Isaiah 41
41
1 Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations take new strength. Let them draw near, and then speak. Let us apply for judgment together.
2 Who has raised up a just man from the east, and has called him to follow him? He will place the nations under his gaze, and he will rule over kings. He will cause them to be like dust before his sword, like chaff driven by the wind before his bow.
3 He will pursue them. He will pass by in peace. No trace will appear after his feet.
4 Who has worked and accomplished these things, calling to the generations from the beginning? "It is I, the Lord! I am the first and the last."
5 The islands saw it and were afraid. The ends of the earth were stupefied. They drew near and arrived.
6 Each one will help his neighbor and will say to his brother, "Be strengthened."
7 The coppersmith striking with the mallet encouraged him who was forging at that time, saying, "It is ready for soldering." And he strengthened it with nails, so that it would not be moved.
8 But you, O Israel, are my servant, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of my friend Abraham.
9 For his sake, I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and I have called you from its distant places. And I said to you: "You are my servant. I have chosen you, and I have not cast you aside."
10 Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.
11 Behold, all who fight against you shall be confounded and ashamed. They will be as if they did not exist, and the men who contradict you will perish.
12 You will seek them, and you will not find them. The men who rebel against you will be as if they did not exist. And the men who make war against you will be like something that has been consumed.
13 For I am the Lord your God. I take you by your hand, and I say to you: Do not be afraid. I have helped you.
14 Fear not, O worm of Jacob, you who are dead within Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 I have established you like a new threshing cart, having serrated blades. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. And you will turn the hills into chaff.
16 You will winnow them, and the wind will blow them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. And you shall exult in the Lord; you shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
17 The indigent and the poor are seeking water, but there is none. Their tongue has been dried up by thirst. I, the Lord, will heed them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
18 I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of water.
19 I will plant the cedar in a deserted place, with the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. In the desert, I will plant the pine, and the elm, and the box tree together,
20 so that they may see and know, acknowledge and understand, together, that the hand of the Lord has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 Bring your case forward, says the Lord. Bring it here, if you have anything to allege, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them approach and announce to us the things that will occur. Announce to us the things that were before. And we will apply our heart to them, and we will know their end. And so, reveal to us the things that will occur.
23 Announce the things that will occur in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Likewise, accomplish good or evil, if you are able, and let us speak of it and see it together.
24 Behold, you exist out of nothing, and your work is from what does not exist; he who has chosen you is an abomination.
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he will arrive from the rising of the sun. He will call upon my name, and he will reduce magistrates to mud, like a potter working with clay.
26 Who has announced this from its rising, so that we may know it, or from its beginning, so that we may say, "You are just." There is no one who either announces, or predicts, or hears your words.
27 The first one will say to Zion: "Behold, they are here," and to Jerusalem, "I will present an evangelist."
28 And I saw, and there was no one among any of them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.
29 Behold, they are all unjust, and their works are empty. Their idols are wind and emptiness.
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Isaiah 41: CPDV
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Isaiah 41
41
The Lord versus the Nations’ Gods
1“Be silent before me, coasts and islands!#Is 11:11; Hab 2:20; Zch 2:13
And let peoples renew their strength.
Let them approach; let them testify;
let’s come together for the trial.
2Who has stirred up someone from the east?#Is 41:25; 45:1–3; 46:11; Rv 16:12
In righteousness he calls him to serve.#41:2 Or Righteousness calls him to serve#41:2 Lit to his foot#Is 42:6
The Lord hands nations over to him,#2Ch 36:23; Ezr 1:2
and he subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like wind-driven stubble with his bow.
3He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
4Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I am the Lord, the first
and with the last#Is 43:10; 44:6; Rv 1:8,17; 22:13 — I am he.”#Is 43:13; 46:4; 48:12
5The coasts and islands see and are afraid,
the whole earth trembles.#Ps 67:7
They approach and arrive.
6Each one helps the other,
and says to another, “Take courage!”
