Isaiah 41
41
God's Assurance to Israel
1Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. 2Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. 3He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. 4Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
5The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 6They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. 7So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering:#41.7 saying, It is ready for the soldering or saying of the soldering, It is good. and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
8 #
2 Chr 20.7; Jas 2.23. But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 12Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 13For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. 16Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18I will open rivers in high places, 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 plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: 20that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
The Lord's Challenge to False Gods
21Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 22Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. 23Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 24Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
25I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. 26Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. 27The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. 28For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counselor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 41: KJVAAE
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers