1 Israel Encouraged “Listen to Me in silence, you islandsandcoastlands,And let the nations gain their strength;Let them come near, then let them speak;Let us come together for judgment [and decide the issue between us concerning the enemy from the east].
2 Who has stirred upandput into action one from the east [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great]Whom He calls in righteousness to His serviceandwhom victory meets at every step?The Lturns nations over to himAnd subdues kings.He makes them like dust with his sword,Like wind-driven chaff with his bow.
3 He (Cyrus) pursues them and passes along safely,By a way his feet had not traveled before.
4 Who has performed and done this,Calling forth [and guiding the destinies of] the generations [of the nations] from the beginning?‘I, the L—the first, and with the last [existing before history began, the ever-present, unchanging God]—I am He.’ ”
5 The islandsandcoastlands have seen and they fear;The ends of the earth tremble;They have drawn near and have come.
6 They each help his neighborAnd say to his brother [as he fashions his idols], “Be of good courage!”
7 So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith,And he who smoothsmetalwith the smith’s hammerencourageshim who beats the anvil,Saying of the soldering (welding), “That is good”;And he fastens the idol with nails,So that it will not totternorbe moved.
8 “But you, Israel, My servant,Jacob whom I have chosen,The offspring of Abraham My friend,
9 You whom I [the L] haveLit seized.taken from the ends of the earth,And called from its remotest partsAnd said to you, ‘You are My servant,I have chosen you and have not rejected you [even though you are exiled].
10 Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;Do not be afraid, for I am your God.I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’
11 Indeed, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and humiliated;Those who strive against you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 You shall search for those who quarrel with you, but will not find them;They who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all.
13 For I the Lyour God keep hold of your right hand; [I am the Lord],Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’
14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;I will help you,” declares the L, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 In fact, I have made of you a new, sharpA heavy flat wooden sledge composed of several thick boards with sharp pieces of flint or metal embedded on one side. It was dragged over harvested stalks of grain to separate the kernels from the straw.threshing implement with sharp edges;You will thresh the mountains and crush them,And make the hills like chaff.
16 You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,And a high wind will scatter them;But you will rejoice in the L,You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none;Their tongues are parched with thirst.I, the L, will answer them Myself;I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them.
18 I will open rivers on the barren heightsAnd springs in the midst of the valleys;I will make the wilderness a reed-pool of waterAnd the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put the cedar in the wilderness,The acacia, the myrtle and the olive tree;I will place the juniper in the desertTogether with the box tree and the cypress,
20 So that they may see and know,And consider and understand together,That the hand of the Lhas done this,That the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 “Present your case [for idols made by men’s hands],” says the L.“Produce your evidence [of divinity],”Says the king of Jacob.
22 Let them bring forward [their evidence] and tell us what is going to happen.Regarding the former events, tell what they were,That we may consider them and know their outcome;Or announce to us the things that are going to come.
23 Tell us the things that are to come afterward,That we may know that you are gods;Indeed, you should dosomethinggood or do evil,Lit and let us be.that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle].
24 Hear this! You [idols] are less than nothing,And your work is worthless;The worshiper who chooses you [as a god] is repulsive.
25 “I have stirred upandput into actionCyrus originally came from the east (Is 41:2), but defeated a number of kingdoms north of Babylon early in his reign.one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,Even as a potter treads clay.”
26 Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know?Or from earlier times, so that we could say,“He is[unquestionably] right!”?In fact, there was no one who declared it,Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it;There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless].
27 “I was first to say to Zion, ‘Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].’And to Jerusalem, ‘I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [This prophecy was declared about a hundred and fifty years before it occurred.that Cyrus will be stirred upandput into action to save them].’
28 But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],And there is no counselorLit out of those.among them,Who, if I ask, can give an answer.
29 In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false;Their works are worthless,Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.