The Helper of Israel

41 “Be silentn before me, you islands!o

Let the nations renew their strength!p

Let them come forwardq and speak;

let us meet togetherr at the place of judgment.

2 “Who has stirreds up one from the east,t

calling him in righteousnessu to his servicea?v

He hands nations over to him

and subdues kings before him.

He turns them to dustw with his sword,

to windblown chaffx with his bow.y

3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,z

by a path his feet have not traveled before.

4 Who has done this and carried it through,

callinga forth the generations from the beginning?b

I, the Lord—with the first of them

and with the lastc—I am he.d”

5 The islandse have seen it and fear;

the ends of the earthf tremble.

They approach and come forward;

6 they help each other

and say to their companions, “Be strong!g”

7 The metalworkerh encourages the goldsmith,i

and the one who smooths with the hammer

spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.

One says of the welding, “It is good.”

The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.j

8 “But you, Israel, my servant,k

Jacob, whom I have chosen,l

you descendants of Abrahamm my friend,n

9 I took you from the ends of the earth,o

from its farthest corners I calledp you.

I said, ‘You are my servant’;q

I have chosenr you and have not rejected you.

10 So do not fear,s for I am with you;t

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthenu you and helpv you;

I will uphold youw with my righteous right hand.x

11 “All who ragey against you

will surely be ashamed and disgraced;z

those who opposea you

will be as nothing and perish.b

12 Though you search for your enemies,

you will not find them.c

Those who wage war against you

will be as nothingd at all.

13 For I am the Lord your God

who takes hold of your right hande

and says to you, Do not fear;

I will helpf you.

14 Do not be afraid,g you wormh Jacob,

little Israel, do not fear,

for I myself will helpi you,” declares the Lord,

your Redeemer,j the Holy Onek of Israel.

15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,l

new and sharp, with many teeth.

You will thresh the mountainsm and crush them,

and reduce the hills to chaff.n

16 You will winnowo them, the wind will pick them up,

and a galep will blow them away.q

But you will rejoicer in the Lord

and glorys in the Holy Onet of Israel.

17 “The poor and needy search for water,u

but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.v

But I the Lord will answerw them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsakex them.

18 I will make rivers flowy on barren heights,

and springs within the valleys.

I will turn the desertz into pools of water,a

and the parched ground into springs.b

19 I will put in the desertc

the cedar and the acacia,d the myrtle and the olive.

I will set juniperse in the wasteland,

the fir and the cypressf together,g

20 so that people may see and know,h

may consider and understand,i

that the handj of the Lord has done this,

that the Holy Onek of Israel has createdl it.

21 “Present your case,m” says the Lord.

“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.n

22 “Tell us, you idols,

what is going to happen.o

Tell us what the former thingsp were,

so that we may consider them

and know their final outcome.

Or declare to us the things to come,q

23 tell us what the future holds,

so we may knowr that you are gods.

Do something, whether good or bad,s

so that we will be dismayedt and filled with fear.

24 But you are less than nothingu

and your works are utterly worthless;v

whoever chooses you is detestable.w

25 “I have stirredx up one from the north,y and he comes—

one from the rising sun who calls on my name.

He treadsz on rulers as if they were mortar,

as if he were a potter treading the clay.

26 Who told of this from the beginning,a so we could know,

or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?

No one told of this,

no one foretoldb it,

no one heard any wordsc from you.

27 I was the first to telld Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’

I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.e

28 I look but there is no onef—

no one among the gods to give counsel,g

no one to give answerh when I ask them.

29 See, they are all false!

Their deeds amount to nothing;i

their imagesj are but windk and confusion.

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Here is my servant,l whom I uphold,

my chosen onem in whom I delight;n

I will put my Spirito on him,

and he will bring justicep to the nations.q

2 He will not shout or cry out,r

or raise his voice in the streets.

3 A bruised reeds he will not break,t

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.u

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;v

4 he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justicew on earth.

In his teachingx the islandsy will put their hope.”z

5 This is what God the Lord says—

the Creator of the heavens,a who stretches them out,

who spreads out the earthb with all that springs from it,c

who gives breathd to its people,

and life to those who walk on it:

6 “I, the Lord, have callede you in righteousness;f

I will take hold of your hand.g

I will keeph you and will make you

to be a covenanti for the people

and a lightj for the Gentiles,k

7 to open eyes that are blind,l

to freem captives from prisonn

and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.o

8 “I am the Lord;p that is my name!q

I will not yield my glory to anotherr

or my praise to idols.s

9 See, the former thingst have taken place,

and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

I announceu them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

10 Singv to the Lord a new song,w

his praisex from the ends of the earth,y

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,z

you islands,a and all who live in them.

