The LORD Comes as Judge

1“Be silent before me, you coastlands,

and let the people renew their strength!

Let them come forward,

then let them speak together—

let’s draw near for a ruling.

2Who has aroused victory from the east,

anda has summoned it to his service,

andb has handed over nations to him?

Who brings down kings,

andc turns them into dust with his sword,

into windblown stubble with his bow?

3Andd who pursues them

ande moves on unscathed

by a path that his feet don’t know?f

4Who has performed and carried this out,

calling the generations from the beginning?

I, the LORD—the first

and will be with the last

—I am the One!”

Idolators Encourage Each Other

5“The coastlands have looked and are afraid;

the ends of the earth have drawn near togetherg

and come forward.

6Each helps his neighbor,

sayingh to each other, ‘Be strong!’

7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,

and the hammersmithi encourages the one who strikes the anvil.

He saysj about the welding, ‘It’s good!’

and he reinforces it with nails so that it won’t topple.”

The LORD Encourages Israel

8“But as for you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I’ve chosen,

the offspring of my friend Abraham—

9you whom I encouraged from the ends of the earth

and called from its farthest corners,

and told you, ‘You’re my servant,

I’ve chosen you

and haven’t cast you aside.’

10Don’t be afraid,

because I’m with you;

don’t be anxious,

because I am your God.

I keep on strengthening you;

I’m truly helping you.

I’m surely upholding you

with my victorious right hand.”

The Coming Defeat of God’s Enemies

11“Look! All who are enraged at you

will be put to shame and disgraced;

those who contend with you

will all die.k

12Those who quarrel with youl

will be as nothing;

those who fight you

like nothing at all!”

A Call to Courage

13“For I am the LORD your God,

who takes hold of your right hand,

who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid.

I’ll help you.

14Don’t be afraid, you little worm Jacob,

andm you insects of Israel!

I myself will help you,’n declares the LORD,

youro Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”

A Promise of Victory

15“See, I’m making youp into

a new, sharp, and multi-tooth threshing sledge.

You’ll thresh and crush the mountains,

and make the hills like chaff.

16You’ll winnow them, and the wind will lift them up,

and a tempest will blow them away.

Then you’ll rejoice in the LORD,

andq you’ll make your boast in the Holy One of Israel.”

17“As for the poor, the needy, those seekingr water—

when there is none

and their tongues are parched from thirst—

I, the LORD, will answer them.

I, the God of Israel, won’t abandon them.

18I’ll open up rivers on the barren heights,

and fountains in the midst of the valleys.

I’ll turn thes desert into a pool of water,

and the parched land into springs of water.

19I’ll put cedar trees in the wilderness,

along with acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.

I’ll plant cypresses in the desert—

boxt trees, and pine trees together—

20all so that people may see and recognize,

perceive,u consider, and comprehend at the same time,

that the hand of the LORD has done this,

and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”

Can God’s Enemies Predict the Future?

21“Put forward your case!” says the LORD.

“Submit your arguments!” says Jacob’s King.

22Let them approach and ask us,

‘What will happen?

As to the former things, what were they?

Tell us, so that we may consider them and know.

Orv the latter things or the things to come—

let us hear.

23Tell us what the future holds,

so we may know that you are gods!

Yes, do something good or something bad,

so we may hearw and gaze at it together.’”

24“Look! You and your work are less than nothing;x

whoever finds you pleasing is disgusting.”

25“You are stirring upy one from the north,

and they are comingz from the rising of the sun;

andaa he will be called by hisbb name.

Rulers will arrive like mud;cc

justdd like a potter, he will trample the clay.

26Who told of this from the beginning,

so we could know,

or beforehand, so we could ask,

‘Is it right?’ee

Indeed, no one told of this,

no one made an announcement,

and no one heard your words:

27First, to Zion: “There is slumber.”ff

And to Jerusalem: “I’ll send a messenger with good news.”

28But when I look, there is no one—

among them there’s no one to give counsel,

no one to give an answer when I ask them.

29See, none of them exist, and their deeds are nothing.gg

Their metal images are only wind and confusion.’”