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
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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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.