Isaiah 41 - New International Version (NIV)

The Helper of Israel

41 “Be silent(A) before me, you islands!(B)
Let the nations renew their strength!(C)
Let them come forward(D) and speak;
let us meet together(E) at the place of judgment.

2 “Who has stirred(F) up one from the east,(G)
calling him in righteousness(H) to his service[a]?(I)
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust(J) with his sword,
to windblown chaff(K) with his bow.(L)
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,(M)
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling(N) forth the generations from the beginning?(O)
I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last(P)—I am he.(Q)”

5 The islands(R) have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth(S) tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!(T)”
7 The metalworker(U) encourages the goldsmith,(V)
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.(W)

8 “But you, Israel, my servant,(X)
Jacob, whom I have chosen,(Y)
you descendants of Abraham(Z) my friend,(AA)
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,(AB)
from its farthest corners I called(AC) you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;(AD)
I have chosen(AE) you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear,(AF) for I am with you;(AG)
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen(AH) you and help(AI) you;
I will uphold you(AJ) with my righteous right hand.(AK)

11 “All who rage(AL) against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;(AM)
those who oppose(AN) you
will be as nothing and perish.(AO)
12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.(AP)
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing(AQ) at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand(AR)
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help(AS) you.
14 Do not be afraid,(AT) you worm(AU) Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help(AV) you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer,(AW) the Holy One(AX) of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,(AY)
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains(AZ) and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.(BA)
16 You will winnow(BB) them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale(BC) will blow them away.(BD)
But you will rejoice(BE) in the Lord
and glory(BF) in the Holy One(BG) of Israel.

17 “The poor and needy search for water,(BH)
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.(BI)
But I the Lord will answer(BJ) them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake(BK) them.
18 I will make rivers flow(BL) on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert(BM) into pools of water,(BN)
and the parched ground into springs.(BO)
19 I will put in the desert(BP)
the cedar and the acacia,(BQ) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers(BR) in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress(BS) together,(BT)
20 so that people may see and know,(BU)
may consider and understand,(BV)
that the hand(BW) of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One(BX) of Israel has created(BY) it.

21 “Present your case,(BZ)” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.(CA)
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.(CB)
Tell us what the former things(CC) were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,(CD)
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know(CE) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,(CF)
so that we will be dismayed(CG) and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing(CH)
and your works are utterly worthless;(CI)
whoever chooses you is detestable.(CJ)

25 “I have stirred(CK) up one from the north,(CL) and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads(CM) on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning,(CN) so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold(CO) it,
no one heard any words(CP) from you.
27 I was the first to tell(CQ) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.(CR)
28 I look but there is no one(CS)—
no one among the gods to give counsel,(CT)
no one to give answer(CU) when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;(CV)
their images(CW) are but wind(CX) and confusion.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every step

