Isaiah Chapter 41

God’s Help for Israel

                  41^:1“Lands beyond the sea, come to order and listen;

                                          prepare your case;

                                    step forward and present it;

                                          your case is next on the docket.

                              ² Who has stirred up the king in the east

                                          that he rightly called to his service,

                                    who delivers up nations and subdues kings;

                                    who makes them like dust with his sword,

                                          like wind-driven chaff with his bow;

                                    ³ who chases them away and passes along safely

                                          on paths he hasn’t walked before?

                              ⁴ Who does such momentous deeds

                                          generation after generation from the beginning till now?

                                    I, Yahveh, am the One,                                              

Is 41:1-4

                              ⁵ “The islands have seen it and fear;

                                          far-off places tremble;

                                    they’re coming; they’re getting close.

                              ⁶ Each one encourages the other, ‘Be strong!’

                              ⁷ So the carver encourages the goldsmith;

                                     the one that shapes with the hammer

                                          encourages the one that beats the anvil,

                                          and says of the soldering, ‘It’s good’;

                                    he fastens it down with nails

                                          so it won’t rock.                                                   

Is 41:5-7

                              ⁸ “But you, Israel my servant,

                                    Jacob my chosen,

                                    descendant of Abraham my friend,

                                    ⁹ you that I took from a far-off place

                                          and called from the most remote parts

                                          and said, ‘You’re my servant;

                                                I’ve chosen you—

                                    ¹⁰ don’t be afraid, I’m with you;

                                                don’t look around discouraged; I’m your God;

                                          I’ll encourage you and help you;

                                          you can count on me to hold you up 

                                                with my righteous right hand.’                      

Is 41:8-10

                                    ¹¹ All who are incensed at you will be disgraced;

                                    anybody that opposes you will perish.

                              ¹² You’ll look around for people in conflict with you

                                          and won’t find any;

                                    any who attack you won’t exist anymore,

                                          ¹³ because I’m Yahveh your God

                                                that holds you up,

                                                that tells you,

                                               ‘Don’t be afraid, I’ll help you.’                     

Is 41:11-13

                              ¹⁴ So don’t be afraid, Jacob you worm, you people in Israel;

                                          I’ll help you,” Yahveh says;

                                          “Your rescuer is the Holy One of Israel.

                              ¹⁵ I’ll make you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with teeth;

                                    you’ll thresh the mountains and pulverize them

                                          and grind the hills into chaff.

                                             ¹⁶You’ll winnow them, the wind will blow them away,

                                          the storm will scatter them;

                                    but you’ll celebrate in Yahveh

                                          and take pride in the Holy One of Israel.

Is 41:14-16

                              ¹⁷ “The poor and needy are looking for water,

                                          but there isn’t any;

                                          their tongues are parched with thirst;

                                    I, Yahveh, will answer them myself;

                                          as the God of Israel, I won’t abandon them.

                              ¹⁸ I’ll make creeks run in the barren hills

                                          and open up springs in the valleys below;

                                    I’ll make the desert a lake of water

                                          and turn dry land into fountains.

Is 41:17-18

                              ¹⁹ In the desert I’ll put cedars and acacia trees,

                                          myrtles and olive trees;

                                    I’ll plant junipers there

                                          along with box trees and cypress trees.

                              ²⁰ I’ll do that so people can recognize

                                          that I’ve done it;

                                          the Holy One of Israel has created it.                 

Is 41:19-20

                              ²¹ “Present your case for your idols,” Yahveh says;

                                          “bring forward your strong proofs,”

                                                                        the King of Jacob says.

                              ²² “Predict for us what’s going to happen;

                                          tell us what happened before

                                                so we can connect them with their outcome

                                                and learn what those outcomes will be.

                              ²³ State what the future holds

                                          so we can tell you are gods;

                                    do anything—good or bad—

                                          so we can look around and be scared together.

                              ²⁴ You aren’t anything; you can’t do anything;

                                    anybody that chooses you is pathetic.                       

Is 41:21-24

                                    ²⁵ “I’ve stirred up a leader from the north;

                                          he answers me from the rising sun;

                                    he’ll come on rulers like on mortar,

                                          like a potter treading clay.”

                              ²⁶ Who predicted this from the start,

                                           so we could know about it?

                                    Who said it in former times,

                                          so we could say, ‘He was right’?

                                    Nobody said anything;

                                          nobody heard any god say a word.                      

Is 41:25-26

                              ²⁷ “I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Help’s coming,’

                                          and Jerusalem, ‘I’ve got good news.’

                              ²⁸ But when I look,

                                          there’s no advisor among them;

                                    if I ask them, who can answer?

                              ²⁹ They’re all fake;

                                          they don’t do anything;

                                          molten images are wind and hot air.                   

Is 41:27-29