Isaiah 41
41
CHAPTER 41
1Isles, be still to me, and folks change strength; nigh they, and then speak they; nigh we together to doom.
2Who raised the just [or rightwise] man from the east, and called him to follow himself? He shall give folks in his sight, and he shall wield kings; he shall give as dust to his sword, and as stubble ravished of the wind to his bow.
3He shall pursue them, he shall go in peace; a path shall not appear in his feet.
4Who wrought and did these things? calling generations at the beginning. I am the Lord; and I am the first, and the last.
5Isles saw, and dreaded; the last parts of [the] earth were astonied; they came nigh, and nighed.
6Each man shall help his neighbour, and shall say to his brother, Be thou comforted.
7A smith of metal smiting with an hammer comforted him that polished, either made fair, in that time, saying, It is good to [the] glue; and he fastened him with nails, that he should not be moved.
8And thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I chose, the seed of Abraham, my friend,
9in whom I took thee; from the last parts of [the] earth, and from the far parts thereof I called thee; and I said to thee, Thou art my servant; I chose thee, and casted not away thee.
10Dread thou not, for I am with thee; bow thou not away, for I am thy God. I comforted thee, and helped thee; and the right hand of my just [or rightwise] man up-took thee.
11Lo! all men shall be shamed, and shall be ashamed, that fight against thee; they shall be as if they be not, and men shall perish, that against-say thee.
12Thou shalt seek them, and thou shalt not find thy rebel men; they shall be as if they be not, and as the wasting of a man fighting against thee.
13For I am thy Lord God, taking thine hand, and saying to thee, Dread thou not, I helped thee.
14Do not thou, worm of Jacob, dread, ye that be dead of Israel. I helped thee, saith the Lord, and thine again-buyer, the Holy of Israel.
15I have set thee as a new wain threshing, having sawing bills; thou shalt thresh mountains, and shalt make small, and thou shalt set little hills as dust.
16Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall take them away, and a whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt make full out joy in the Lord, and thou shalt be glad in the Holy of Israel.
17Needy men and poor seek waters, and those be not; the tongue of them dried for thirst. I the Lord shall hear them, I God of Israel shall not forsake them.
18I shall open floods in high hills, and wells in the midst of fields; I shall set the desert into ponds of waters, and the land without a way into rivers of waters.
19I shall give in wilderness a cedar, and a thorn, and a myrtle tree, and the tree of an olive; I shall set in the desert a fir tree, an elm, and a box tree together.
20That they see, and know, and bethink, and understand together; that the hand of the Lord did this thing, and the Holy of Israel made that of nought.
21Make ye nigh your doom, saith the Lord; bring ye, if in hap ye have anything, saith the King of Jacob.
22Nigh, and tell to us, whatever things shall come; tell ye the former things that were, and we shall set our heart, and shall know; show ye to us the last things of them, and those things that shall come.
23Tell ye what things shall come in time to coming [or to come], and we shall know, that ye be gods; also do ye well, either evil, if ye may; and speak we, and see we together.
24Lo! ye be of nought, and your work is of that that is not; he that choose you, is abomination.
25I raised from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun; he shall call my name. And he shall bring magistrates as clay, and as a potter defouling [the] earth.
26Who told from the beginning, that we know, and from the beginning, that we say, Thou art just? none is telling, neither before-saying, neither hearing your words.
27The first shall say to Zion, Lo! I am present; and I shall give a gospeller to Jerusalem.
28And I saw, and none was of these, that took counsel, and he that was asked, answered a word.
29Lo! all men be unjust, and their works be wind and vain; the simulacra of them be wind, and void thing.
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Isaiah 41: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Isaiah 41
41
The Lord Controls Human Events
1Be silent and listen,
every island in the sea.
Have courage and come near,
every one of you nations.
Let's settle this matter!
2Who appointed this ruler
from the east?#41.2 ruler from the east: Probably Cyrus (see 44.28; 45.1; 48.14).
Who puts nations and kings
in his power?#41.2 Who puts … power: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
His sword and his arrows
turn them to dust
blown by the wind.
3He goes after them so quickly
that his feet
barely touch the ground—
he doesn't even get hurt.
4Who makes these things happen?
Who controls human events?
I do! I am the Lord.
I was there at the beginning;
I will be there at the end.
5Islands and foreign nations
saw what I did and trembled
as they came near.
What Can Idols Do?
6Worshipers of idols
comfort each other,
saying, “Don't worry!”
7Woodcarvers, goldsmiths,
and other workers#41.7 and other workers: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
encourage one another and say,
“We've done a great job!”
Then they nail the idol down,
so it won't fall over.
The Lord's Chosen Servant
8 #
2 Ch 20.7; Jas 2.23. Israel, you are my servant.
I chose you, the family
of my friend Abraham.
9From far across the earth
I brought you here and said,
“You are my chosen servant.
I haven't forgotten you.”
10Don't be afraid. I am with you.
Don't tremble with fear.
I am your God.
I will make you strong,
as I protect you with my arm
and give you victories.
11Everyone who hates you
will be terribly disgraced;
those who attack
will vanish into thin air.
12You will look around
for those brutal enemies,
but you won't find them—
they will be gone.
13I am the Lord your God.
I am holding your hand,
so don't be afraid.
I am here to help you.
14People of Israel, don't worry,
though others may say,
“Israel is only a worm!”
I am the holy God of Israel,
who saves and protects you.
15I will let you be like a log
covered with sharp spikes.#41.15 I will let … sharp spikes: In ancient times a heavy object was sometimes dragged over wheat or barley to separate the grain from the husk. This was called threshing.
You will grind and crush
every mountain and hill#41.15 mountain and hill: These stand for the power and pride of Israel's enemies.
until they turn to dust.
16A strong wind will scatter them
in all directions.
Then you will celebrate
and praise me, your Lord,
the holy God of Israel.
The Lord Helps the Poor
17When the poor and needy
are dying of thirst
and cannot find water,
I, the Lord God of Israel,
will come to their rescue.
I won't forget them.
18I will make rivers flow
on mountain peaks.
I will send streams
to fill the valleys.
Dry and barren land
will flow with springs
and become a lake.
19I will fill the desert
with all kinds of trees—
cedars, acacias, and myrtles;
olive and cypress trees;
fir trees and pines.
20Everyone will see this
and know that I,
the holy Lord God of Israel,
created it all.
Idols Are Useless
21I am the Lord,
the King of Israel!
Come argue your case with me.
Present your evidence.
22Come near me, you idols.#41.22 Come near … idols: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Tell us about the past,
and we will think about it.
Tell us about the future,
so we will know
what is going to happen.
23Prove that you are gods
by making your predictions
come true.
Do something good or evil,
so we can be amazed
and terrified.#41.23 and terrified: Or “when we see it.”
24You idols are nothing,
and you are powerless.#41.24 powerless: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
To worship you
would be disgusting.
25I, the Lord, appointed a ruler
in the north;
now he comes from the east
to honor my name.
He tramples#41.25 tramples: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. kings like mud,
as potters trample clay.#41.25 trample clay: This was done to soften the clay and make it easier to shape.
26Did any of you idols predict
what would happen?
Did any of you get it right?
None of you told about this
or even spoke a word.
27I was the first to tell
the people of Jerusalem,
“Look, it's happening!”#41.27 Look … happening: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
I was the one who announced
this good news to Zion.
28None of these idols
are able to give advice
or answer questions.
29They are nothing,#41.29 nothing: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and they can do nothing—
they are merely
a passing breeze.
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