1 “ Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come near together for judgment.

Keep silent towards Me, O isles, And the peoples pass on power, They come nigh, then they speak, `Together -- to judgment we draw near.'

2 “ Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow?

Who stirred up from the east a righteous one? He calleth him to His foot, He giveth before him nations, And kings He causeth him to rule, He giveth as dust his sword, As driven stubble his bow.

3 W ho pursued them, and passed safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet?

He pursueth them, he passeth over in safety A path with his feet he entereth not.

4 W ho has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first; And with the last I am He.’”

Who hath wrought and done, Calling the generations from the first? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last I He.

5 T he coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came.

Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.

6 E veryone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, “Be of good courage!”

Each his neighbour they help, And to his brother he saith, `Be strong.'

7 S o the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith; He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”; Then he fastened it with pegs, That it might not totter.

And strengthen doth an artizan the refiner, A smoother a hammer, Him who is beating an anvil, Saying, `For joining it good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!

8 “ But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.

-- And thou, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham, My lover,

9 Y ou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

Whom I have taken hold of, from the ends of the earth, And from its near places I have called thee, And I say to thee, My servant Thou, I have chosen thee, and not rejected thee.

10 F ear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Be not afraid, for with thee I, Look not around, for I thy God, I have strengthened thee, Yea, I have helped thee, yea, I upheld thee, With the right hand of My righteousness.

11 “ Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.

Lo, all those displeased with thee, They are ashamed and blush, They are as nothing, yea, perish Do the men who strive with thee.

12 Y ou shall seek them and not find them— Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing.

Thou seekest them, and findest them not, The men who debate with thee, They are as nothing, yea, as nothing, The men who war with thee.

13 F or I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’

For I, Jehovah thy God, Am strengthening thy right hand, He who is saying to thee, `Fear not, I have helped thee.'

14 “ Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the Lord And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Fear not, O worm Jacob, ye men of Israel, I helped thee, an affirmation of Jehovah, Even thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 “ Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff.

Lo, I have set thee for a new sharp threshing instrument, Possessing teeth, thou threshest mountains, And beatest small, and hills as chaff thou makest.

16 Y ou shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the Lord, And glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Thou winnowest them, and a wind lifteth them up, And a whirlwind scattereth them, And thou -- thou rejoicest in Jehovah, In the Holy One of Israel dost boast thyself.

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 forsake them.

The poor and the needy are seeking water, And there is none, Their tongue with thirst hath failed, I, Jehovah do answer them, The God of Israel -- I forsake them not.

18 I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.

I open on high places rivers, And in midst of valleys fountains, I make a wilderness become a pond of water, And a dry land become springs of water.

19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together,

I give in a wilderness the cedar, Shittah, and myrtle, and oil-tree, I set in a desert the fir-pine and box-wood together.

20 T hat 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

So that they see, and know, And regard, and act wisely together, For the hand of Jehovah hath done this, And the Holy One of Israel hath prepared it.

21 “ Present your case,” says the Lord. “Bring forth your strong reasons, ” says the King of Jacob.

Bring near your cause, saith Jehovah, Bring nigh your mighty ones, saith the king of Jacob.

22 “ Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come.

They bring nigh, and declare to us that which doth happen, The first things -- what they declare ye, And we set our heart, and know their latter end, Or the coming things cause us to hear.

23 S how the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together.

Declare the things that are coming hereafter, And we know that ye gods, Yea, ye may do good or do evil, And we look around and see together.

24 I ndeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.

Lo, ye of nothing, and your work of nought, An abomination -- it fixeth on you.

25 “ I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay.

I have stirred up from the north, And he cometh, From the rising of the sun he calleth in My name, And he cometh in prefects as clay, And as a potter treadeth down mire.

26 W ho has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘ He is righteous’? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words.

Who hath declared from the first, and we know? And beforetime, and we say, `Righteous?' yea, there is none declaring, Yea, there is none proclaiming, Yea, there is none hearing your sayings.

27 T he first time I said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!’ And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.

First to Zion, Behold, behold them, And to Jerusalem one proclaiming tidings I give,

28 F or I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.

And I see that there is no man, Yea, of these that there is no counsellor, And I ask them, and they return word:

29 I ndeed they are all worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion.

`Lo, all of them vanity, Nought their works, Wind and emptiness their molten images!'