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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, son of My friend Abraham,

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

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.’

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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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, Jehovah thy God, Am strengthening thy right hand, He who is saying to thee, `Fear not, I have helped 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, O worm Jacob, ye men of Israel, I helped thee, an affirmation of Jehovah, Even 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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

Bring near your cause, saith Jehovah, Bring nigh your mighty ones, 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.

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 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.

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

Lo, ye of nothing, and your work of nought, An abomination -- it fixeth on 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 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 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 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 “ Before I had said to Zion, ‘See, here they are,’ and to Jerusalem, ‘I will send someone to bring good news.’

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

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

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

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