Isaiah 41

‘All the people who live far away

in the lands near the sea, all nations,

you must keep quiet and listen to Me.

You must prepare and come

so that we can talk and see who is right.

₂Who told the man from the east to come?

He defeats all the nations and kings.

He kills them with his sword and his bow

and they fall like dust or chaff

that is blown away.

₃He chases nations and no one can stop him.

He is so fast that his feet

do not touch the ground.

₄Who made this happen?

Who has said from the beginning

what must happen in the world?

It was I, the Lord.

I was the first, and when the last things happen,

I will still be Lord.

₅All the people who live in the lands

far away near the sea, and everyone on earth,

saw what happened.

They became afraid and they came together.

₆They help each other and tell each other:

“We must be strong.”

₇The men who make images say to each other:

“We have done good work.”

And they make the image strong

and use nails to keep the image upright

so that it will not fall down.’

₈But I tell you: ‘My servants,

Israelites, descendants of Jacob

whom I have chosen,

the descendants of my friend, Abraham,

₉I called Abraham from a land

far away and I told him:

“You are my servant. I have chosen you

and I have not forgotten you.”

₁₀You must not be afraid,

because I am with you.

Don't look around and worry,

because I am your God.

I will make you strong and help you.

I will hold you with my strong hand.

₁₁Everyone who hates you

will lose and be ashamed.

They will not know what to do.

The people who want you to suffer

will become nothing, and they will die.

₁₂The people who go to war_against you

will be worthless. You will look for them,

but you will not find them.

₁₃I am the Lord your God,

and I make you strong. I am telling you:

Do not be afraid. I will help you.

₁₄Some people say:

“Israel, you are as weak as a worm.

There are only a few of you,”

but you must not fear. I will help you.’

₁₅‘Look, I have made you

like a new threshing-sledge

with sharp irons.

You will break down mountains and hills

and grind them until they are as fine as chaff.

₁₆You will throw them up in the air

and a storm wind will blow them away.

But you will rejoice

because the Lord is your God.

You will praise the holy God of Israel.’

‘People who can not help themselves,

and who are poor, are looking for water

but there is no water.

Their tongues are dry, and they are thirsty.

I, the Lord, will give them what they pray for.

I, the God of Israel, will not leave them alone.

₁₈I will make water flow in the rivers,

and I will open up fountains

where there are no plants now.

I will change the dry desert into a place

where there is a lot of water and where reeds grow.

₁₉I will make trees grow in the desert,

cedar trees, acacia trees,

myrtle trees and olive trees.

I will make juniper trees grow in the dry places,

and also fir trees and cypress trees.

₂₀Then all the people who see this will know

that I, the Lord, the holy God of Israel,

have done this.’

₂₁The Lord, the King of Jacob, says to the gods:

‘Prove that you are gods.

₂₂Tell us what will happen in the future,

or tell us why things happened

that happened before.

Tell us so that we can think about it

and know what will happen later.

₂₃Tell us what will happen later so that

We will know that you are gods.

Yes, do anything,

do something good or something bad,

so that we can see it

and can become afraid of you.

₂₄But you are nothing and you can do nothing.

The people who say that you

are their gods are very foolish.

₂₅I have called a man from the north.

He will come from the eastern side

and he will worship Me.

He defeats rulers and he tramples them

like a potter does with his clay.

₂₆Who has told us before that this

would happen so that we could know about it

and could say that he was right?

No one said anything about it.

Not one of you idols has said a word

about it and no one has heard you say anything.

₂₇It was I who first told the people of Zion.

I said to the people of Jerusalem:

“Look, your people are coming back.

I am bringing you good news.”

₂₈I waited for the gods to speak

but not one of them said anything.

There was no one who knew anything

so that I could ask him and so that he could answer.

₂₉Not one of the gods is really a god.

They can do nothing and their images are worthless.’