Isaiah 41
41
The Lord Is the Eternal Creator
1The Lord says,
“Faraway countries, be quiet and listen to me!
Nations be brave.#41:1 be brave Or “be strong again,” as in Isa. 40:31.
Come to me and speak.
We will meet together
and decide who is right.
2Who woke up the man who is coming from the east?
He called Justice to march with him.
He uses his sword to crush nations.
He uses his bow and conquers kings—
they run away like straw blown by the wind.
3He chases armies and is never hurt.
He goes places he has never been before.
4Who was able to make all this happen?
Who controlled the lives of everyone from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am the one.
I was here at the beginning,
and I will be here when all things are finished.
5People along the coast saw this,
and they were frightened.
Nations at the ends of the earth
shook with fear.
They have come near.
They have arrived.
6“Workers help each other. They encourage each other to be strong. 7One worker cuts wood to make a statue. He encourages the man who works with gold. Another worker uses a hammer and makes the metal smooth. Then he encourages the man at the anvil.#41:7 anvil A heavy metal block. A worker puts hot metal on an anvil and beats the hot metal to change its shape. This last worker says, ‘This work is good; the metal will not come off.’ Then he nails the statue to a base so that it will not fall over. And it never moves!”
Only the Lord Can Save Us
8The Lord says, “You, Israel, are my servant.
Jacob, I chose you.
You are from the family of my friend, Abraham.
9You were in a faraway country,
but I reached out to you.
I called you from that faraway place.
I said, ‘You are my servant.’
I chose you,
and I have not rejected you.
10Don’t worry—I am with you.
Don’t be afraid—I am your God.
I will make you strong and help you.
I will support you with my right hand that brings victory.
11Look, some people are angry with you,
but they will be ashamed and disgraced.
Your enemies will be lost and disappear.
12You will look for the people who were against you,
but you will not be able to find them.
Those who fought against you
will disappear completely.
13I am the Lord your God,
who holds your right hand.
And I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid!
I will help you.’
14People of Israel, descendants of Jacob, you may be weak and worthless,#41:14 Jacob … worthless Literally, “Worm of Jacob, men of Israel.”
but do not be afraid.
I myself will help you.”
This is what the Lord himself says.
“I am the Holy One of Israel,
the one who saves you.
15Look, I have made you like a new threshing board with many sharp teeth.
You will trample mountains and crush them.
You will make the hills#41:15 mountains … hills Symbols of the power of Israel’s enemies. like chaff.
16You will throw them into the air,
and the wind will blow them away and scatter them.
Then you will be happy in the Lord.
You will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.
17“The poor and needy look for water,
but they cannot find any.
Their tongues are dry with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer their prayers.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.
18I will make rivers flow on dry hills.
I will make springs of water flow through the valleys.
I will change the desert into a lake filled with water.
There will be springs of water in that dry land.
19I will make trees grow in the desert.
There will be cedar, acacias, olive trees, cypress, fir trees, and pines.
20I will do this so that people will see it and know who did it.
They will notice what happened.
Then they will understand that the Lord’s hand made it happen,
that the Holy One of Israel created it all.”
The Lord Challenges the False Gods
21The Lord, the king of Jacob, says, “Come, present your arguments. Show me your proof. 22Let your idols come in and tell us what will happen. Idols, tell us what happened in the beginning. We will listen closely so that we can make a decision. Tell us what will happen in the future. 23What signs did you give in the past to prove that you really are gods? Do something! Do anything, good or bad, so that we can see that you are alive. Then we might fear and respect you.
24“Look, you false gods are worthless. You cannot do anything. Only some horrible fool#41:24 fool Literally, “horrible thing.” The Hebrew word usually describes idols and other wicked things that God hates. would want to worship you.”
The Lord Proves He Is the Only God
25“I called someone in the north#41:25 someone in the north This probably means Cyrus, a king of Persia. He ruled about 550–530 B.C. to come.
He is coming from the east where the sun rises,
and he honors my name.
He tramples kings
the way a potter softens clay with his feet.
26“Who told us about this before it happened
so that we could say he was right?
None of your idols told us anything.
They didn’t say a word,
and they cannot hear anything you say.
27I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Zion about these things.
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say,
‘Look, your people are coming back!’”
28I looked at those false gods.
Not one of them said anything.
They had no advice to offer.
I asked them questions,
but they didn’t say a word.
29Those gods are all less than nothing.
They cannot do anything.
They are worthless.
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Isaiah 41: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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