Isaiah 41
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Israel Assured of God’s Help
41 Listen 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.
2 Who has roused a victor from the east,
summoned him to his service?
He delivers up nations to him,
and tramples kings under foot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
like driven stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes on safely,
scarcely touching the path with his feet.
4 Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am first,
and will be with the last.
5 The coastlands have seen and are afraid,
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
6 Each one helps the other,
saying to one another, “Take courage!”
7 The artisan encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
and they fasten it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
8 But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you 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 do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
11 Yes, all who are incensed against you
shall be ashamed and disgraced;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Do not fear,
I will help you.”
14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you insect[a] Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
17 When 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.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,[b]
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I 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,
20 so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Futility of Idols
21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them, and tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
so that we may consider them,
and that we may know their outcome;
or declare to us the things to come.
23 Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
that we may be afraid and terrified.
24 You, indeed, are nothing
and your work is nothing at all;
whoever chooses you is an abomination.
25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name.[c]
He shall trample[d] on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know,
and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”?
There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 I first have declared it to Zion,[e]
and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.
28 But when I look there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 No, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their images are empty wind.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:14 Syr: Heb men of
- Isaiah 41:18 Or trails
- Isaiah 41:25 Cn Compare Q Ms Gk: MT and he shall call on my name
- Isaiah 41:25 Cn: Heb come
- Isaiah 41:27 Cn: Heb First to Zion—Behold, behold them
Isaiah 41
Common English Bible
Victor from the east
41 Be quiet before me, coastlands.
Let the nations renew their strength.
Let them approach and speak.
Let’s draw near for a judgment.
2 Who has awakened one from the east
and has authority to summon him to serve—
giving him nations,
conquering kings,
making them like dust with his sword,
like scattered straw with his bow?
3 He pursues them and passes untouched,
needing no path for his feet.
4 Who has acted and who has done this,
calling upon generation after generation since the beginning?
I, the Lord, was first,
and I will be the last!
5 The coastlands see and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they draw near and arrive.
6 Each helps the other,
each saying to the other, “Take courage!”
7 The craftsman encourages the metalworker;
the one who smoothes with the hammer
encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the welding, “That’s good,”
and strengthening it with nails so it won’t move.
Israel as God’s servant
8 But you, Israel my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham, whom I love,
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant;
I chose you and didn’t reject you”:
10 Don’t fear, because I am with you;
don’t be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
I will surely help you;
I will hold you
with my righteous strong hand.
11 All who rage against you will be shamed and disgraced.
Those who contend with you
will be as nothing and will perish.
12 You will look for your opponents,
and won’t find them.
Those who fight you will be of no account and will die.
13 I am the Lord your God,
who grasps your strong hand,
who says to you,
Don’t fear; I will help you.
14 Don’t fear, worm of Jacob,
people of Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord.
The holy one of Israel is your redeemer.
15 Look, I’ve made you
into a new threshing tool with sharp teeth.
You will thresh mountains and pulverize them;
you will reduce hills to straw.
16 When you winnow them,
the wind will carry them off;
the tempest will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord
and take pride in the holy one of Israel.
17 The poor and the needy seek water, and there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to them;
I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.
18 I will open streams on treeless hilltops
and springs in valleys.
I will make the desert into ponds
and dry land into cascades of water.
19 I will plant in the desert cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees;
I will put in the wilderness cypress, elm, and pine as well,
20 so that they will see and know
and observe and comprehend
that the Lord’s hand has done this,
and the holy one of Israel has created it.
Other gods challenged
21 Present your case, says the Lord.
Bring forward your evidence, says Jacob’s king.
22 Let the idols[a] approach
and tell us what will happen.
The prior things—what are they?
Announce them, and we’ll think about them
and know their significance.
Or proclaim to us what is to come!
23 Report things that will happen in the future,
then we’ll know that you are gods.
Do good! Or do bad!
Then we will all be afraid and fearful.
24 Look! You are nobody, and your deeds are nothing.
Whoever chooses you is disgusting.
25 I woke up one from the north and he came;
from the east, one who calls my name.
He tramples governors like mud,
as a potter treads clay.
26 Who announced this from the start
so that we would know;
from an earlier time
so we would say, “That’s right”?
Truly, no one announced it,
no one proclaimed it,
and no one heard your words.
27 I first said it to Zion, “Look, here they are”;
to Jerusalem I now send a herald.
28 But I look, and there’s no one
among them, no counselor;
and when I ask,
no one can answer.
29 Look, all of them are frauds;
their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are a total delusion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:22 Or them
Isaiah 41
Authorized (King James) Version
41 Keep 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.
2 Who 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.
3 He pursued them, and passed safely;
even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
4 Who hath wrought and done it,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I the Lord, the first,
and with the last; I am he.
5 The isles saw it, and feared;
the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
6 They helped every one his neighbour;
and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith,
and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil,
saying, It is ready for the sodering:
and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
8 But thou, Israel, art my servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou 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.
10 Fear 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.
11 Behold, 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.
12 Thou 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.
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand,
saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel;
I will help thee, saith the Lord,
and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, 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.
16 Thou 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.
18 I 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.
19 I 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:
20 that 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.
21 Produce your cause, saith the Lord;
bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen:
let them shew 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.
23 Shew 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.
24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought:
an abomination is he that chooseth you.
25 I 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 morter,
and as the potter treadeth clay.
26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know?
and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous?
yea, there is none that sheweth,
yea, there is none that declareth,
yea, there is none that heareth your words.
27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them:
and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them,
and there was no counsellor,
that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing:
their molten images are wind and confusion.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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