed and blush, they are as non-existent. And the men who strive with you perish.
12“You seek them but do not find them, those who struggle with you. Those who fight you are as non-existent, as naught.
13“For I, יהוה your Elohim, am strengthening your right hand, saying to you, ‘Do not fear, I shall help you.’
14“Do not fear, you worm Ya‛aqoḇ, you men of Yisra’ĕl! I shall help you,” declares יהוה and your Redeemer, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl.
15“See, I shall make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth, let you thresh mountains and beat them small, and make hills like chaff.
16“You winnow them, the wind lifts them up, and the whirlwind scatters them; but you, you rejoice in יהוה, and boast in the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl.
17“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongues have failed for thirst, I, יהוה, do answer them; I, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, do not forsake them.
18“I open rivers on bare hills, and fountains in the midst of valleys; I make a wilderness become a pool of water, and a dry land springs of water.
19“I set in the wilderness cedar, acacia and myrtle and oil tree; I place in the desert cypress, pine and box tree together.
20“So that they see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of יהוה has done this, and the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl has created it.
21“Present your case,” says יהוה. “Let your strong ones come near,” says the Sovereign of Ya‛aqoḇ.
22“Let them draw near and declare to us what is going to take place; let them declare the former events, what they were, and we consider them, and know the latter end of them; or announce to us what is coming.
23“Declare the events that are going to come hereafter, and we know that you are mighty ones; yes, do good or do evil, and let us be amazed and see it together.
24“See, you are of naught, and your work a breath; he who chooses you is an abomination.
25“I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes; from the rising of the sun he calls on My Name. And he comes against princes as though mortar, as the potter treads clay.
26“Who has declared from the beginning, and we know? and former times, and we say, ‘He is righteous’? No, no one is declaring; no, no one is proclaiming; no, no one is hearing your words.
27“He who is First said to Tsiyon, ‘See, see them!’ And to Yerushalayim I give one who brings good news.
28“And I see that there is no man, and of these, there is no counsellor, who, when I ask of them, answers a word.
29“See, all of them are useless, their works are naught, their moulded images are wind and confusion.
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