| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1“Be silent before Me, O islands, and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come forward and testify; let us together draw near for judgment. | 1"Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate! |
| 2Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. | 2Who stirs up this one from the east? Who officially commissions him for service? He hands nations over to him, and enables him to subdue kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown straw with his bow. |
| 3He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet. | 3He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed. |
| 4Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.” | 4Who acts and carries out decrees? Who summons the successive generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am present at the very beginning, and at the very end--I am the one. |
| 5The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward. | 5The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come. |
| 6Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!” | 6They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!' |
| 7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled. | 7The craftsman encourages the metalsmith, the one who wields the hammer encourages the one who pounds on the anvil. He approves the quality of the welding, and nails it down so it won't fall over." |
| 8“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend— | 8"You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, |
| 9I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said, ‘You are My servant.’ I have chosen and not rejected you. | 9you whom I am bringing back from the earth's extremities, and have summoned from the remote regions--I told you, "You are my servant." I have chosen you and not rejected you. |
| 10Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness. | 10Don't be afraid, for I am with you! Don't be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you--yes, I help you--yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! |
| 11Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish. | 11Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish. |
| 12You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing. | 12When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing. |
| 13For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you. | 13For I am the LORD your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, 'Don't be afraid, I am helping you.' |
| 14Do not fear, O worm of Jacob, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. | 14Don't be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, men of Israel. I am helping you," says the LORD, your protector, the Holy One of Israel. |
| 15Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. | 15"Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and double-edged. You will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like straw. |
| 16You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel. | 16You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away; the wind will scatter them. You will rejoice in the LORD; you will boast in the Holy One of Israel. |
| 17The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. | 17The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the LORD, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. |
| 18I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs. | 18I will make streams flow down the slopes and produce springs in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and the arid land into springs. |
| 19I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses in the desert, elms and boxwood together, | 19I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness; I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert. |
| 20so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.” | 20I will do this so people will observe and recognize, so they will pay attention and understand that the LORD's power has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being." |
| 21“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob. | 21"Present your argument," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence," says Jacob's king. |
| 22“Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming. | 22"Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen! Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, so we may examine them and see how they were fulfilled. Or decree for us some future events! |
| 23Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay. | 23Predict how future events will turn out, so we might know you are gods. Yes, do something good or bad, so we might be frightened and in awe. |
| 24Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable. | 24Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. |
| 25I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay. | 25I have stirred up one out of the north and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. He steps on rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay. |
| 26Who has declared this from the beginning, so that we may know, and from times past, so that we may say: ‘He was right’? No one announced it, no one foretold it, no one heard your words. | 26Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know? Who announced it ahead of time, so we could say, 'He's correct'? Indeed, none of them decreed it! Indeed, none of them announced it! Indeed, no one heard you say anything! |
| 27I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news. | 27I first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem. |
| 28When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say. | 28I look, but there is no one, among them there is no one who serves as an adviser, that I might ask questions and receive answers. |
| 29See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind. | 29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. |
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