CHAPTER 41

1 Be silent to me, O islands; And let the peoples collect their strength; Let them draw near; then let them speak; Let us come near together to judgment.

2 Who raised up righteousness from the east, Called him to his foot, Gave nations before him, And subdued kings; Gave them as dust to his sword, And as driven stubble to his bow?

3 He pursued them; he departed in peace, By the way that his foot had not gone.

4 Who hath appointed And done it. He who calleth the nations from the beginning. I Jehovah am the first, And with the last I am the same.

5 The islands saw, And were afraid; The farthest boundaries of the earth trembled; They drew near And came.

6 Every one brought assistance to his neighbor, And said to his neighbor, Be courageous.

7 The carver encouraged the founder, And he that beateth with the hammer him that striketh by turns; And he said, It is good for soldering; And he fastened it with nails, that it might not be moved.

8 But thou, O Israel, (art) my servant, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, Thou seed of Abraham my friend.

9 For I have taken thee from the ends of the earth; From its eminences have I called thee; And I have said to thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, And have not cast thee off;

10 Fear not, for I am with thee; Be not terrified, for I am thy God; For I strengthen thee; yea, ¹ I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 Behold, they who provoke thee, Shall be ashamed And shall blush; They who contend with thee, Shall become as nothing, And shall perish.

12 Thou shalt seek them, And shalt not find them; They who contend with thee shall be as nothing, And they who fight with thee shall be as consumption.

13 For I (am) Jehovah thy God, Taking hold of thy right hand, And saying to thee, Fear not, I will help thee.

14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, Ye dead men of Israel. I will help thee, saith Jehovah, And thy Redeemer, ² the Holy One of Israel.

15 Behold, I have made thee a cart, Like a sharp thrashing instrument having teeth; Thou shalt thrash the mountains, And beat them small; And thou shalt reduce the hills to dust.

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

17 The needy And poor shall seek waters, Which are nowhere to be seen; Their tongue shall be parched with thirst. I Jehovah will listen to them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18 I will open rivers on lofty mountain-tops, And fountains in the midst of a plain; I will make the wilderness pools of waters, And the dry land fountains of waters.

19 In the wilderness I will give the cedar, The sloe, the myrtle, And the pine; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, The elm And poplar together.

20 Therefore let them see And know; Let them likewise think And understand; That the hand of Jehovah hath done this, And that the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

21 Plead your cause, saith Jehovah; Produce your strong reasons, saith the king of Jacob.

22 Let them bring them forth, And let them tell us what is to come; Let them declare the former things which were, And we will lay our heart to them; And we shall know the latest of those things; And declare ye to us what is to come.

23 Tell what shall be hereafter, That we may know that ye are gods; Yea, do good, or do evil, That we may relate And likewise may see ³ it.

24 Behold, you are of nothing, And your work is of nothing; (The man) hath chosen abomination in you.

25 I have raised him from the north, And he hath come; From the rising of the sun shall he call on my name; And he shall come to princes, as to clay; And he shall tread the clay like a potter.

26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? Beforehand, And we will say, (He is) righteous. Surely, there is none that declareth; Surely, there is none that causeth (us) to hear; Surely, there is none that heareth your words.

27 The first to Zion; Behold, behold them; And I will give a messenger to Jerusalem.

28 I looked, And there was none; I inquired at them, And there was no counselor; I asked them, And they answered not a word.

29 Behold, all are vanity; And their works are a failure; Their images are wind And confusion.