11 Let the wildernessb and its towns raise their voices;

let the settlements where Kedarc lives rejoice.

Let the people of Selad sing for joy;

let them shout from the mountaintops.e

12 Let them give gloryf to the Lord

and proclaim his praiseg in the islands.h

13 The Lord will march out like a champion,i

like a warriorj he will stir up his zeal;k

with a shoutl he will raise the battle cry

and will triumph over his enemies.m

14 “For a long time I have kept silent,n

I have been quiet and held myself back.o

But now, like a woman in childbirth,

I cry out, I gasp and pant.p

15 I will lay wasteq the mountainsr and hills

and dry up all their vegetation;

I will turn rivers into islands

and dry ups the pools.

16 I will leadt the blindu by ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into lightv before them

and make the rough places smooth.w

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsakex them.

17 But those who trust in idols,

who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’y

will be turned back in utter shame.z

Israel Blind and Deaf

18 “Hear, you deaf;a

look, you blind, and see!

19 Who is blindb but my servant,c

and deaf like the messengerd I send?

Who is blind like the one in covenante with me,

blind like the servant of the Lord?

20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;

your ears are open, but you do not listen.”f

21 It pleased the Lord

for the sakeg of his righteousness

to make his lawh great and glorious.

22 But this is a people plunderedi and looted,

all of them trapped in pitsj

or hidden away in prisons.k

They have become plunder,

with no one to rescue them;l

they have been made loot,

with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23 Which of you will listen to this

or pay close attentionm in time to come?

24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,

and Israel to the plunderers?n

Was it not the Lord,o

against whom we have sinned?

For they would not followp his ways;

they did not obey his law.q

25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,r

the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames,s yet they did not understand;t

it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.u

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who createdv you, Jacob,

he who formedw you, Israel:x

“Do not fear, for I have redeemedy you;

I have summoned you by name;z you are mine.a

2 When you pass through the waters,b

I will be with you;c

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,d

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.e

3 For I am the Lord your God,f

the Holy Oneg of Israel, your Savior;h

I give Egypti for your ransom,

Cusha j and Sebak in your stead.l

4 Since you are precious and honoredm in my sight,

and because I loven you,

I will give people in exchange for you,

nations in exchange for your life.

5 Do not be afraid,o for I am with you;p

I will bring your childrenq from the east

and gatherr you from the west.s

6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

and to the south,t ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring my sons from afar

and my daughtersu from the ends of the earthv—

7 everyone who is called by my name,w

whom I createdx for my glory,y

whom I formed and made.z”

8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,a

who have ears but are deaf.b

9 All the nations gather togetherc

and the peoples assemble.

Which of their gods foretoldd this

and proclaimed to us the former things?

Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

10 “You are my witnesses,e” declares the Lord,

“and my servantf whom I have chosen,

so that you may knowg and believe me

and understand that I am he.

Before me no godh was formed,

nor will there be one after me.i

11 I, even I, am the Lord,j

and apart from me there is no savior.k

12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign godl among you.

You are my witnesses,m” declares the Lord, “that I am God.

13 Yes, and from ancient daysn I am he.o

No one can deliver out of my hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”p

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

14 This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer,q the Holy Oner of Israel:

“For your sake I will send to Babylon

and bring down as fugitivess all the Babylonians,b t

in the ships in which they took pride.

15 I am the Lord,u your Holy One,

Israel’s Creator,v your King.w”

16 This is what the Lord says—

he who made a way through the sea,

a path through the mighty waters,x

17 who drew outy the chariots and horses,z

the army and reinforcements together,a

and they layb there, never to rise again,

extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:c

18 “Forget the former things;d

do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!e

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wildernessf

and streams in the wasteland.g

20 The wild animalsh honor me,

the jackalsi and the owls,

because I provide waterj in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,

21 the people I formedk for myselfl

that they may proclaim my praise.m

22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,

you have not weariedn yourselves forc me, Israel.o

23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,p

nor honoredq me with your sacrifices.r

I have not burdeneds you with grain offerings

nor wearied you with demandst for incense.u

24 You have not bought any fragrant calamusv for me,

or lavished on me the fatw of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened me with your sins

and weariedx me with your offenses.y

25 “I, even I, am he who blots out

your transgressions,z for my own sake,a

and remembers your sinsb no more.c

26 Review the past for me,

let us argue the matter together;d

state the casee for your innocence.

27 Your first fatherf sinned;

those I sent to teachg you rebelledh against me.

28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;

I consigned Jacob to destructiond i

and Israel to scorn.j