Isaiah 41 | King James Version

King James Version

1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. 2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. 3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. 4 Who hath wrought and done it , calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 5 The isles saw it , and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. 7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. 8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10 Fear 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. 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. 16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. 17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: 20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. 21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons , saith the King of Jacob. 22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be , that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. 23 Shew 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. 24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. 25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay. 26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. 27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. 28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

New International Reader’s Version

The Lord helps Israel

1 The LORD says, ‘People who live on the islands, come and stand quietly in front of me. Let the nations gain new strength in order to state their case. Let them come forward and speak. Let us go to court and find out who is right. 2 ‘Who has stirred up a king from the east? Who has helped him win his battles? I hand nations over to him. I bring kings under his control. He turns them into dust with his sword. With his bow he turns them into straw blowing in the wind. 3 He hunts them down. Then he moves on unharmed. He travels so fast that his feet don’t seem to touch the ground. 4 Who has made that happen? Who has carried it out? Who has created all the people who have ever lived? I, the LORD, have done it. I was with the first of them. And I will be with the last of them.’ 5 The people on the islands have seen that king coming. And it has made them afraid. People tremble with fear from one end of the earth to the other. They come and gather together. 6 They help one another. They say to one another, ‘Be strong!’ 7 One skilled worker makes a statue of a god. Another covers it with gold. The first worker says to the second, ‘You have done a good job.’ Another worker smooths out the metal with a hammer. Still another gives the statue its final shape. The one who hammers says to the one who shapes, ‘You have done a good job.’ Then they nail the statue down so it won’t fall over. 8 The LORD says, ‘People of Israel, you are my servants. Family of Jacob, I have chosen you. You are the children of my friend Abraham. 9 I gathered you from one end of the earth to the other. From the farthest places on earth I brought you together. I said, “You are my servants.” I have chosen you. I have not turned my back on you. 10 So do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will hold you safe in my hands. I always do what is right. 11 ‘All those who are angry with you will be put to shame. And they will be dishonoured. Those who oppose you will be destroyed. And they will vanish. 12 You might search for your enemies. But you will not find them. Those who go to war against you will completely disappear. 13 I am the LORD your God. I take hold of your right hand. I say to you, “Do not be afraid. I will help you.” 14 Family of Jacob, you are as weak as a worm. But do not be afraid. People of Israel, there are only a few of you. But do not be afraid. I myself will help you,’ announces the LORD. He is the one who sets his people free. He is the Holy One of Israel. 15 He says, ‘I will make you into a threshing sled. It will be new and sharp. It will have many teeth. You will grind the mountains down and crush them. You will turn the hills into nothing but straw. 16 You will toss them in the air. A strong wind will catch them and blow them away. You will be glad because I will make that happen. You will praise me. I am the Holy One of Israel. 17 ‘Those who are poor and needy search for water. But there isn’t any. Their tongues are dry because they are thirsty. But I will help them. I am the LORD. I will not desert them. I am Israel’s God. 18 I will make streams flow on the bare hilltops. I will make springs come up in the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water. I will turn the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs. 19 I will make trees grow in the desert. I will plant cedar and acacia trees there. I will plant myrtle and olive trees there. I will make juniper trees grow in the dry and empty desert. I will plant fir and cypress trees there. 20 Then people will see and know that my powerful hand has done it. They will consider and understand that I have created it. I am the Holy One of Israel.’ 21 The LORD says to the nations and their gods, ‘State your case.’ Jacob’s King says to them, ‘Prove your case to me. 22 Tell us, you false gods, what is going to happen. Tell us what happened in the past. Then we can check it out and see if it is really true. Or announce to us the things that will take place. 23 Tell us what will happen in the days ahead. Then we will know that you are gods. Do something. It does not matter whether it is good or bad. Then we will be terrified and filled with fear. 24 But you false gods are less than nothing. Your actions are completely worthless. I hate it when people worship you. 25 ‘I have stirred up a king who will come from the north. He lives in the east. He will bring honour to me. He walks all over rulers as if they were mud. He steps on them just as a potter treads on clay. 26 Which one of you false gods said those things would happen before they did? Who told us about them so we could know them? Who told us in advance? Who told us so we could say, “You are right”? None of you false gods told us about them. None of you told us in advance. In fact, no one heard you say anything at all. 27 I was the first to tell Zion. I said, “Look! The people of Israel are coming back!” I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news. 28 I look, but there is no one among the gods that can give me advice. None of them can answer when I ask them the simplest question. 29 So they are not really gods at all. What they do does not amount to anything. They are as useless as wind.