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 thingsp were,

so that we may consider them

and know their final outcome.

Or declare to us the things to come,q

23 tell us what the future holds,

so we may knowr that you are gods.

Do something, whether good or bad,s

so that we will be dismayedt and filled with fear.

24 But you are less than nothingu

and your works are utterly worthless;v

whoever chooses you is detestable.w

25 “I have stirredx up one from the north,y and he comes—

one from the rising sun who calls on my name.

He treadsz on rulers as if they were mortar,

as if he were a potter treading the clay.

26 Who 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 foretoldb it,

no one heard any wordsc from you.

27 I was the first to telld Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’

I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.e

28 I look but there is no onef—

no one among the gods to give counsel,g

no one to give answerh when I ask them.

29 See, they are all false!

Their deeds amount to nothing;i

their imagesj are but windk and confusion.