The Book of 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.
41:2Who 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. 41:3He pursueth
them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.
41:4Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I,
Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he. 41:5The isles have seen, and fear; the
ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come. 41:6They help every one his
neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage. 41:7So 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 is should not be moved. 41:8But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I
have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, 41:9thou 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; 41:10Fear 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.
41:11Behold, 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.
41:12Thou 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.
41:13For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I
will help thee. 41:14Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help
thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 41:15Behold, 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. 41:16Thou
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. 41:17The 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. 41:18I 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. 41:19I 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:
41:20that 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.
41:21Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the
King of Jacob. 41:22Let 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. 41:23Declare 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. 41:24Behold, ye are of nothing, and
your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. 41:25I 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. 41:26Who 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. 41:27I am the
first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth
good tidings. 41:28And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no
counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word. 41:29Behold, all of them,
their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.