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Isaiah 41
New International Reader's Version
Isaiah 41
New International Reader's Version
The Lord Helps Israel
41 The Lord says, “People who live on the islands,
come and stand quietly in front of me.
Let the nations gain new strength
in order to state their case.
Let them come forward and speak.
Let us go to court and find out who is right.
2 “Who has stirred up a king from the east?
Who has helped him win his battles?
I hand nations over to him.
I bring kings under his control.
He turns them into dust with his sword.
With his bow he turns them into straw blowing in the wind.
3 He hunts them down. Then he moves on unharmed.
He travels so fast that his feet
don’t seem to touch the ground.
4 Who has made that happen? Who has carried it out?
Who has created all the people who have ever lived?
I, the Lord, have done it.
I was with the first of them.
And I will be with the last of them.”
5 The people on the islands have seen that king coming.
And it has made them afraid.
People tremble with fear from one end of the earth to the other.
They come and gather together.
6 They help one another.
They say to one another, “Be strong!”
7 One skilled worker makes a statue of a god.
Another covers it with gold.
The first worker says to the second,
“You have done a good job.”
Another worker smooths out the metal with a hammer.
Still another gives the statue its final shape.
The one who hammers says to the one who shapes,
“You have done a good job.”
Then they nail the statue down so it won’t fall over.
8 The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants.
Family of Jacob, I have chosen you.
You are the children of my friend Abraham.
9 I gathered you from one end of the earth to the other.
From the farthest places on earth I brought you together.
I said, ‘You are my servants.’
I have chosen you.
I have not turned my back on you.
10 So do not be afraid. I am with you.
Do not be terrified. I am your God.
I will make you strong and help you.
I will hold you safe in my hands.
I always do what is right.
11 “All those who are angry with you will be put to shame.
And they will be dishonored.
Those who oppose you will be destroyed.
And they will vanish.
12 You might search for your enemies.
But you will not find them.
Those who go to war against you
will completely disappear.
13 I am the Lord your God.
I take hold of your right hand.
I say to you, ‘Do not be afraid.
I will help you.’
14 Family of Jacob, you are as weak as a worm.
But do not be afraid.
People of Israel, there are only a few of you.
But do not be afraid.
I myself will help you,” announces the Lord.
He is the one who sets his people free.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
15 He says, “I will make you into a threshing sled.
It will be new and sharp.
It will have many teeth.
You will grind the mountains down and crush them.
You will turn the hills into nothing but straw.
16 You will toss them in the air.
A strong wind will catch them and blow them away.
You will be glad because I will make that happen.
You will praise me.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
17 “Those who are poor and needy search for water.
But there isn’t any.
Their tongues are dry because they are thirsty.
But I will help them. I am the Lord.
I will not desert them.
I am Israel’s God.
18 I will make streams flow on the bare hilltops.
I will make springs come up in the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water.
I will turn the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
19 I will make trees grow in the desert.
I will plant cedar and acacia trees there.
I will plant myrtle and olive trees there.
I will make juniper trees grow in the dry and empty desert.
I will plant fir and cypress trees there.
20 Then people will see and know
that my powerful hand has done it.
They will consider and understand
that I have created it.
I am the Holy One of Israel.”
21 The Lord says to the nations and their gods,
“State your case.”
Jacob’s King says to them,
“Prove your case to me.
22 Tell us, you false gods,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what happened in the past.
Then we can check it out
and see if it is really true.
Or announce to us the things that will take place.
23 Tell us what will happen in the days ahead.
Then we will know that you are gods.
Do something. It does not matter whether it is good or bad.
Then we will be terrified and filled with fear.
24 But you false gods are less than nothing.
Your actions are completely worthless.
I hate it when people worship you.
25 “I have stirred up a king
who will come from the north.
He lives in the east.
He will bring honor to me.
He walks all over rulers as if they were mud.
He steps on them just as a potter stomps on clay.
26 Which one of you false gods said those things
would happen before they did?
Who told us about them
so we could know them?
Who told us ahead of time?
Who told us so we could say,
‘You are right’?
None of you false gods told us about them.
None of you told us ahead of time.
In fact, no one heard you say anything at all.
27 I was the first to tell Zion.
I said, ‘Look! The people of Israel are coming back!’
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28 I look, but there is no one
among the gods that can give me advice.
None of them can answer
when I ask them the simplest question.
29 So they are not really gods at all.
What they do does not amount to anything.
They are as useless as wind.
Isaiah 41
New International Version
Isaiah 41
New International Version
The Helper of Israel
41 “Be silent(A) before me, you islands!(B)
Let the nations renew their strength!(C)
Let them come forward(D) and speak;
let us meet together(E) at the place of judgment.
2 “Who has stirred(F) up one from the east,(G)
calling him in righteousness(H) to his service[a]?(I)
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust(J) with his sword,
to windblown chaff(K) with his bow.(L)
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,(M)
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling(N) forth the generations from the beginning?(O)
I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last(P)—I am he.(Q)”
5 The islands(R) have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth(S) tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!(T)”
7 The metalworker(U) encourages the goldsmith,(V)
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.(W)
8 “But you, Israel, my servant,(X)
Jacob, whom I have chosen,(Y)
you descendants of Abraham(Z) my friend,(AA)
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,(AB)
from its farthest corners I called(AC) you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;(AD)
I have chosen(AE) you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear,(AF) for I am with you;(AG)
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen(AH) you and help(AI) you;
I will uphold you(AJ) with my righteous right hand.(AK)
11 “All who rage(AL) against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;(AM)
those who oppose(AN) you
will be as nothing and perish.(AO)
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.(AP)
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing(AQ) at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand(AR)
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help(AS) you.
14 Do not be afraid,(AT) you worm(AU) Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help(AV) you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer,(AW) the Holy One(AX) of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,(AY)
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains(AZ) and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.(BA)
16 You will winnow(BB) them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale(BC) will blow them away.(BD)
But you will rejoice(BE) in the Lord
and glory(BF) in the Holy One(BG) of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,(BH)
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.(BI)
But I the Lord will answer(BJ) them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake(BK) them.
18 I will make rivers flow(BL) on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert(BM) into pools of water,(BN)
and the parched ground into springs.(BO)
19 I will put in the desert(BP)
the cedar and the acacia,(BQ) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers(BR) in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress(BS) together,(BT)
20 so that people may see and know,(BU)
may consider and understand,(BV)
that the hand(BW) of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One(BX) of Israel has created(BY) it.
21 “Present your case,(BZ)” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.(CA)
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.(CB)
Tell us what the former things(CC) were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,(CD)
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know(CE) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,(CF)
so that we will be dismayed(CG) and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing(CH)
and your works are utterly worthless;(CI)
whoever chooses you is detestable.(CJ)
25 “I have stirred(CK) up one from the north,(CL) and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads(CM) on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,(CN) so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold(CO) it,
no one heard any words(CP) from you.
27 I was the first to tell(CQ) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.(CR)
28 I look but there is no one(CS)—
no one among the gods to give counsel,(CT)
no one to give answer(CU) when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;(CV)
their images(CW) are but wind(CX) and confusion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every step
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.