Isaiah 41

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
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.	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.
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,	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.
3 him who pursues them and advances unhindered, his feet scarcely touching the road?	3 He pursues them, passing on without loss, by a path his feet do not even tread.
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.'	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.
5 The coasts and islands have seen and taken fright, the remotest parts of earth are trembling: they areapproaching, they are here!	5 The coastlands see, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble: these things are near, they come to pass.
6 People help one another, they say to each other, 'Take heart!'
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 you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham my friend,	8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend--
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,'	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--
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.	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.
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.	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.
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.	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.
13 For I, Yahweh, your God, I grasp you by your right hand; I tel you, 'Do not be afraid, I shal help you.'	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."
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.	14 Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
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.	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.
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.	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.
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.	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.
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.	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.
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;	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,
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.	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.
21 'Present your case,' says Yahweh, 'Produce your arguments,' says Jacob's king.	21 Present your case, says the LORD; bring forward your reasons, says the King of Jacob.
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,	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!
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.	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.
24 Look, you are less than nothingness, and what you do is less than nothing; to choose you is anoutrage.'	24 Why, you are nothing and your work is nought! To choose you is an abomination.
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.	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.
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.	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,
27 First-fruits of Zion, look, here they come! I send a messenger to Jerusalem,	27 "The first news for Zion: they are coming now," or, "For Jerusalem I will pick out a bearer of the glad tidings."
28 and I look -- no one, not a single counsel or among them who, if I asked, could give an answer.	28 When I look, there is not one, no one of them to give counsel, to make an answer when I question them.
29 Taken altogether they are nothingness, what they do is nothing, their statues, wind and emptiness.	29 Ah, all of them are nothing, their works are nought, their idols are empty wind!