| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 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. | 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 aroused victory from the east, and has summoned it to his service, and has handed over nations to him? Who brings down kings, and turns them into dust with his sword, into windblown 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. |
| 3And who pursues them and moves on unscathed by a path that his feet don't know? | 3He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed. |
| 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!" | 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. |
| 5"The coastlands have looked and are afraid; the ends of the earth have drawn near together and come forward. | 5The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come. |
| 6Each helps his neighbor, saying to each other, 'Be strong!' | 6They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!' |
| 7The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and the hammersmith encourages the one who strikes the anvil. He says about the welding, 'It's good!' and he reinforces it with nails so that it won't topple." | 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." |
| 8"But as for you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I've chosen, the offspring of my friend Abraham— | 8"You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, |
| 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.' | 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. |
| 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." | 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! |
| 11"Look! All who are enraged at you will be put to shame and disgraced; those who contend with you will all die. | 11Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish. |
| 12Those who quarrel with you will be as nothing; those who fight you like nothing at all!" | 12When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing. |
| 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. | 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.' |
| 14Don't be afraid, you little worm Jacob, and you insects of Israel! I myself will help you,' declares the LORD, your Redeemer, 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. |
| 15"See, I'm making you into a new, sharp, and multi-tooth threshing sledge. You'll thresh and crush the mountains, and 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'll winnow them, and the wind will lift them up, and a tempest will blow them away. Then you'll rejoice in the LORD, and you'll make your 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. |
| 17"As for the poor, the needy, those seeking 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. | 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'll open up rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I'll turn the desert into a pool of water, and the parched 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'll put cedar trees in the wilderness, along with acacia, myrtle, and olive trees. I'll plant cypresses in the desert— box trees, and pine 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. |
| 20all so that people may see and recognize, perceive, 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." | 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." |
| 21"Put forward your case!" says the LORD. "Submit your arguments!" says Jacob's King. | 21"Present your argument," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence," 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. Or the latter things or the things to come— let us hear. | 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 the future holds, so we may know that you are gods! Yes, do something good or something bad, so we may hear and gaze at it together.'" | 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. |
| 24"Look! You and your work are less than nothing; whoever finds you pleasing is disgusting." | 24Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. |
| 25"You are stirring up one from the north, and they are coming from the rising of the sun; and he will be called by his name. Rulers will arrive like mud; just like a potter, he will trample 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 of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand, so we could ask, 'Is it right?' Indeed, no one told of this, no one made an announcement, and 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! |
| 27First, to Zion: "There is slumber." And to Jerusalem: "I'll send a messenger with 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 them there's no one to give counsel, no one to give an answer when I ask them. | 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. |
| 29See, none of them exist, and their deeds are nothing. Their metal images are only wind and confusion.'" | 29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. |
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