Isaiah 41:17–24

¹⁷“The poor and needy people look for water,

but they can’t find any.

Their tongues are dry with thirst.

But I, the Lord, will answer their prayers;

I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.

¹⁸I will make rivers flow on the dry hills

and springs flow through the valleys.

I will change the desert into a lake of water

and the dry land into fountains of water.

¹⁹I will make trees grow in the desert—

cedars, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.

I will put pine, fir, and cypress trees

growing together in the desert.

²⁰People will see these things and understand;

they will think carefully about these things and learn

that the Lord’s power did this,

that the Holy One of Israel made these things.”

The Lord Challenges False Gods

²¹The Lord says, “Present your case.”

The King of Jacob says, “Tell me your arguments.

²²Bring in your idols to tell us

what is going to happen.

Have them tell us what happened in the beginning.

Then we will think about these things,

and we will know how they will turn out.

Or tell us what will happen in the future.

²³Tell us what is coming next

so we will believe that you are gods.

Do something, whether it is good or bad,

and make us afraid.

²⁴You gods are less than nothing;

you can’t do anything.

Those who worship you should be hated.