Parallel Bible results for "isaiah%2041"

Isaiah 41

Good News Translation GNT

1 God says, "Be silent and listen to me, you distant lands! Get ready to present your case in court; you will have your chance to speak. Let us come together to decide who is right.

2 "Who was it that brought the conqueror from the east and makes him triumphant wherever he goes? Who gives him victory over kings and nations? His sword strikes them down as if they were dust. His arrows scatter them like straw before the wind.

3 He follows in pursuit and marches safely on, so fast that he hardly touches the ground!

4 Who was it that made this happen? Who has determined the course of history? I, the Lord, was there at the beginning, and I, the Lord, will be there at the end.

5 "The people of distant lands have seen what I have done; they are frightened and tremble with fear. So they all assemble and come.

6 The skilled workers help and encourage each other.

7 The carpenter says to the goldsmith, "Well done!' The one who beats the idol smooth encourages the one who nails it together. They say, "The soldering is good' - and they fasten the idol in place with nails.

8 "But you, Israel my servant, you are the people that I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, my friend.

9 I brought you from the ends of the earth; I called you from its farthest corners and said to you, "You are my servant.' I did not reject you, but chose you.

10 Do not be afraid - I am with you! I am your God - let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.

11 "Those who are angry with you will know the shame of defeat. Those who fight against you will die

12 and will disappear from the earth.

13 I am the Lord your God; I strengthen you and tell you, "Do not be afraid; I will help you.' "

14 The Lord says, "Small and weak as you are, Israel, don't be afraid; I will help you. I, the holy God of Israel, am the one who saves you.

15 I will make you like a threshing board, with spikes that are new and sharp. You will thresh mountains and destroy them; hills will crumble into dust.

16 You will toss them in the air; the wind will carry them off, and they will be scattered by the storm. Then you will be happy because I am your God; you will praise me, the holy God of Israel.

17 "When my people in their need look for water, when their throats are dry with thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer their prayer; I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.

18 I will make rivers flow among barren hills and springs of water run in the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water and the dry land into flowing springs.

19 I will make cedars grow in the desert, and acacias and myrtles and olive trees. Forests will grow in barren land, forests of pine and juniper and cypress.

20 People will see this and know that I, the Lord, have done it. They will come to understand that Israel's holy God has made it happen."

21 The Lord, the king of Israel, has this to say: "You gods of the nations, present your case. Bring the best arguments you have!

22 Come here and predict what will happen, so that we will know it when it takes place. Explain to the court the events of the past, and tell us what they mean.

23 Tell us what the future holds - then we will know that you are gods! Do something good or bring some disaster; fill us with fear and awe!

24 You and all you do are nothing; those who worship you are disgusting!

25 "I have chosen a man who lives in the east; I will bring him to attack from the north. He tramples on rulers as if they were mud, like a potter trampling clay.

26 Which of you predicted that this would happen, so that we could say that you were right? None of you said a word about it; no one heard you say a thing!

27 I, the Lord, was the first to tell Zion the news; I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say, "Your people are coming! They are coming home!'

28 When I looked among the gods, none of them had a thing to say; not one could answer the questions I asked.

29 All these gods are useless; they can do nothing at all - these idols are weak and powerless."

New International Version NIV

1 “Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.

2 “Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service ? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.

3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before.

4 Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.”

5 The islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward;

6 they help each other and say to their companions, “Be strong!”

7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer spurs on the one who strikes the anvil. One says of the welding, “It is good.” The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.

8 “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,

9 I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.

12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.

13 For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.

16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.

19 I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,

20 so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 “Present your case,” says the LORD. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

22 “Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come,

23 tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

24 But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable.

25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes— one from the rising sun who calls on my name. He treads on rulers as if they were mortar, as if he were a potter treading the clay.

26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know, or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’? No one told of this, no one foretold it, no one heard any words from you.

27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’ I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.

28 I look but there is no one— no one among the gods to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them.

29 See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion.