1 “Keep asilence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us bcome near together for judgment.
2 “Who raised up one afrom the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who bgave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow?
3 Who pursued them, and passed1 safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4aWho has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am bthe first; And with the last I amcHe.’ ”
5 The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came.
6aEveryone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, 1“Be of good courage!”
7aSo the craftsman encouraged the bgoldsmith; He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, Saying,1 “It is ready for the soldering”; Then he fastened it with pegs, cThat it might not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have achosen, The descendants of Abraham My bfriend.
9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10aFear not, bfor I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be aashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them— 1Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
14 “Fear not, you aworm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the Lord And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, aI will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff.
16 You shall awinnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the Lord, Andb glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy seek water, but thereis none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not aforsake them.
18 I will open arivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the bwilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the adesert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together,
20aThat they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Futility of Idols
21 “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the aKing of Jacob.
22 “Leta them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the bformer things, what they were, That we may1 consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come.
23aShow the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, bdo good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24 Indeed ayou are nothing, And your work is nothing; Hewho chooses you is an abomination.
25 “I have raised up one from the1 north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun ahe shall call on My name; bAnd he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay.
26aWho has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘Heis righteous’? Surely thereis no one who shows, Surely thereis no one who declares, Surely thereis no one who hears your words.
27aThe first time bIsaid to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!’ And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28aFor I looked, and therewas no man; I looked among them, but therewas no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29aIndeed they are all1 worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion.
ADDITIONAL REASONS WHY THE JEWS SHOULD PLACE CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S PROMISES OF DELIVERING THEM; HE WILL RAISE UP A PRINCE AS THEIR DELIVERER, WHEREAS THE IDOLS COULD NOT DELIVER THE HEATHEN NATIONS FROM THAT PRINCE. (Isa. 41:1-29)
(Zechariah 2:13). God is about to argue the case; therefore let the nations listen in reverential silence. Compare Genesis 28:16-17, as to the spirit in which we ought to behave before God.
before me—rather (turning), "towards me" [MAURER].
islands—including all regions beyond sea (Jeremiah 25:22), maritime regions, not merely isles in the strict sense.
renew . . . strength—Let them gather their strength for the argument; let them adduce their strongest arguments (compare Isaiah 1:18; Job 9:32). "Judgment" means here, to decide the point at issue between us.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Isaiah 41:1:
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