| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Be silent before Me, islands! And let peoples renew their strength. Let them approach, then let them testify; let us come together for the trial. | 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 stirred him up from the east? He calls righteousness to his feet. The LORD hands nations over to him, and he subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like wind-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, 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 and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, am 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 islands see and are afraid, the whole earth trembles. They approach and arrive. | 5The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come. |
| 6Each one helps the other, and says to another, "Take courage!" | 6They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!' |
| 7The craftsman encourages the metalworker; the one who flattens with the hammer supports the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good." He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over. | 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, 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 to you: You are My servant; I have chosen you 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 help you; I will hold on to 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! |
| 11Be sure that all who are enraged against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will become as 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 look for those who contend with you, but you will not find them. Those who war against you will become absolutely nothing. | 12When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing. |
| 13For I, Yahweh your God, hold your right hand and say to 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, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel: I will help you-- this is the LORD's declaration. 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. |
| 15See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board, new, with many teeth. You will thresh mountains and pulverize them and make hills into 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 boast 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 the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, Yahweh, 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 springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and dry land into 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 plant cedars in the desert, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will put juniper trees in the desert, elms and cypress trees 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, consider and understand, 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." |
| 21Submit your case," says the LORD." Present your arguments," says Jacob's King." | 21"Present your argument," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence," says Jacob's king. |
| 22Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell us the past events, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome, or tell us the future. | 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 coming events, then we will know that you are gods. Indeed, do something good or bad, then we will be in awe and perceive. | 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. |
| 24Look, you are nothing and your work is worthless. 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 invokes My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mud, 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 told about this from the beginning, so that we might know, and from times past, so that we might say: He is right? No one announced it, no one told 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 say to Zion: Look! Here they are! And I gave a herald of good news to Jerusalem. | 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. |
| 29Look, all of them are a delusion; their works are nonexistent; their images are wind and emptiness." | 29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. |
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