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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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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