Isaiah 41

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Keep silence before me, O coastlands; you peoples, wait for my words! Let them draw near and speak; let us come together for judgment.	1 Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations take new strength. Let them draw near, and then speak. Let us apply for judgment together.
2 Who has stirred up from the East the champion of justice, and summoned him to be his attendant? To him he delivers the nations and subdues the kings; With his sword he reduces them to dust, with his bow, to driven straw.	2 Who has raised up a just man from the east, and has called him to follow him? He will place the nations under his gaze, and he will rule over kings. He will cause them to be like dust before his sword, like chaff driven by the wind before his bow.
3 He pursues them, passing on without loss, by a path his feet do not even tread.	3 He will pursue them. He will pass by in peace. No trace will appear after his feet.
4 Who has performed these deeds? He who has called forth the generations since the beginning. I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last I will also be.	4 Who has worked and accomplished these things, calling to the generations from the beginning? “It is I, the Lord! I am the first and the last.”
5 The coastlands see, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble: these things are near, they come to pass.	5 The islands saw it and were afraid. The ends of the earth were stupefied. They drew near and arrived.
	6 Each one will help his neighbor and will say to his brother, “Be strengthened.”
	7 The coppersmith striking with the mallet encouraged him who was forging at that time, saying, “It is ready for soldering.” And he strengthened it with nails, so that it would not be moved.
8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend--	8 But you, O Israel, are my servant, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of my friend Abraham.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and summoned from its far-off places, You whom I have called my servant, whom I have chosen and will not cast off--	9 For his sake, I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and I have called you from its distant places. And I said to you: “You are my servant. I have chosen you, and I have not cast you aside.”
10 Fear not, I am with you; be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and help you, and uphold you with my right hand of justice.	10 Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not turn away, for I am your God. I have strengthened you, and I have assisted you, and the right hand of my just one has upheld you.
11 Yes, all shall be put to shame and disgrace who vent their anger against you; Those shall perish and come to nought who offer resistance.	11 Behold, all who fight against you shall be confounded and ashamed. They will be as if they did not exist, and the men who contradict you will perish.
12 You shall seek out, but shall not find, those who strive against you; They shall be as nothing at all who do battle with you.	12 You will seek them, and you will not find them. The men who rebel against you will be as if they did not exist. And the men who make war against you will be like something that has been consumed.
13 For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, "Fear not, I will help you."	13 For I am the Lord your God. I take you by your hand, and I say to you: Do not be afraid. I have helped you.
14 Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.	14 Fear not, O worm of Jacob, you who are dead within Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, To thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff.	15 I have established you like a new threshing cart, having serrated blades. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. And you will turn the hills into chaff.
16 When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.	16 You will winnow them, and the wind will blow them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. And you shall exult in the Lord; you shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
17 The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.	17 The indigent and the poor are seeking water, but there is none. Their tongue has been dried up by thirst. I, the Lord, will heed them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
18 I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water.	18 I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the impassable land into streams of water.
19 I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine,	19 I will plant the cedar in a deserted place, with the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree. In the desert, I will plant the pine, and the elm, and the box tree together,
20 That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.	20 so that they may see and know, acknowledge and understand, together, that the hand of the Lord has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 Present your case, says the LORD; bring forward your reasons, says the King of Jacob.	21 Bring your case forward, says the Lord. Bring it here, if you have anything to allege, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them come near and foretell to us what it is that shall happen! What are the things of long ago? Tell us, that we may reflect on them And know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come!	22 Let them approach and announce to us the things that will occur. Announce to us the things that were before. And we will apply our heart to them, and we will know their end. And so, reveal to us the things that will occur.
23 Foretell the things that shall come afterward, that we may know that you are gods! Do something, good or evil, that will put us in awe and in fear.	23 Announce the things that will occur in the future, and we will know that you are gods. Likewise, accomplish good or evil, if you are able, and let us speak of it and see it together.
24 Why, you are nothing and your work is nought! To choose you is an abomination.	24 Behold, you exist out of nothing, and your work is from what does not exist; he who has chosen you is an abomination.
25 I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes; from the east I summon him by name; He shall trample the rulers down like red earth, as the potter treads the clay.	25 I have raised up one from the north, and he will arrive from the rising of the sun. He will call upon my name, and he will reduce magistrates to mud, like a potter working with clay.
26 Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know; beforehand, that we might say it is true? Not one of you foretold it, not one spoke; no one heard you say,	26 Who has announced this from its rising, so that we may know it, or from its beginning, so that we may say, “You are just.” There is no one who either announces, or predicts, or hears your words.
27 "The first news for Zion: they are coming now," or, "For Jerusalem I will pick out a bearer of the glad tidings."	27 The first one will say to Zion: “Behold, they are here,” and to Jerusalem, “I will present an evangelist.”
28 When I look, there is not one, no one of them to give counsel, to make an answer when I question them.	28 And I saw, and there was no one among any of them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.
29 Ah, all of them are nothing, their works are nought, their idols are empty wind!	29 Behold, they are all unjust, and their works are empty. Their idols are wind and emptiness.