Isaiah 41–64

The Helper of Israel

41“Be silentⁿ before me, you islands!^o

Let the nations renew their strength!^p

Let them come forward^q and speak;

let us meet together^r at the place of judgment.

²“Who has stirred^s up one from the east,^t

calling him in righteousness^u to his service^a?^v

He hands nations over to him

and subdues kings before him.

He turns them to dust^w with his sword,

to windblown chaff^x with his bow.^y

³He pursues them and moves on unscathed,^z

by a path his feet have not traveled before.

⁴Who has done this and carried it through,

calling^a forth the generations from the beginning?^b

I, the Lord—with the first of them

and with the last^c—I am he.^d”

⁵The islands^e have seen it and fear;

the ends of the earth^f tremble.

They approach and come forward;

⁶they help each other

and say to their companions, “Be strong!^g”

⁷The metalworker^h encourages the goldsmith,ⁱ

and the one who smooths with the hammer

spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.

One says of the welding, “It is good.”

The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.^j

⁸“But you, Israel, my servant,^k

Jacob, whom I have chosen,^l

you descendants of Abraham^m my friend,ⁿ

⁹I took you from the ends of the earth,^o

from its farthest corners I called^p you.

I said, ‘You are my servant’;^q

I have chosen^r you and have not rejected you.

¹⁰So do not fear,^s for I am with you;^t

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen^u you and help^v you;

I will uphold you^w with my righteous right hand.^x

¹¹“All who rage^y against you

will surely be ashamed and disgraced;^z

those who oppose^a you

will be as nothing and perish.^b

¹²Though you search for your enemies,

you will not find them.^c

Those who wage war against you

will be as nothing^d at all.

¹³For I am the Lord your God

who takes hold of your right hand^e

and says to you, Do not fear;

I will help^f you.

¹⁴Do not be afraid,^g you worm^h Jacob,

little Israel, do not fear,

for I myself will helpⁱ you,” declares the Lord,

your Redeemer,^j the Holy One^k of Israel.

¹⁵“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,^l

new and sharp, with many teeth.

You will thresh the mountains^m and crush them,

and reduce the hills to chaff.ⁿ

¹⁶You will winnow^o them, the wind will pick them up,

and a gale^p will blow them away.^q

But you will rejoice^r in the Lord

and glory^s in the Holy One^t of Israel.

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

²⁵“I have stirred^x up one from the north,^y and he comes—

one from the rising sun who calls on my name.

He treads^z on rulers as if they were mortar,

as if he were a potter treading the clay.

²⁶Who told of this from the beginning,^a so we could know,

or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?

No one told of this,

no one foretold^b it,

no one heard any words^c from you.

²⁷I was the first to tell^d Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’

I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.^e

²⁸I look but there is no one^f—

no one among the gods to give counsel,^g

no one to give answer^h when I ask them.

²⁹See, they are all false!

Their deeds amount to nothing;ⁱ

their images^j are but wind^k and confusion.

The Servant of the Lord

42“Here is my servant,^l whom I uphold,

my chosen one^m in whom I delight;ⁿ

I will put my Spirit^o on him,

and he will bring justice^p to the nations.^q

²He will not shout or cry out,^r

or raise his voice in the streets.

³A bruised reed^s he will not break,^t

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.^u

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;^v

⁴he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justice^w on earth.

In his teaching^x the islands^y will put their hope.”^z

⁵This is what God the Lord says—

the Creator of the heavens,^a who stretches them out,

who spreads out the earth^b with all that springs from it,^c

who gives breath^d to its people,

and life to those who walk on it:

⁶“I, the Lord, have called^e you in righteousness;^f

I will take hold of your hand.^g

I will keep^h you and will make you

to be a covenantⁱ for the people

and a light^j for the Gentiles,^k

⁷to open eyes that are blind,^l

to free^m captives from prisonⁿ

and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.^o

⁸“I am the Lord;^p that is my name!^q

I will not yield my glory to another^r

or my praise to idols.^s

⁹See, the former things^t have taken place,

and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

I announce^u them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰Sing^v to the Lord a new song,^w

his praise^x from the ends of the earth,^y

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,^z

you islands,^a and all who live in them.

