Isaiah 41
41
The Liberator of Israel
1Keep silence before me, O coastlands;#Earlier prophets had spoken of the Assyrians and Babylonians as the Lord’s instruments for the punishment of Israel’s sins; here the Lord is described as raising up and giving victory to a foreign ruler in order to deliver Israel from the Babylonian exile. The ruler is Cyrus (44:28; 45:1), king of Anshan in Persia, a vassal of the Babylonians. He rebelled against the Babylonian overlords in 556 B.C., and after a series of victories, entered Babylon as victor in 539; the following year he issued a decree which allowed the Jewish captives to return to their homeland (2 Chr 36:22–23; Ezr 1:1–4). For Second Isaiah, the meteoric success of Cyrus was the work of the Lord to accomplish the deliverance promised by earlier prophets.
let the nations renew their strength.
Let them draw near and speak;
let us come together for judgment.
2Who has stirred up from the East the champion of justice,
and summoned him to be his attendant?
To him he delivers nations
and subdues kings;
With his sword he reduces them to dust,
with his bow, to driven straw.
3He pursues them, passing on without loss,
by a path his feet scarcely touch.
4Who has performed these deeds?
Who has called forth the generations from the beginning?#Is 44:7; 46:10.
I, the Lord, am the first,
and at the last#The first…the last: God as the beginning and end encompasses all reality. The same designation is used in 44:6 and 48:12. I am he.
5The coastlands see, and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble:
they approach, they come on.
6Each one helps his neighbor,
one says to the other, “Courage!”
7The woodworker encourages the goldsmith,
the one who beats with the hammer, him who strikes on the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good!”
then fastening it with nails so it will not totter.
8But you, Israel, my servant,#Is 44:1–2, 21; 45:4.
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend—
9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth
and summoned from its far-off places,
To whom I have said, You are my servant;
I chose you, I have not rejected you—
10Do not fear: I am with you;
do not be anxious: I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
11Yes, all shall be put to shame and disgrace
who vent their anger against you;
Those shall be as nothing and perish
who offer resistance.
12You shall seek but not find
those who strive against you;
They shall be as nothing at all
who do battle with you.
13For I am the Lord, your God,
who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, Do not fear,
I will help you.
14Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you maggot Israel;
I will help you—oracle of the Lord;
the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.#Redeemer: in Hebrew, go’el, one who frees others from slavery and avenges their sufferings; cf. Lv 25:48; Dt 19:6, 12. Cf. note on Ru 2:20.
15I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, full of teeth,
To thresh the mountains and crush them,
to make the hills like chaff.
16When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off,
the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
17The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the wilderness into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.
19In the wilderness I will plant the cedar,
acacia, myrtle, and olive;
In the wasteland I will set the cypress,
together with the plane tree and the pine,
20That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21Present your case, says the Lord;#This indictment of Babylonian gods is patterned on a legal trial, in which they are challenged to prove power over events of history and so justify their status as gods (vv. 21–24). Israel’s God, on the other hand, has foretold and now brings to pass Israel’s deliverance (vv. 25–27). The accused are unable to respond (vv. 28–29). By such polemics (see also 43:12) the prophet declares that all gods other than the Lord are nonexistent; this implicit claim of monotheism later becomes explicit (see 43:10–11; 45:5–7, 14, 18, 21–22; 46:9; and note on 44:6).
bring forward your arguments, says the King of Jacob.
22Let them draw near and foretell to us
what it is that shall happen!
What are the things of long ago?
Tell us, that we may reflect on them
and know their outcome;
Or declare to us the things to come,#Things of long ago…things to come: there are no predictions attributed to idols that have since been fulfilled. Second Isaiah makes frequent reference to “things of long ago,” sometimes in conjunction with “things to come” or “new things” in connection with the Lord’s activity (cf. 42:9; 43:9, 18; 46:9–10; 48:3–8); both the old things (e.g., creation, exodus) and the new things (release from exile) God brings to pass (cf. 51:9–11), which is why he can declare them beforehand.
23tell what is to be in the future,
that we may know that you are gods!
Do something, good or evil,
that will put us in awe and in fear.
24Why, you are nothing
and your work is nought;
to choose you is an abomination!
25I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes;
from the east I summon him#I summon him: Cyrus. by name;
He shall trample the rulers down like mud,
like a potter treading clay.
26Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know;
beforehand, that we might say, “True”?
Not one of you foretold it, not one spoke;
not one heard you say,
27“The first news for Zion: here they come,”
or, “I will give Jerusalem a herald of good news.”
28When I look, there is not one,
not one of them to give counsel,
to make an answer when I question them.
29Ah, all of them are nothing,
their works are nought,
their idols, empty wind!
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 41
41
1Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2Who stirred up one from the east
whom victory meets at every step?
He gives up nations before him,
so that he tramples kings under foot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
like driven stubble with his bow.
3He pursues them and passes on safely,
by paths his feet have not trod.
4Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, the first,
and with the last; I am He.
5The coastlands have seen and are afraid,
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
6Every one helps his neighbor,
and says to his brother, “Take courage!”
7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
8 #
Jas 2.23. #Lk 1.54; Heb 2.16. But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 #
Acts 18.10. fear not, for I am with you,
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
11Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I will help you.”
14Fear not, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15Behold, I will make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
16you shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
17When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together;
20that men may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
22Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
or declare to us the things to come.
23Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
that we may be dismayed and terrified.
24Behold, you are nothing,
and your work is naught;
an abomination is he who chooses you.
25I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
from the rising of the sun, and he shall call on my name;
he shall trample#41.25 Cn: Heb come on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
and beforetime, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27I first have declared it to Zion,#41.27 Cn: Heb first to Zion, Behold, behold them
and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.
28But when I look there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29Behold, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their molten images are empty wind.
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