Isaiah 41

1Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.

1Be silent before me, you lands across the sea; let the nations gather their strength. Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together to settle the matter in court.

2Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow.

2Who has stirred up a leader from the east and called him in righteousness to follow Him? He hands nations over to him and lets him defeat kings. His sword turns them into dust, and his bow scatters them like wind-blown straw.

3He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.

3He chases them and moves on safely, traveling by a path his feet have never walked before.

4Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he.

4Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the very beginning? I, the LORD, am the first, and I will be with the last; I am He.

5The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come.

5The distant lands have seen it and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble. They draw near and come together.

6They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage.

6Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, 'Be strong!'

7So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that it should not be moved.

7The woodworker encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil. He says of the soldering, 'It is good,' and he fastens the idol with nails so it won't topple over.

8But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend,

8But you, Israel, are my servant; Jacob, you are the one I have chosen, the descendants of my friend Abraham.

9thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away;

9I have taken 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 and have not rejected you.'

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.

10Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

11Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish.

11Look, all who are angry with you will be ashamed and disgraced. Those who oppose you will be as nothing and will perish.

12Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.

12You will look for your enemies but will not find them. Those who fight against you will become like nothing at all.

13For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

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

14Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

14Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you people of Israel! I will help you, says the LORD. Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15Behold, I have made thee to be a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

15Look, I will make you into a new, sharp threshing tool with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will turn the hills into chaff.

16Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

16You will toss them into the air, the wind will blow them away, and a storm will scatter them. Then you will rejoice in the LORD; you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

17The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

17The poor and the needy look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

18I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

18I will make rivers flow on the bare hilltops and springs rise in the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and the cracked ground into flowing springs.

19I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together:

19I will plant cedars in the desert, along with acacia, myrtle, and olive trees. I will set fir trees, pines, and box trees together in the wilderness.

20that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

20I will do this so that people may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.

21Present your case, says the LORD. Bring forward your strongest arguments, says the King of Jacob.

22Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come.

22Let them come and tell us what is going to happen. Tell us about former things, so that we may think about them and know how they turned out. Or tell us about things to come.

23Declare 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.

23Tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we may all be amazed and see it.

24Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you.

24But look, you are nothing, and your works are worthless. Anyone who chooses to worship you is disgusting.

25I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.

25I have stirred up a leader from the north, and he is coming. From the rising sun, he calls on my name. He tramples on rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter treading on clay.

26Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.

26Who told us about this from the beginning so we would know, or in the past so we could say, 'He was right'? No one told us, no one announced it, and no one heard a word from you.

27I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

27I was the first to say to Zion, 'Look, here they are!' and I gave a messenger of good news to Jerusalem.

28And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word.

28But when I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them who can give an answer when I ask.

29Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.

29See, they are all a delusion. Their works amount to nothing; their statues are nothing but wind and confusion.