Isaiah 41:8-29 ▼

8 “But you, O Israel (he wrestles with God), My servant, Jacob (he grasps the heel), whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham (father of many) My friend—

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

10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God {Eloheka}. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

11 Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.

12 You will seek them but will not find them. Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.

13 For I am the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheka}, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.

14 Do not fear, O Jacob (he grasps the heel), you worm, O few men of Israel (he wrestles with God). I will help you,” declares the LORD {YHWH}. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15 Behold, 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, and a wind {ruach} will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD {YHWH}; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel (he wrestles with God).

17 The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD {YHWH}, will answer them; I, the God {Elohe} of Israel (he wrestles with God), will not forsake them.

18 I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.

19 I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses (pines) in the desert, elms and boxwood together,

20 so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD {YHWH} has done this and the Holy One of Israel (he wrestles with God) has created it.”

21 “Present your⁺ case,” says the LORD {YHWH}. “Submit your⁺ arguments,” says the King of Jacob (he grasps the heel).

22 “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.

23 Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you⁺ are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.

24 Behold, you⁺ are nothing and your⁺ work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you⁺ is detestable.

25 I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay.

26 Who has declared this from the beginning, so that we may know, and from times past, so that we may say: ‘He was right’? No one announced it, no one foretold it, no one heard your⁺ words.

27 I was the first to tell Zion (Formerly I said to Zion:): ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem (city of peace) a herald of good news.

28 When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.

29 See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind {ruach}.