1 “ Islands, be quiet and listen to Me. Let the people get new strength. Let them come near, then let them speak. Let us come together to be judged.

¶ Listen unto me, O islands; and let the peoples strengthen themselves; let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.

2 W ho has called this one from the east, one who is right at every step? He gives up nations in front of him and makes him ruler over kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, and like wind-blown dry grass with his bow.

Who raised up righteousness from the east, called him that he might follow him, gave the Gentiles before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword and as driven stubble to his bow.

3 H e goes after them and is safe as he passes, on paths he has not gone on before.

He pursued them and passed in peace by the way that his feet had never entered.

4 W ho has done this, calling out all the people from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.”

Who has wrought and done it? Who calls the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and I, myself am with those who are last.

5 T he islands have seen and are afraid. The ends of the earth shake in fear and they have come.

The isles saw it and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid; they congregated and came.

6 E very one helps each other, and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

Each one helped his neighbour; and each one said to his brother, Be of good courage.

7 T he able workman gives strength of heart to the one who works with gold. He who makes iron smooth gives strength of heart to the one who beats the iron, saying of his work, “It is good.” And he puts it in its place with nails so that it cannot be moved.

So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smooths with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is well joined and he strengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

8 “ But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, son of My friend Abraham,

But thou, Israel, my slave, Jacob whom I have chosen, art the seed of Abraham my friend.

9 I have taken you from the ends of the earth. I have called you from its farthest parts, and said to you, ‘You are My servant. I have chosen you and have not turned away from you.’

For I have taken thee from the ends of the earth and called thee from the boundaries thereof and said unto thee Thou shalt be my slave; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

10 D o not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will give you strength, and for sure I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with My right hand that is right and good.

¶ Do not fear for I am with thee; do not be dismayed, for I am thy God, who strengthens thee; I will help thee always; I will always uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11 S ee, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and troubled. Those who fight against you will be as nothing and will be lost.

Behold, all those that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing; and those that strive with thee shall perish.

12 Y ou will look for those who argue with you, but will not find them. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all.

Thou shalt seek them and shalt not find them, even those that contended with thee; those that war against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought.

13 F or I am the Lord your God Who holds your right hand, and Who says to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you.’

For I am the LORD thy God that holds thy right hand saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

14 D o not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help you,” says the Lord. “The One Who bought you and sets you free is the Holy One of Israel.

Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye dead of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 S ee, I have made you a new, sharp, crushing tool with teeth. You will beat the mountains and crush them. You will make the hills like dry grass.

Behold, I have placed thee as a threshing instrument, as a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains and beat them small and shalt make the hills as chaff.

16 Y ou will make the wind blow over them, and it will carry them away. The storm will send them everywhere. But you will have joy in the Lord. You will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.

Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; but thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 “ The suffering and those in need look for water, but there is none. Their tongue is dry with thirst. I the Lord will answer them. I the God of Israel will not leave them alone.

The poor and needy seek the waters that are not; their tongue fails for thirst; I the LORD will hear them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18 I will open rivers on the dry mountain tops, and give water in the valleys. I will make the desert a pool of water, and the dry land wells of water.

I will open rivers in high places and fountains in the midst of the plains; I will turn the wilderness into pools of water and the dry land into springs of water.

19 I will put in the desert the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree. I will put the juniper tree in the desert, together with the box tree and the cypress.

I will bring forth in the wilderness cedars, thorns, myrtles, and olive trees; I will set in the desert the fir tree and the pine and the box tree together:

20 T hen men will see and know and think about and understand that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has made it happen.

That they may see and know and take warning and understand together that the hand of the LORD does this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 “ Let your cause be known,” says the Lord. “Bring what you have to prove it,” says the King of Jacob.

¶ Explain your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your foundations, saith the King of Jacob.

22 L et them bring what they have, and tell us what is going to happen. Let them tell us what has happened in the past, that we may think about it and know what will happen in the future.

Let them bring forth and declare unto us what shall happen; tell us what has happened from the beginning, and we shall consider it in our hearts; and we shall know what his end shall be, and cause us to understand that which is to come.

23 T ell us what will happen after this, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good or bad, that we may together be afraid and fear.

Give us news of that which is to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods; or at least do good or do evil that we may have something to tell, and together we shall marvel.

24 S ee, you are nothing. And your work is nothing. He who chooses you is hated and sinful.

Behold, ye are of nothing and your works of vanity; an abomination is he that chooses you.

25 “ I have called one from the north, and he has come. From the rising of the sun he will call on My name. He will step hard on rulers as on builder’s clay, as the pot-maker steps hard on clay.”

I have raised up one from the north, and he came from the rising of the sun; he called in my name and came unto princes as upon clay and as the potter treads clay.

26 W ho has said this from the beginning, that we might know, or from times long ago, that we might say, “He is right”? There was no one who said it, no one who made it known, no one who heard your words.

Who has declared from the beginning, that we shall know? and beforetime that we shall say, He is righteous? yea, there is no one that declares this, yea, there is no one that teaches, yea, there is no one that hears your words.

27 “ Before I had said to Zion, ‘See, here they are,’ and to Jerusalem, ‘I will send someone to bring good news.’

I am the first that has taught these things unto Zion, and unto Jerusalem I brought the news.

28 B ut I see that there is no one, even no wise man among them, who can answer My questions.

For I beheld, and there was no one; and I asked regarding these things, and there was no counsellor; I asked them, and they did not answer a word.

29 S ee, all of them are false. Their works are nothing. Their objects of worship are empty wind.

Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.