| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come near together for judgment. | 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! |
| 2“Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to 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. |
| 3Who pursued them, and passed safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet? | 3He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed. |
| 4Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He.’ ” | 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. |
| 5The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came. | 5The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come. |
| 6Everyone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, “Be of good courage!” | 6They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!' |
| 7So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith; He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”; Then he fastened it with pegs, That it might not totter. | 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 you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. | 8"You, my servant Israel, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend, |
| 9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: | 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. |
| 10Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous 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“Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. | 11Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated; your adversaries will be reduced to nothing and perish. |
| 12You shall seek them and not find them— Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. | 12When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing. |
| 13For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will 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.' |
| 14“Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the LORD And 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“Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, 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 shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the LORD, And glory 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“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake 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 will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land 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 will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree 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. |
| 20That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And 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“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob. | 21"Present your argument," says the LORD. "Produce your evidence," says Jacob's king. |
| 22“Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come. | 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! |
| 23Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see 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. |
| 24Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. | 24Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. |
| 25“I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads 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 has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears 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! |
| 27The first time I said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!’ And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. | 27I first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem. |
| 28For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word. | 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. |
| 29Indeed they are all worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion. | 29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance. |
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