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          DASV: Isaiah 41    

1 "Be silent before me, O islands.
      Let the peoples renew their strength;
     let them come near;
     let them speak;
     let us come together for judgment.
2 Who has roused up one from the east?
     Who calls him in righteousness into his service?
      He gives nations to him,
          and enables him to subdue kings.
      He makes them like the dust by his sword,
          like the windblown stubble by his bow.
3 He pursues them,
     passing on in safety,
           by a path that his feet have never traveled.
4 Who has performed and done it,
          summoning each generation from the beginning?
      I, the LORD, am the first,
          and will be with the last of them, I am the one."

5 The coastlands have seen, and fear;
     the ends of the earth tremble;
           they draw near and come.
6 They help each other;
     each says to his brother, "Be strong."
7 So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
     the one who smoothes with the hammer
           encourages him who strikes the anvil,
      saying of the welding, "It is good."
     Then he fastens it down with nails
           so that it will not tip over.

8 "But you, Israel, my servant,
     Jacob whom I have chosen,
           the seed of Abraham my friend,
9 you whom I am bringing back from the ends of the earth,
     and summoned you from its remotest corners,
      and told you, 'You are my servant,
     I have chosen you and not cast you away.'
10 Do not be afraid,
     for I am with you;
      do not be troubled,
     for I am your God.
      I will strengthen you;
     yes, I will help you;
     yes, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 Look, all those who are angry with you
          will be put to shame and disgrace.
      Those who dispute with you
          will come to nothing and perish.
12 You will look for your opponents,
          but not find them.
     Those who attack you
          will come to nothing at all.
13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,
     saying to you,
           "Don't be afraid;
           I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, O Jacob, you worm.
     You men of Israel,
      I will help you,"
                says the LORD;
     your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 "Look, I will make you to be a new sharp threshing instrument
     having many teeth.
      You will thresh the mountains,
     crush them and make the hills like chaff.
16 You will winnow them and the wind will carry them away,
          and the whirlwind will scatter them.
     Then you will rejoice in the LORD;
          you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17 The poor and needy seek water,
          but there is none.
      Their tongue fails for thirst;
     I, the LORD, will answer them,
     I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
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 grow in the wilderness the cedar,
          acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
     I will set in the desert the cypress,
          fir, and pine tree together."
20 This is done so they may see, know, consider,
     and understand together,
      that the hand of the LORD has done this,
     and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21 "Present your case,"
     says the LORD.
      "Put forth your best arguments,"
     says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring in their idols.
     Tell us what is going to happen.
      Declare what things happened in the past,
           what they were,
     so that we may consider them,
     and check whether they actually happened
           or tell us what things are to come.
23 Predict the things that are to come in the future,
          that we may prove that you are gods.
     Yes, do good, or do evil,
          so that we may be frightened and be in awe.
24 Look, you are nothing,
     and your work is nothing at all.
           The one who chooses you is an abomination.

25 I have stirred up one from the north,
     and he is coming,
           from the rising of the sun one who calls on my name.
      He will trample on rulers like mud,
     and like the potter treads clay.
26 Who has declared it from the beginning, that we may know?
     Who has announced ahead of time,
           that we may say, "This one is right"?
     Yes, none of them has predicted it,
     yes, there is none of them who have proclaimed it,
      yes, there is none of them who heard your words.
27 I first declared to Zion,
     'Look, here they are,'
           I gave Jerusalem a messenger bringing good tidings.
28 I look but there is no one.
     There is no sage among them,
     that I might ask them and receive an answer.
29 Look, all of them are nothing.
     Their deeds are empty.
           Their metal images are nothing but an empty wind."

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