| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 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“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. |
| 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 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. |
| 3He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed. | 3He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground. |
| 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. | 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.” |
| 5The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come. | 5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. |
| 6They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!' | 6The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, “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." | 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. |
| 8"You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, | 8“But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from 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. | 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. |
| 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! | 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. |
| 11Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish. | 11“See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing. |
| 12When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing. | 12You will look in vain for those who tried to conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing. |
| 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.' | 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. |
| 14Don't be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, men of Israel. I am helping you," says the LORD, your protector, the Holy One of Israel. | 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.’ |
| 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. | 15You will be a new threshing instrument with many sharp teeth. You will tear your enemies apart, making chaff of mountains. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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“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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 19I will plant trees in the barren desert— cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine. |
| 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." | 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. |
| 21"Present your argument," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence," says Jacob's king. | 21“Present the case for your idols,” says the LORD. “Let them show what they can do,” says the King of Israel. |
| 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! | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 24Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. | 24But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves. |
| 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“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. |
| 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! | 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! |
| 27I first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem. | 27I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look! Help is on the way!’ I will send Jerusalem a messenger with 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. | 28Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked. |
| 29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. | 29See, they are all foolish, worthless things. All your idols are as empty as the wind. |
|