7The craftsman encourages the metalworker;#Is 40:19
the one who flattens with the hammer
encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good.”
He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.#Is 40:20; 46:7
8But you, Israel, my servant,#Is 42:19; 43:10; 44:1–2,21; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3; 54:17; Ezk 28:25; 37:25; Lk 1:54
Jacob, whom I have chosen,#Is 42:1; 43:10,20; 44:1–2; 45:4; 49:7; 65:9,15,22
descendant of Abraham, my friend#2Ch 20:7; Jms 2:23 —
9I brought#41:9 Or seized you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its farthest corners.
I said to you: You are my servant;
I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.#Is 43:5–7
10Do not fear, for I am with you;#Gn 26:24; 28:15; Is 43:5; Jr 1:19; 15:20; 42:11
do not be afraid, for I am your God.#Ezk 34:31
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.#Ex 15:6,12; Ps 18:35; 48:10; 63:8; 138:7; 139:10
11Be sure that all who are enraged against you
will be ashamed and disgraced;#Is 45:24
those who contend with you
will become as nothing and will perish.
12You will look for those who contend with you,
but you will not find them.
Those who war against you
will become absolutely nothing.
13For I am the Lord your God,#Is 43:3
who holds your right hand,
who says to you, “Do not fear,
I will help you.
14Do not fear, you worm Jacob,#Jb 25:6; Ps 22:6
you men#41:14 LXX reads small number; DSS read dead ones of Israel.
I will help you” —
this is the Lord’s declaration.
Your Redeemer#Is 43:14; 44:6,24; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7,26; 54:5,8; 59:20; 60:16; 63:16 is the Holy One of Israel.#Is 1:4
15See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board,
new, with many teeth.
You will thresh mountains and pulverize them
and make hills into chaff.#Mc 4:13; Hab 3:12
16You will winnow them#Jr 51:2
and a wind will carry them away,
a whirlwind will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
17The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I will answer them.#Is 43:20; 44:3; 49:10; 55:1
I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.
18I will open rivers on the barren heights,#Is 30:25
and springs in the middle of the plains.
I will turn the desert into a pool
and dry land into springs.#Ps 107:35; Is 35:6–7; 43:19
19I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees
in the wilderness.#Is 35:1; 55:13; 60:13
I will put juniper, elm, and cypress trees together
in the desert,
20so that all may see and know,
consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,#Jb 12:9; Is 66:14
the Holy One of Israel has created#Is 4:5 it.
21“Submit your case,” says the Lord.
“Present your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22“Let them come and tell us
what will happen.#Is 44:7–8; 45:21; 46:10
Tell us the past events,
so that we may reflect on them
and know the outcome,
or tell us the future.
23Tell us the coming events,#Is 42:9; 45:3; Jn 13:19
then we will know that you are gods.
Indeed, do something good or bad,
then we will be in awe#41:23 DSS read we may hear when we see it.
24Look, you are nothing#Ps 115:8; Is 44:9; 1Co 8:4
and your work is worthless.
Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
25“I have stirred up one from the north,#Jr 50:3 and he has come,
one from the east#Is 41:2; 46:11 who invokes my#41:25 DSS read his name.#Ezr 1:2–4
He will march over rulers as if they were mud,
like a potter who treads the clay.
26Who told about this from the beginning,
so that we might know,
and from times past,
so that we might say, ‘He is right’?
No one announced it,
no one told it,
no one heard your words.
27I was the first to say to Zion,#41:27 Lit First to Zion
‘Look! Here they are!’
And I gave Jerusalem a herald with good news.#Is 40:9; 44:28; 52:7; Nah 1:15
28When I look, there is no one;
there is no counselor among them;
when I ask them, they have nothing to say.#Is 46:7
29Look, all of them are a delusion;#41:29 DSS, Syr read are nothing
their works are nonexistent;
their images are wind and emptiness.
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