Isaiah 41
41
Israel Encouraged
1“Listen to Me in silence, you coastlands,
And let the peoples gain new strength;
Let them come forward, then let them speak;
Let’s come together for judgment.
2“Who has stirred one from the east
Whom He calls in righteousness to His #41:2 Lit footfeet?
He turns nations over to him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
Like the wind-driven chaff with his bow.
3“He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been #41:3 Lit goingtraversing with his feet.
4“Who has performed and accomplished it,
Summoning the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’ ”
5¶The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The ends of the earth tremble;
They have approached and have come.
6Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7So the craftsman encourages the smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
So that it will not totter.
8“But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
9You whom I have #41:9 Lit seizedtaken 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.
10‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11“Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12“You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’
14“Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you people of Israel;
I will help you,” declares the Lord, “and your #41:14 Or Redeemer, the Holy OneRedeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15“Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them,
And make the hills like chaff.
16“You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
And the storm will scatter them;
But you will rejoice in the Lord,
You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17¶“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I will not abandon them.
18“I will open rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
19“I 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 elm tree and the cypress,
20So that they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21¶“#41:21 Lit Bring nearPresent your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The King of Jacob says.
22Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
23Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
24Behold, you are less than nothing,
And your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25¶“I have put one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon #41:25 I.e., the building materialmortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
26Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
27“Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’
28“But when I look, there is no one,
And there is no counselor #41:28 Lit out of thoseamong them
Who, if I ask, can give an answer.
29“Behold, all of them are #41:29 Another reading is nothingfalse;
Their works are nothing,
Their cast metal images are wind and emptiness.
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Isaiah 41: NASB2020
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NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE® NASB®
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Isaiah 41
41
God’s Help for Israel
1“Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea.
Bring your strongest arguments.
Come now and speak.
The court is ready for your case.
2“Who has stirred up this king from the east,
rightly calling him to God’s service?
Who gives this man victory over many nations
and permits him to trample their kings underfoot?
With his sword, he reduces armies to dust.
With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind.
3He chases them away and goes on safely,
though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.
4Who has done such mighty deeds,
summoning each new generation from the beginning of time?
It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last.
I alone am he.”
5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear.
Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.
6The idol makers encourage one another,
saying to each other, “Be strong!”
7The carver encourages the goldsmith,
and the molder helps at the anvil.
“Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.”
Carefully they join the parts together,
then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over.
8“But as for you, Israel my servant,
Jacob my chosen one,
descended from Abraham my friend,
9I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
saying, ‘You are my servant.’
For I have chosen you
and will not throw you away.
10Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
11“See, all your angry enemies lie there,
confused and humiliated.
Anyone who opposes you will die
and come to nothing.
12You will look in vain
for those who tried to conquer you.
Those who attack you
will come to nothing.
13For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
And I say to you,
‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
14Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob,
don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you.
I am the Lord, your Redeemer.
I am the Holy One of Israel.’
15You will be a new threshing instrument
with many sharp teeth.
You will tear your enemies apart,
making chaff of mountains.
16You will toss them into the air,
and the wind will blow them all away;
a whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in the Lord.
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
18I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
19I will plant trees in the barren desert—
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
20I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this,
the Holy One of Israel who created it.
21“Present the case for your idols,”
says the Lord.
“Let them show what they can do,”
says the King of Israel.#41:21 Hebrew the King of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
22“Let them try to tell us what happened long ago
so that we may consider the evidence.
Or let them tell us what the future holds,
so we can know what’s going to happen.
23Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead.
Then we will know you are gods.
In fact, do anything—good or bad!
Do something that will amaze and frighten us.
24But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all.
Those who choose you pollute themselves.
25“But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north.
From the east he will call on my name.
I will give him victory over kings and princes.
He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.
26“Who told you from the beginning
that this would happen?
Who predicted this,
making you admit that he was right?
No one said a word!
27I was the first to tell Zion,
‘Look! Help is on the way!’#41:27 Or ‘Look! They are coming home.’
I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.
28Not one of your idols told you this.
Not one gave any answer when I asked.
29See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
All your idols are as empty as the wind.
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