Parallel
Isaiah 41
World English Bible British Edition · Berean Standard Bible
“Keep silent before me, islands,
“Be silent before Me, O islands (note: Or coastlands; also in verse 5), and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come forward and testify; let us together draw near for judgment.
Who has raised up one from the east?
Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness (note: Or from the east, whom victory meets at every step)? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
Who has worked and done it,
Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.”
The islands have seen, and fear.
The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.
So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith.
The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.
“But you, Israel, my servant,
“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
you whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth,
I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said, ‘You are My servant.’ I have chosen and not rejected you.
Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded.
Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
You will seek them, and won’t find them,
You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.
For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,
For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.
Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob,
Do not fear, O Jacob, you worm, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth.
Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
You will winnow them,
You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and needy seek water, and there is none.
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.
I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness.
I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses (note: Or pines or junipers or firs) in the desert, elms and boxwood together,
that they may see, know, consider, and understand together,
so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Produce your cause,” says the LORD.
“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.
“Let them announce and declare to us what will happen!
“Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.
Declare the things that are to come hereafter,
Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.
Behold, you are nothing,
Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
“I have raised up one from the north, and he has come,
I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay.
Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know?
Who has declared this from the beginning, so that we may know, and from times past, so that we may say: ‘He was right’? No one announced it, no one foretold it, no one heard your words.
I am the first to say to Zion, ‘Behold, look at them;’
I was the first to tell Zion (note: Or Formerly I said to Zion:): ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
When I look, there is no man,
When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
Behold, all of their deeds are vanity and nothing.
See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.