NET Bible

New American Standard Bible 1995

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!

1"Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, And let the peoples gain new strength; Let them come forward, then let them speak; Let us come together for judgment.

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.

2"Who has aroused one from the east Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet? He delivers up nations before him And subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, As the wind-driven chaff with his bow.

3He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed.

3"He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.

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.

4"Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'"

5The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come.

5The coastlands have seen and are afraid; The ends of the earth tremble; They have drawn near and have come.

6They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!'

6Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, "Be strong!"

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."

7So the craftsman encourages the smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, "It is good"; And he fastens it with nails, So that it will not totter.

8"You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend,

8"But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend,

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.

9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.

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!

10'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

11Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish.

11"Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

12When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing.

12"You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

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.'

13"For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'

14Don't be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, men of Israel. I am helping you," says the LORD, your protector, the Holy One of Israel.

14"Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you," declares the LORD, "and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

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.

15"Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them, And will make the hills like chaff.

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.

16"You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will rejoice in the LORD, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

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.

17"The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the LORD, will answer them Myself, As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.

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.

18"I will open rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water.

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.

19"I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert Together with the box tree and the cypress,

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."

20That they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21"Present your argument," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence," says Jacob's king.

21"Present your case," the LORD says. "Bring forward your strong arguments," The King of Jacob says.

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!

22Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;

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.

23Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.

24Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.

24Behold, you are of no account, And your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.

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.

25"I have aroused one from the north, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as upon mortar, Even as the potter treads clay."

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!

26Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, "He is right!"? Surely there was no one who declared, Surely there was no one who proclaimed, Surely there was no one who heard your words.

27I first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem.

27"Formerly I said to Zion, 'Behold, here they are.' And to Jerusalem, 'I will give a messenger of good news.'

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.

28"But when I look, there is no one, And there is no counselor among them Who, if I ask, can give an answer.

29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance.

29"Behold, all of them are false; Their works are worthless, Their molten images are wind and emptiness.

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