Isaiah 41:17–24

¹⁷“The poor and needy search for water,^u

but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.^v

But I the Lord will answer^w them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake^x them.

¹⁸I will make rivers flow^y on barren heights,

and springs within the valleys.

I will turn the desert^z into pools of water,^a

and the parched ground into springs.^b

¹⁹I will put in the desert^c

the cedar and the acacia,^d the myrtle and the olive.

I will set junipers^e in the wasteland,

the fir and the cypress^f together,^g

²⁰so that people may see and know,^h

may consider and understand,ⁱ

that the hand^j of the Lord has done this,

that the Holy One^k of Israel has created^l it.

²¹“Present your case,^m” says the Lord.

“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.ⁿ

²²“Tell us, you idols,

what is going to happen.^o

Tell us what the former things^p were,

so that we may consider them

and know their final outcome.

Or declare to us the things to come,^q

²³tell us what the future holds,

so we may know^r that you are gods.

Do something, whether good or bad,^s

so that we will be dismayed^t and filled with fear.

²⁴But you are less than nothing^u

and your works are utterly worthless;^v

whoever chooses you is detestable.^w