17 The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I will answer them.a

I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.

18 I will open rivers on the barren heights,b

and springs in the middle of the plains.

I will turn the desert into a pool

and dry land into springs.c

19 I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees

in the wilderness.d

I will put juniper, elm, and cypress trees together

in the desert,

20 so that all may see and know,

consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,e

the Holy One of Israel has createdf it.

21 “Submit your case,” says the Lord.

“Present your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

22 “Let them come and tell us

what will happen.g

Tell us the past events,

so that we may reflect on them

and know the outcome,

or tell us the future.

23 Tell us the coming events,h

then we will know that you are gods.

Indeed, do something good or bad,

then we will be in aweA when we see it.

24 Look, you are nothingi

and your work is worthless.

Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

25 “I have stirred up one from the north,j and he has come,

one from the eastk who invokes myB name.l

He will march over rulers as if they were mud,

like a potter who treads the clay.

26 Who told about this from the beginning,

so that we might know,

and from times past,

so that we might say, ‘He is right’?

No one announced it,

no one told it,

no one heard your words.

27 I was the first to say to Zion,C

‘Look! Here they are!’

And I gave Jerusalem a herald with good news.m

28 When I look, there is no one;

there is no counselor among them;

when I ask them, they have nothing to say.n

29 Look, all of them are a delusion;D

their works are nonexistent;

their images are wind and emptiness.