Good News Translation GNT
World English Bible WEB
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.
1
Keep silence before me, islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.
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.
2
Who has raised up one from the east, whom he calls in righteousness to his foot? he gives nations before him, and makes him rule over kings; he gives them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow.
3 He follows in pursuit and marches safely on, so fast that he hardly touches the ground!
3
He pursues them, and passes on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.
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.
4
Who has worked and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last, I am he.
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.
5
The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come.
6 The skilled workers help and encourage each other.
6
They help everyone his neighbor; and [every one] says to his brother, Be of good courage.
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.
7
So the carpenter encourages the goldsmith, [and] he who smoothes with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fastens it with nails, that is should not be moved.
8 "But you, Israel my servant, you are the people that I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, my friend.
8
But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed 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.
9
you whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners of it, and said to you, You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you away;
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.
10
Don't you be afraid, for I am with you; don't be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 "Those who are angry with you will know the shame of defeat. Those who fight against you will die
11
Behold, all those who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded: those who strive with you shall be as nothing, and shall perish.
12 and will disappear from the earth.
12
You shall seek them, and shall not find them, even those who contend with you: those who war against you shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nothing.
13 I am the Lord your God; I strengthen you and tell you, "Do not be afraid; I will help you.' "
13
For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Don't 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.
14
Don't be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you, says Yahweh, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
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.
15
Behold, I have made you [to be] a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff.
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.
16
You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and you shall rejoice in Yahweh, you shall glory in the Holy One 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.
17
The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst; I, Yahweh, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake 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.
18
I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
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.
19
I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together:
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."
20
that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Yahweh has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
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!
21
Produce your cause, says Yahweh; bring forth your strong reasons, says the King of Jacob.
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.
22
Let them bring forth, and declare to us what shall happen: declare you the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come.
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!
23
Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods: yes, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and see it together.
24 You and all you do are nothing; those who worship you are disgusting!
24
Behold, you are of nothing, and your work is of nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.
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.
25
I have raised up one from the north, and he has come; from the rising of the sun one who calls on my name: and he shall come on rulers as on mortar, and as the potter treads 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!
26
Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and before, that we may say, [He is] right? yes, there is none who declares, yes, there is none who shows, yes, there is none who hears your words.
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!'
27
[I am the] first [who says] to Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good news.
28 When I looked among the gods, none of them had a thing to say; not one could answer the questions I asked.
28
When I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counselor who, when I ask of them, can answer a word.
29 All these gods are useless; they can do nothing at all - these idols are weak and powerless."
29
Behold, all of them, their works are vanity [and] nothing; their molten images are wind and confusion.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.