Isaiah 41:17–24

¹⁷“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,

Their tongues fail for thirst.

I, the Lord, will hear them;

I, the God of Israel, will not ^uforsake them.

¹⁸I will open ^vrivers in desolate heights,

And fountains in the midst of the valleys;

I will make the ^wwilderness a pool of water,

And the dry land springs of water.

¹⁹I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,

The myrtle and the oil tree;

I will set in the ^xdesert the cypress tree and the pine

And the box tree together,

^20yThat they may see and know,

And consider and understand together,

That the hand of the Lord has done this,

And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The Futility of Idols

²¹“Present your case,” says the Lord.

“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the ^zKing of Jacob.

²²“Let ^athem bring forth and show us what will happen;

Let them show the ^bformer things, what they were,

That we may ⁶consider them,

And know the latter end of them;

Or declare to us things to come.

^23cShow the things that are to come hereafter,

That we may know that you are gods;

Yes, ^ddo good or do evil,

That we may be dismayed and see it together.

²⁴Indeed ^eyou are nothing,

And your work is nothing;

He who chooses you is an abomination.