God Will Help Israel

41 “Islands, be quiet and listen to Me. Let the people get new strength. Let them come near, then let them speak. Let us come together to be judged. ² Who has called this one from the east, one who is right at every step? He gives up nations in front of him and makes him ruler over kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, and like wind-blown dry grass with his bow. ³ He goes after them and is safe as he passes, on paths he has not gone on before. ⁴ Who has done this, calling out all the people from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.”

⁵ The islands have seen and are afraid. The ends of the earth shake in fear and they have come. ⁶ Every one helps each other, and says to his brother, “Be strong!” ⁷ The able workman gives strength of heart to the one who works with gold. He who makes iron smooth gives strength of heart to the one who beats the iron, saying of his work, “It is good.” And he puts it in its place with nails so that it cannot be moved.

⁸ “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, son of My friend Abraham, ⁹ I have taken you from the ends of the earth. I have called you from its farthest parts, and said to you, ‘You are My servant. I have chosen you and have not turned away from you.’ ¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will give you strength, and for sure I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with My right hand that is right and good. ¹¹ See, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and troubled. Those who fight against you will be as nothing and will be lost. ¹² You will look for those who argue with you, but will not find them. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all. ¹³ For I am the Lord your God Who holds your right hand, and Who says to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you.’ ¹⁴ Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help you,” says the Lord. “The One Who bought you and sets you free is the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ See, I have made you a new, sharp, crushing tool with teeth. You will beat the mountains and crush them. You will make the hills like dry grass. ¹⁶ You will make the wind blow over them, and it will carry them away. The storm will send them everywhere. But you will have joy in the Lord. You will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷ “The suffering and those in need look for water, but there is none. Their tongue is dry with thirst. I the Lord will answer them. I the God of Israel will not leave them alone. ¹⁸ I will open rivers on the dry mountain tops, and give water in the valleys. I will make the desert a pool of water, and the dry land wells of water. ¹⁹ I will put in the desert the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree. I will put the juniper tree in the desert, together with the box tree and the cypress. ²⁰ Then men will see and know and think about and understand that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has made it happen.

²¹ “Let your cause be known,” says the Lord. “Bring what you have to prove it,” says the King of Jacob. ²² Let them bring what they have, and tell us what is going to happen. Let them tell us what has happened in the past, that we may think about it and know what will happen in the future. ²³ Tell us what will happen after this, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good or bad, that we may together be afraid and fear. ²⁴ See, you are nothing. And your work is nothing. He who chooses you is hated and sinful.

²⁵ “I have called one from the north, and he has come. From the rising of the sun he will call on My name. He will step hard on rulers as on builder’s clay, as the pot-maker steps hard on clay.” ²⁶ Who has said this from the beginning, that we might know, or from times long ago, that we might say, “He is right”? There was no one who said it, no one who made it known, no one who heard your words. ²⁷ “Before I had said to Zion, ‘See, here they are,’ and to Jerusalem, ‘I will send someone to bring good news.’ ²⁸ But I see that there is no one, even no wise man among them, who can answer My questions. ²⁹ See, all of them are false. Their works are nothing. Their objects of worship are empty wind.

The Servant of the Lord

42 “See! My servant, My chosen one! My much Loved, in Whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit on Him. He will say to the nations what is right from wrong. ² He will not cry out or speak with a loud voice. His voice will not be heard in the streets. ³ He will not break a broken branch or put out a little fire. He will be faithful to make everything fair. ⁴ He will not lose hope or be crushed, until He has made things right on the earth. And the islands will wait with hope in His Law.”

⁵ This is what God the Lord Who made the heavens and spread them out and Who spread out the earth and what comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it, says, ⁶ “I am the Lord. I have called you to be right and good. I will hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will give you as an agreement to the people, as a light to the nations. ⁷ You will open blind eyes. You will bring people out of prison, out of the prison where they live in darkness. ⁸ I am the Lord. That is My name. I will not give My shining-greatness to another, or My praise to false gods. ⁹ See, the things told about in the past have happened. Now I speak about new things. Before they happen I will tell you about them.”

A Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰ Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing His praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands and those who live on them. ¹¹ Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the towns where Kedar lives. Let the people of Sela sing. Let them call out for joy from the tops of the mountains. ¹² Let them give honor to the Lord, and praise Him in the islands. ¹³ The Lord will go out like a powerful soldier. He will be ready like a man of war. He will call out, yes, He will call out a war cry. He will be strong against those who hate Him.

God Promises to Help His People

¹⁴ “I have been quiet for a long time. I have been quiet and have held Myself back. Now I will cry out like a woman giving birth. I will breathe hard and fast. ¹⁵ I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and dry up all their plants. I will make the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. ¹⁶ I will lead the blind by a way that they do not know. I will lead them in paths they do not know. I will turn darkness into light in front of them. And I will make the bad places smooth. These are the things I will do and I will not leave them.” ¹⁷ They will be turned back and be put to shame who trust in false gods, who say to these objects of worship, “You are our gods.”

Israel Is Blind and Cannot Hear

¹⁸ Listen, you who do not hear! And look, you blind, that you may see. ¹⁹ Who is blind but My servant? Who does not hear, as the one whom I send with news? Who is so blind as he who is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of the Lord? ²⁰ You see many things, but you cannot tell what you see. Your ears are open, but you do not hear. ²¹ Because He is right and good, the Lord was pleased to make the Law great and give it honor. ²² But this is a people robbed of what they owned. All of them are trapped in deep holes, or hidden in prisons. They have been robbed of what they have, with no one to help them. They have been taken away, with no one to say, “Give them back!”

²³ Who among you will hear this? Who will listen and hear in the future? ²⁴ Who let Jacob be taken? Who gave Israel to robbers? Was it not the Lord, Whom we have sinned against, in Whose ways we were not willing to walk, and Whose Law we did not obey? ²⁵ So He poured out upon Israel the heat of His anger and the power of battle. It set him on fire all around. Yet he did not understand. It burned him, but he did not think about it.