1 Keep silence before mee, O ylands, and let the people renue their strength: let the come neere, and let them speake: let vs come together into iudgement. 2 Who raised vp iustice from the East, and called him to his foote? and gaue the nations before him, and subdued the Kings? he gaue them as dust to his sword, and as scattered stubble vnto his bowe. 3 He pursued them, and passed safely by the way that he had not gone with his feete. 4 Who hath wrought and done it? he that calleth the generations from the beginning. I the Lord am the first, and with the last I am ye same. 5 The yles sawe it, and did feare, and the ends of the earth were abashed, drew neere, and came. 6 Euery man helped his neighbour, and saide to his brother, Be strong. 7 So the workeman comforted the founder, and he that smote with ye hammer, him that smote by course, saying, It is ready for the sodering, and he fastened it with nayles that it shoulde not be mooued. 8 But thou, Israel, art my seruant, and thou Iaakob, whom I haue chosen, the seede of Abraham my friend. 9 For I haue taken thee from the endes of the earth, and called thee before the chiefe thereof, and saide vnto thee, Thou art my seruant: I haue chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10 Feare thou not, for I am with thee: be not afraide, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, and helpe thee, and will susteine thee with the right hand of my iustice. 11 Beholde, all they that prouoke thee, shalbe ashamed, and confounded: they shalbe as nothing, and they that striue with thee, shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seeke them and shalt not finde them: to wit, the men of thy strife, for they shall be as nothing, and the men that warre against thee, as a thing of nought. 13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying vnto thee, Feare not, I wil helpe thee. 14 Feare not, thou worme, Iaakob, and ye men of Israel: I wil helpe thee, sayth the Lord and thy redeemer the holy one of Israel. 15 Behold, I wil make thee a roller, and a newe threshing instrument hauing teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountaines, and bring them to pouder, and shalt make the hilles as chaffe. 16 Thou shalt fanne them, and the winde shall carie them away, and the whirlewinde shall scatter them: and thou shalt reioyce in the Lord, and shalt glory in the holy one of Israel. 17 When the poore and the needy seeke water, and there is none (their tongue faileth for thirst: I the Lord will heare them: I the God of Israel will not forsake them) 18 I will open riuers in the toppes of the hils, and fountaines in the middes of the valleis: I will make the wildernesse as a poole of water, and the waste land as springs of water. 19 I will set in the wildernesse the cedar, the shittah tree, and the mirre tree, and the pine tree, and I will set in the wildernesse the firre tree, the elme and the boxe tree together. 20 Therefore let them see and knowe, and let them consider and vnderstande together that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the holy one of Israel hath created it. 21 Stand to your cause, saith the Lord: bring forth your strong reasons, saith ye King of Iaakob. 22 Let them bring foorth, and let them tell vs what shall come: let them shew the former things what they be, that wee may consider them, and knowe the latter ende of them: either declare vs things for to come. 23 Shewe the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods: yea, doe good or doe euill, that we may declare it, and beholde it together. 24 Beholde, ye are of no value, and your making is of naught: man hath chosen an abomination by them. 25 I haue raised vp from the North, and he shall come: from the East sunne shall he cal vpon my Name, and shall come vpon princes as vpon clay, and as the potter treadeth myre vnder the foote. 26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may knowe? or before time, that we may say, He is righteous? Surely there is none that sheweth: surely there is none that declareth: surely there is none that heareth your wordes. 27 I am the first, that saieth to Zion, Beholde, beholde them: and I will giue to Ierusalem one that shall bring good tidings. 28 But when I behelde, there was none, and when I inquired of them, there was no counsellor, and when I demaunded of them, they answered not a woorde. 29 Beholde, they are all vanitie: their worke is of nothing, their images are wind and confusion.
The Lord Controls Human Events
1 Be silent and listen,
every island in the sea.
Have courage and come near,
every one of you nations.
Let's settle this matter!
2 Who appointed this ruler
from the east?
Who puts nations and kings
in his power?
His sword and his arrows
turn them to dust
blown by the wind.
3 He goes after them so quickly
that his feet
barely touch the ground—
he doesn't even get hurt.
4 Who makes these things happen?
Who controls human events?
I do! I am the Lord.
I was there at the beginning;
I will be there at the end.
5 Islands and foreign nations
saw what I did and trembled
as they came near.
What Can Idols Do?
6 Worshipers of idols
comfort each other,
saying, “Don't worry!”
7 Woodcarvers, goldsmiths,
and other workers
encourage one another and say,
“We've done a great job!”
Then they nail the idol down,
so it won't fall over.
The Lord's Chosen Servant
8 Israel, you are my servant.
I chose you, the family
of my friend Abraham.
9 From far across the earth
I brought you here and said,
“You are my chosen servant.
I haven't forgotten you.”
10 Don't be afraid. I am with you.
Don't tremble with fear.
I am your God.
I will make you strong,
as I protect you with my arm
and give you victories.
11 Everyone who hates you
will be terribly disgraced;
those who attack
will vanish into thin air.
12 You will look around
for those brutal enemies,
but you won't find them—
they will be gone.
13 I am the Lord your God.
I am holding your hand,
so don't be afraid.
I am here to help you.
14 People of Israel, don't worry,
though others may say,
“Israel is only a worm!”
I am the holy God of Israel,
who saves and protects you.
15 I will let you be like a log
covered with sharp spikes.
You will grind and crush
every mountain and hill
until they turn to dust.
16 A strong wind will scatter them
in all directions.
Then you will celebrate
and praise me, your Lord,
the holy God of Israel.
The Lord Helps the Poor
17 When the poor and needy
are dying of thirst
and cannot find water,
I, the Lord God of Israel,
will come to their rescue.
I won't forget them.
18 I will make rivers flow
on mountain peaks.
I will send streams
to fill the valleys.
Dry and barren land
will flow with springs
and become a lake.
19 I will fill the desert
with all kinds of trees—
cedars, acacias, and myrtles;
olive and cypress trees;
fir trees and pines.
20 Everyone will see this
and know that I,
the holy Lord God of Israel,
created it all.
Idols Are Useless
21 I am the Lord,
the King of Israel!
Come argue your case with me.
Present your evidence.
22 Come near me, you idols.
Tell us about the past,
and we will think about it.
Tell us about the future,
so we will know
what is going to happen.
23 Prove that you are gods
by making your predictions
come true.
Do something good or evil,
so we can be amazed
and terrified.
24 You idols are nothing,
and you are powerless.
To worship you
would be disgusting.
25 I, the Lord, appointed a ruler
in the north;
now he comes from the east
to honor my name.
He tramples kings like mud,
as potters trample clay.
26 Did any of you idols predict
what would happen?
Did any of you get it right?
None of you told about this
or even spoke a word.
27 I was the first to tell
the people of Jerusalem,
“Look, it's happening!”
I was the one who announced
this good news to Zion.
28 None of these idols
are able to give advice
or answer questions.
29 They are nothing,
and they can do nothing—
they are merely
a passing breeze.