THE LORD VERSUS THE NATIONS’ GODS

41 “Be silent before me, coasts and islands!f

And let peoples renew their strength.

Let them approach; let them testify;

let’s come together for the trial.

2 Who has stirred up someone from the east?g

In righteousness he calls him to serve.A,B,h

The Lord hands nations over to him,i

and he subdues kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like wind-driven stubble with his bow.

3 He pursues them, going on safely,

hardly touching the path with his feet.

4 Who has performed and done this,

calling the generations from the beginning?

I am the Lord, the first

and with the lastj—I am he.”k

5 The coasts and islands see and are afraid,

the whole earth trembles.l

They approach and arrive.

6 Each one helps the other,

and says to another, “Take courage!”

7 The craftsman encourages the metalworker;m

the one who flattens with the hammer

encourages the one who strikes the anvil,

saying of the soldering, “It is good.”

He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.n

8 But you, Israel, my servant,o

Jacob, whom I have chosen,p

descendant of Abraham, my friendq—

9 I broughtC you from the ends of the earth

and called you from its farthest corners.

I said to you: You are my servant;

I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.r

10 Do not fear, for I am with you;s

do not be afraid, for I am your God.t

I will strengthen you; I will help you;

I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.u

11 Be sure that all who are enraged against you

will be ashamed and disgraced;v

those who contend with you

will become as nothing and will perish.

12 You will look for those who contend with you,

but you will not find them.

Those who war against you

will become absolutely nothing.

13 For I am the Lord your God,w

who holds your right hand,

who says to you, “Do not fear,

I will help you.

14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,x

you menD of Israel.

I will help you”—

this is the Lord’s declaration.

Your Redeemery is the Holy One of Israel.z

15 See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board,

new, with many teeth.

You will thresh mountains and pulverize them

and make hills into chaff.aa

16 You will winnow themab

and a wind will carry them away,

a whirlwind will scatter them.

But you will rejoice in the Lord;

you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

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

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I will answer them.a

I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.

18 I will open rivers on the barren heights,b

and springs in the middle of the plains.

I will turn the desert into a pool

and dry land into springs.c

19 I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees

in the wilderness.d

I will put juniper, elm, and cypress trees together

in the desert,

20 so that all may see and know,

consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,e

the Holy One of Israel has createdf it.

21 “Submit your case,” says the Lord.

“Present your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

22 “Let them come and tell us

what will happen.g

Tell us the past events,

so that we may reflect on them

and know the outcome,

or tell us the future.

23 Tell us the coming events,h

then we will know that you are gods.

Indeed, do something good or bad,

then we will be in aweA when we see it.

24 Look, you are nothingi

and your work is worthless.

Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

25 “I have stirred up one from the north,j and he has come,

one from the eastk who invokes myB name.l

He will march over rulers as if they were mud,

like a potter who treads the clay.

26 Who told about this from the beginning,

so that we might know,

and from times past,

so that we might say, ‘He is right’?

No one announced it,

no one told it,

no one heard your words.

27 I was the first to say to Zion,C

‘Look! Here they are!’

And I gave Jerusalem a herald with good news.m

28 When I look, there is no one;

there is no counselor among them;

when I ask them, they have nothing to say.n

29 Look, all of them are a delusion;D

their works are nonexistent;

their images are wind and emptiness.