¹¹Let the wilderness^b and its towns raise their voices;

let the settlements where Kedar^c lives rejoice.

Let the people of Sela^d sing for joy;

let them shout from the mountaintops.^e

¹²Let them give glory^f to the Lord

and proclaim his praise^g in the islands.^h

¹³The Lord will march out like a champion,ⁱ

like a warrior^j he will stir up his zeal;^k

with a shout^l he will raise the battle cry

and will triumph over his enemies.^m

¹⁴“For a long time I have kept silent,ⁿ

I have been quiet and held myself back.^o

But now, like a woman in childbirth,

I cry out, I gasp and pant.^p

¹⁵I will lay waste^q the mountains^r and hills

and dry up all their vegetation;

I will turn rivers into islands

and dry up^s the pools.

¹⁶I will lead^t the blind^u by ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light^v before them

and make the rough places smooth.^w

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsake^x them.

¹⁷But those who trust in idols,

who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’^y

will be turned back in utter shame.^z

Israel Blind and Deaf

¹⁸“Hear, you deaf;^a

look, you blind, and see!

¹⁹Who is blind^b but my servant,^c

and deaf like the messenger^d I send?

Who is blind like the one in covenant^e with me,

blind like the servant of the Lord?

²⁰You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;

your ears are open, but you do not listen.”^f

²¹It pleased the Lord

for the sake^g of his righteousness

to make his law^h great and glorious.

²²But this is a people plunderedⁱ and looted,

all of them trapped in pits^j

or hidden away in prisons.^k

They have become plunder,

with no one to rescue them;^l

they have been made loot,

with no one to say, “Send them back.”

²³Which of you will listen to this

or pay close attention^m in time to come?

²⁴Who handed Jacob over to become loot,

and Israel to the plunderers?ⁿ

Was it not the Lord,^o

against whom we have sinned?

For they would not follow^p his ways;

they did not obey his law.^q

²⁵So he poured out on them his burning anger,^r

the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames,^s yet they did not understand;^t

it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.^u

Israel’s Only Savior

43But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created^v you, Jacob,

he who formed^w you, Israel:^x

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed^y you;

I have summoned you by name;^z you are mine.^a

²When you pass through the waters,^b

I will be with you;^c

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,^d

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.^e

³For I am the Lord your God,^f

the Holy One^g of Israel, your Savior;^h

I give Egyptⁱ for your ransom,

Cush^aj and Seba^k in your stead.^l

⁴Since you are precious and honored^m in my sight,

and because I loveⁿ you,

I will give people in exchange for you,

nations in exchange for your life.

⁵Do not be afraid,^o for I am with you;^p

I will bring your children^q from the east

and gather^r you from the west.^s

⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

and to the south,^t ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring my sons from afar

and my daughters^u from the ends of the earth^v—

⁷everyone who is called by my name,^w

whom I created^x for my glory,^y

whom I formed and made.^z”

⁸Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,^a

who have ears but are deaf.^b

⁹All the nations gather together^c

and the peoples assemble.

Which of their gods foretold^d this

and proclaimed to us the former things?

Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

¹⁰“You are my witnesses,^e” declares the Lord,

“and my servant^f whom I have chosen,

so that you may know^g and believe me

and understand that I am he.

Before me no god^h was formed,

nor will there be one after me.ⁱ

¹¹I, even I, am the Lord,^j

and apart from me there is no savior.^k

¹²I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign god^l among you.

You are my witnesses,^m” declares the Lord, “that I am God.

¹³Yes, and from ancient daysⁿ I am he.^o

No one can deliver out of my hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”^p

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

¹⁴This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer,^q the Holy One^r of Israel:

“For your sake I will send to Babylon

and bring down as fugitives^s all the Babylonians,^bt

in the ships in which they took pride.

¹⁵I am the Lord,^u your Holy One,

Israel’s Creator,^v…