| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The court is ready for your case. | 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. |
| 2“Who has stirred up this king from the east, rightly calling him to God’s service? Who gives this man victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot? With his sword, he reduces armies to dust. With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind. | 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. |
| 3He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground. | 3He pursues them, going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet. |
| 4Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last. I alone am he.” | 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.” |
| 5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. | 5The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward. |
| 6The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, “Be strong!” | 6Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!” |
| 7The carver encourages the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.” Carefully they join the parts together, then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over. | 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. |
| 8“But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, | 8“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend— |
| 9I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. | 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. |
| 10Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. | 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. |
| 11“See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing. | 11Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish. |
| 12You will look in vain for those who tried to conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing. | 12You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing. |
| 13For I hold you by your right hand— I, the LORD your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you. | 13For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you. |
| 14Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob, don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you. I am the LORD, your Redeemer. I am the Holy One of Israel.’ | 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. |
| 15You will be a new threshing instrument with many sharp teeth. You will tear your enemies apart, making chaff of mountains. | 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. |
| 16You will toss them into the air, and the wind will blow them all away; a whirlwind will scatter them. Then you will rejoice in the LORD. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel. | 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. |
| 17“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them. | 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. |
| 18I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground. | 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. |
| 19I will plant trees in the barren desert— cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine. | 19I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses in the desert, elms and boxwood together, |
| 20I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means— that it is the LORD who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it. | 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.” |
| 21“Present the case for your idols,” says the LORD. “Let them show what they can do,” says the King of Israel. | 21“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob. |
| 22“Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen. | 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. |
| 23Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything—good or bad! Do something that will amaze and frighten us. | 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. |
| 24But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves. | 24Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable. |
| 25“But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north. From the east he will call on my name. I will give him victory over kings and princes. He will trample them as a potter treads on clay. | 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. |
| 26“Who told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one said a word! | 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. |
| 27I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look! Help is on the way!’ I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news. | 27I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news. |
| 28Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked. | 28When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say. |
| 29See, they are all foolish, worthless things. All your idols are as empty as the wind. | 29See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind. |
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