Cross references

  1. Isaiah 41:1 : Ps 37:7; Hab 2:20; Zep 1:7; Zec 2:13
  2. Isaiah 41:1 : S Isa 11:11
  3. Isaiah 41:1 : S 1Sa 2:4
  4. Isaiah 41:1 : Isa 48:16; 57:3
  5. Isaiah 41:1 : S Isa 1:18; 34:1; 50:8
  6. Isaiah 41:2 : S Ezr 1:2
  7. Isaiah 41:2 : ver 25; Isa 13:4, 17; 44:28; 45:1, 13; 48:14; Jer 50:3; 51:11
  8. Isaiah 41:2 : Isa 45:8, 13
  9. Isaiah 41:2 : Isa 44:28; Jer 25:9
  10. Isaiah 41:2 : S 2Sa 22:43
  11. Isaiah 41:2 : Ps 1:4; Isa 40:24
  12. Isaiah 41:2 : S Isa 13:18
  13. Isaiah 41:3 : Da 8:4
  14. Isaiah 41:4 : ver 9; Isa 43:7
  15. Isaiah 41:4 : ver 26; S Ge 1:1; Isa 46:10
  16. Isaiah 41:4 : Isa 44:6; 48:12; Rev 1:8, 17
  17. Isaiah 41:4 : S Dt 32:39
  18. Isaiah 41:5 : S Isa 11:11; Eze 26:17-18
  19. Isaiah 41:5 : S Dt 30:4; S Isa 11:12
  20. Isaiah 41:6 : S Jos 1:6
  21. Isaiah 41:7 : Isa 44:13; Jer 10:3-5
  22. Isaiah 41:7 : S Isa 40:19
  23. Isaiah 41:7 : S 1Sa 5:3; Isa 46:7
  24. Isaiah 41:8 : S Ps 136:22; S Isa 27:11
  25. Isaiah 41:8 : S Isa 14:1
  26. Isaiah 41:8 : S Isa 29:22; 51:2; 63:16
  27. Isaiah 41:8 : 2Ch 20:7; Jas 2:23
  28. Isaiah 41:9 : Isa 11:12; S 37:16
  29. Isaiah 41:9 : S ver 4
  30. Isaiah 41:9 : S Isa 20:3
  31. Isaiah 41:9 : S Dt 7:6
  32. Isaiah 41:10 : S Ge 15:1
  33. Isaiah 41:10 : S Dt 3:22; Jos 1:9; Isa 43:2, 5; Jer 30:10; 46:27-28; Ro 8:31
  34. Isaiah 41:10 : S Ps 68:35; S 119:28
  35. Isaiah 41:10 : ver 13-14; Isa 44:2; 49:8; 50:7, 9
  36. Isaiah 41:10 : S Ps 18:35; S 119:117
  37. Isaiah 41:10 : S Ex 3:20; S Job 40:14
  38. Isaiah 41:11 : S Isa 17:12
  39. Isaiah 41:11 : Isa 29:22; 45:24; 54:17
  40. Isaiah 41:11 : S Ex 23:22
  41. Isaiah 41:11 : S Isa 29:8; S Jer 2:3
  42. Isaiah 41:12 : Ps 37:35-36; S Isa 34:12
  43. Isaiah 41:12 : S Job 7:8; Isa 17:14; 29:20
  44. Isaiah 41:13 : Ps 73:23; Isa 42:6; 45:1; 51:18
  45. Isaiah 41:13 : ver 10
  46. Isaiah 41:14 : S Ge 15:1
  47. Isaiah 41:14 : S Job 4:19; S Ps 22:6
  48. Isaiah 41:14 : S ver 10
  49. Isaiah 41:14 : S Ex 15:13; S Job 19:25; S Isa 1:27
  50. Isaiah 41:14 : ver 16, 20; S Isa 1:4
  51. Isaiah 41:15 : S Job 41:30; S Isa 10:5; S 21:10
  52. Isaiah 41:15 : S Ex 19:18; S Ps 107:33; Jer 9:10; Eze 33:28
  53. Isaiah 41:15 : S ver 2
  54. Isaiah 41:16 : Jer 15:7; 51:2
  55. Isaiah 41:16 : Isa 40:24
  56. Isaiah 41:16 : Da 2:35
  57. Isaiah 41:16 : S Isa 25:9
  58. Isaiah 41:16 : Isa 45:25; 60:19
  59. Isaiah 41:16 : S ver 14; S Mk 1:24
  60. Isaiah 41:17 : Isa 43:20
  61. Isaiah 41:17 : S Isa 35:7
  62. Isaiah 41:17 : S Isa 30:19
  63. Isaiah 41:17 : S Dt 31:6; S Ps 27:9
  64. Isaiah 41:18 : S Isa 30:25
  65. Isaiah 41:18 : Isa 43:19
  66. Isaiah 41:18 : S 2Ki 3:17
  67. Isaiah 41:18 : S Job 38:26; S Isa 35:7
  68. Isaiah 41:19 : S Isa 35:1; 51:3
  69. Isaiah 41:19 : Ex 25:5, 10, 13
  70. Isaiah 41:19 : S Isa 37:24
  71. Isaiah 41:19 : Isa 44:14
  72. Isaiah 41:19 : Isa 60:13
  73. Isaiah 41:20 : S Ex 6:7
  74. Isaiah 41:20 : S Isa 29:24
  75. Isaiah 41:20 : Ezr 7:6; 8:31; Isa 50:2; 51:9; 59:1; 66:14; Jer 32:17
  76. Isaiah 41:20 : S ver 14; Isa 43:3, 14
  77. Isaiah 41:20 : S Isa 4:5
  78. Isaiah 41:21 : S ver 1
  79. Isaiah 41:21 : Isa 43:15; 44:6
  80. Isaiah 41:22 : ver 26; Isa 43:9; 44:7; 45:21; 48:14
  81. Isaiah 41:22 : Isa 43:18, 26; 46:9; 48:3
  82. Isaiah 41:22 : Isa 42:9; 43:19; 46:10; 48:6; 65:17; Jn 13:19
  83. Isaiah 41:23 : Isa 45:3
  84. Isaiah 41:23 : Jer 10:5
  85. Isaiah 41:23 : S 2Ki 19:26
  86. Isaiah 41:24 : S Isa 37:19; 1Co 8:4
  87. Isaiah 41:24 : S 1Sa 12:21; Jer 8:19; 10:5, 8, 15
  88. Isaiah 41:24 : S Ps 109:7; S Isa 1:13; S 48:8
  89. Isaiah 41:25 : S Ezr 1:2
  90. Isaiah 41:25 : S ver 2; Jer 50:9, 41; 51:48
  91. Isaiah 41:25 : S 2Sa 22:43; S Isa 5:5; Na 3:14
  92. Isaiah 41:26 : S ver 4
  93. Isaiah 41:26 : S ver 22; Isa 52:6
  94. Isaiah 41:26 : S 1Ki 18:26; Hab 2:18-19
  95. Isaiah 41:27 : Isa 48:3, 16
  96. Isaiah 41:27 : S Isa 40:9
  97. Isaiah 41:28 : Ps 22:11; Isa 50:2; 59:16; 63:5; 64:7; Eze 22:30
  98. Isaiah 41:28 : Isa 40:13-14
  99. Isaiah 41:28 : S 1Ki 18:26; Isa 65:12; 66:4; Jer 25:4
  100. Isaiah 41:29 : S 1Sa 12:21
  101. Isaiah 41:29 : S Isa 37:19
  102. Isaiah 41:29 : Jer 5:13

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