Isaiah 41

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.	1 Coasts and islands, fal silent before me, and let the peoples renew their strength, let them comeforward and speak; let us assemble for judgement.
2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.	2 'Who has raised from the east him whom saving justice summons in its train, him to whom Yahwehdelivers up the nations and subjects kings, him who reduces them to dust with his sword, and to driven stubblewith his bow,
3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.	3 him who pursues them and advances unhindered, his feet scarcely touching the road?
4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.	4 Who has acted thus, who has done this? He who cal s each generation from the beginning: I, Yahweh,who am the first and til the last I shal still be there.'
5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.	5 The coasts and islands have seen and taken fright, the remotest parts of earth are trembling: they areapproaching, they are here!
6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.	6 People help one another, they say to each other, 'Take heart!'
7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.	7 The woodworker encourages the smelter, the polisher encourages the hammerer, saying of thesoldering, 'It is sound'; and he fastens it with nails to keep it steady.
8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.	8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham my friend,
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.	9 whom I have taken to myself, from the remotest parts of the earth and summoned from countries faraway, to whom I have said, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you, I have not rejected you,'
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.	10 do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be alarmed, for I am your God. I give you strength, truly Ihelp you, truly I hold you firm with my saving right hand.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.	11 Look, al those who rage against you wil be put to shame and humiliated; those who picked quarrelswith you will be reduced to nothing and wil perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.	12 You wil look for them but wil not find them, those who used to fight you; they wil be destroyed andbrought to nothing, those who made war on you.
13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.	13 For I, Yahweh, your God, I grasp you by your right hand; I tel you, 'Do not be afraid, I shal help you.'
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.	14 Do not be afraid, Jacob, you worm! You little handful of Israel! I shall help you, declares Yahweh; yourredeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.	15 Look, I am making you into a threshing-sledge, new, with double teeth; you wil thresh and beat themountains to dust and reduce the hills to straw.
16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.	16 You wil winnow them and the wind wil carry them off, the gale will scatter them; whereas you wilrejoice in Yahweh, will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.	17 The oppressed and needy search for water, and there is none, their tongue is parched with thirst. I,Yahweh, shal answer them, I, the God of Israel, shal not abandon them.
18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.	18 I shal open up rivers on barren heights and water-holes down in the ravines; I shall turn the desertinto a lake and dry ground into springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:	19 I shal plant the desert with cedar trees, acacias, myrtles and olives; in the wastelands I shal putcypress trees, plane trees and box trees side by side;
20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.	20 so that people may see and know, so that they may all observe and understand that the hand ofYahweh has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.	21 'Present your case,' says Yahweh, 'Produce your arguments,' says Jacob's king.
22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.	22 'Let them produce and reveal to us what is going to happen. What happened in the past? Reveal it sothat we can consider it and know what the outcome wil be. Or tel us about the future,
23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.	23 reveal what is to happen next, and then we shal know that you are gods. At least, do something, be itgood or bad, so that we may feel alarm and fear.
24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.	24 Look, you are less than nothingness, and what you do is less than nothing; to choose you is anoutrage.'
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.	25 I have raised him from the north and he has come, from the east he has been summoned by name.He tramples on rulers like mud, like a potter treading clay.
26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.	26 Who revealed this from the beginning for us to know, and in the past for us to say, 'That is right'? Noone in fact revealed it, no one proclaimed it, no one has heard you speak.
27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.	27 First-fruits of Zion, look, here they come! I send a messenger to Jerusalem,
28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counseller, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.	28 and I look -- no one, not a single counsel or among them who, if I asked, could give an answer.
29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.	29 Taken altogether they are nothingness, what they do is nothing, their statues, wind and emptiness.