Isaiah 41:24–29
24 Behold, vyou are nothing,
and your work is less than nothing;
an abomination is he who chooses you.
25 wI stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
xfrom the rising of the sun, yand he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 zWho declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 aI was the first to say3 to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
and bI give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 cBut when I look, there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 dBehold, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their metal images are empty wind.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — The New International Version (NIV)
24 But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.
25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28 I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
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 counseller,
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.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — New Living Translation (NLT)
24 But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all.
Those who choose you pollute themselves.
25 “But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north.
From the east he will call on my name.
I will give him victory over kings and princes.
He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.
26 “Who told you from the beginning
that this would happen?
Who predicted this,
making you admit that he was right?
No one said a word!
27 I was the first to tell Zion,
‘Look! Help is on the way!’
I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.
28 Not one of your idols told you this.
Not one gave any answer when I asked.
29 See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
All your idols are as empty as the wind.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
24 Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25 “I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name;
And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
26 Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
27 The first time I said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28 For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29 Indeed they are all worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — New Century Version (NCV)
24 You gods are less than nothing;
you can’t do anything.
Those who worship you should be hated.
25 “I have brought someone to come out of the north
I have called by name a man from the east, and he knows me.
He walks on kings as if they were mud,
just as a potter walks on the clay.
26 Who told us about this before it happened?
Who told us ahead of time so we could say, ‘He was right’?
None of you told us anything;
none of you told us before it happened;
no one heard you tell about it.
27 I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Jerusalem that the people were coming home.
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28 I look at the idols, but there is not one that can answer.
None of them can give advice;
none of them can answer my questions.
29 Look, all these idols are false.
They cannot do anything;
they are worth nothing.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — American Standard Version (ASV)
24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you.
25 I 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. 26 Who 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. 27 I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. 28 And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word. 29 Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
24 Behold, ye are less than nothing, and your work is 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, he who will call upon my name; and he shall come upon princes as on mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. 26 Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, It is right? Indeed, there is none that declareth; no, none that sheweth; no, none that heareth your words. 27 The first, I said to Zion, Behold, behold them! and to Jerusalem, I will give one that bringeth glad tidings. 28 And 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 nought, their molten images are wind and emptiness.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
24 You are nothing!
You can’t do anything!
Whoever chooses you is disgusting.
25 “I have raised up someone from the north, and he has come.
He will call on my name from the east.
He will attack rulers as if they were mud,
as if he were treading on clay like a potter.
26 Who revealed this from the beginning so that we could know it?
Who revealed this from the past so that we could say that he was right?
No one revealed it.
No one announced it.
No one heard your words.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are.’
I gave Jerusalem a messenger with the good news.
28 When I look, there is no one.
There is no one to advise them.
When I ask them a question,
will they give an answer?
29 All of them are nothing.
They can’t do anything.
Their statues are nothing but air.”
Isaiah 41:24–29 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
24 Look, you are nothing
and your work is worthless.
Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
25 “I have raised up one from the north, and he has come,
one from the east who invokes My name.
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:
Look! Here they are!
And I gave a herald of good news to Jerusalem.
28 When I look, there is no one;
there is no counselor among them;
when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
29 Look, all of them are a delusion;
their works are nonexistent;
their images are wind and emptiness.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
24 You, indeed, are nothing
and your work is nothing at all;
whoever chooses you is an abomination.
25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name.
He shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know,
and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”?
There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 I first have declared it to Zion,
and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.
28 But when I look there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 No, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their images are empty wind.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
24 Look! you are nothing,
and your work is something worthless;
whoever chooses you is an abomination.
25 I stirred up one from the north,
and he has come from the rising of the sun.
He shall call on my name,
and he shall come on officials as on mortar,
and as the potter treads clay.
26 Who declared it from the beginning so that we might know,
and beforehand so that we might say, “He is right!”
Indeed, there was no one who declared it;
Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it.
Indeed there was no one who heard your words.
27 First to Zion, look! Look at them!
And I give a herald of good tidings to Jerusalem.
28 But I look and there is no man,
and I look among these and there is no counselor,
that I might ask them and they might answer a word.
29 Look! All of them are deception;
their works are nothing;
their images are wind and emptiness.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
24 But you 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 honor to me.
He walks all over rulers as if they were mud.
He steps on them just as a potter stomps on clay.
26 Which one of you gods said those things
would happen before they did?
Who told us about them
so we could know them?
Who told us ahead of time?
Who told us so we could say,
‘You are right’?
None of you told us about them.
None of you told us ahead of time.
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 prophet 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.
Isaiah 41:24–29 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
24 Behold, you are of no account,
And your work amounts to nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25 “I have aroused one from the north, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon mortar,
Even as the potter treads clay.”
26 Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
Surely there was no one who declared,
Surely there was no one who proclaimed,
Surely there was no one who heard your words.
27 “Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’
28 “But when I look, there is no one,
And there is no counselor among them
Who, if I ask, can give an answer.
29 “Behold, all of them are false;
Their works are worthless,
Their molten images are wind and emptiness.