| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; 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 stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble 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 and passes on safely, by paths his feet have not trod. | 3He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed. |
| 4Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with 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 coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. | 5The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come. |
| 6Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!” | 6They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!' |
| 7The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. | 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." |
| 8But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; | 8"You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, |
| 9you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; | 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. |
| 10fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. | 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 are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. | 11Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish. |
| 12You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. | 12When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing. |
| 13For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps 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.' |
| 14Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps 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 make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like 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 shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory. | 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. |
| 17When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is 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 bare 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. | 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 put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine 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. |
| 20that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, 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." |
| 21Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. | 21"Present your argument," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence," says Jacob's king. |
| 22Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. | 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 what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. | 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 less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you. | 24Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. |
| 25I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads 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 declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who 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 say to Zion, “Behold, here they are!” and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news. | 27I first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem. |
| 28But when I look, there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer. | 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. |
| 29Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind. | 29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. |
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