THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

 

Isaiah Chapter 41

1 ¶ Be silent before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them approach; then let them testify: let us come together for a trial.

2 Who is this who rises in the east with victory at his feet, who subdues nations before him, and makes him rule over kings? he scatters them like dust with his sword, and like blown straw with his bow.

3 He pursues them, and passes by unhurt; hardly touching the road with his feet.

4 Who has planned this and carried it out, guiding the destinies of generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and the last; I am he.

5 The isles saw it, and were afraid; the ends of the earth tremble, they have drawn near, and come.

6 Every one helps his neighbor; and every one says to his brother, Have courage.

7 So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smoothes with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying, It is ready for soldering: and he fastens it with nails, so that it cannot be moved.

8 But you, Israel, are my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend.

9 Whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its most distant places, saying to you, You are my servant; I have chosen you, and have not rejected you.

10 ¶ Do not be afraid; for I am with you: do not be discouraged; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; I will hold you up with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 Behold, all who are enraged against you will be put to shame and disgraced: those who strive with you will perish, they will be as nothing.

12 You will look for those who contended with you, but will not find them: those who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all.

13 For I the LORD your God will hold your right hand, saying to you, Do not be afraid; I will help you.

14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you, says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 Behold, I will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: you will thresh the mountains, and crush them to dust, and will make the hills like chaff.

16 You will fan them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them: and you will rejoice in the LORD, and will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 When the poor and needy are looking for water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18 I will open rivers by the caravan tracks, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will put lakes in the desert, and springs of water in the dry land.

19 In the desert I will plant cedars, acacias, myrtles, and the wild olive tree; I will put fir trees in the desert, elms and box trees together:

20 That they may all see, and know, and take it to heart, and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 ¶ The LORD says to the idols, present your case; bring forth your strong arguments, says the King of Jacob.

22 Let these idols come forth, and tell us what will happen: let them tell what happened in the past, that we may consider it, and know how it turned out; or declare to us things to come.

23 Tell us what is going to happen, that we may know that you are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, so that we may be terrified, and worry.

24 Behold, you are nothing, and you do nothing: any one who chooses you is an abomination.

25 I have raised up one from the north, and he will come: from the rising of the sun he will call upon my name: and he will come against rulers as against mud, and like the potter treading clay.

26 What idol ever told us what would happen from the beginning, so that we would know? and before it happened, so that we could say, He was right? yea, there is not one that can tell us, there is not one that can inform us, there is not one that hears your words.

27 I was the first to say to Zion, Look, look here they are: and I appointed someone to tell Jerusalem the good news.

28 When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them, who can provide an answer when I ask a question.

29 Look, they are all a delusion; they do nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.