1
n[Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13] Listen to me in silence,
oSee ch. 11:11 O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.
2 pch. 46:11; [ch. 45:1] Who stirred up one from the east
whom victory meets at everyq[Judg. 4:10] step?1Or whom righteousness calls to follow?
r2 Chr. 36:23 He gives up nations before him,
so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
sch. 40:24 like driven stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes on safely,
by paths his feet have not trod.
4 t[ver. 26] Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
uch. 43:10, 11; 44:6; 48:12; Rev. 1:8, 17; 22:13 I, the Lord, the first,
and with the last; I am he.
5 vSee ch. 11:11 The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
the ends of the earth tremble;
they have drawn near and come.
6 Everyone helps his neighbor
and says to his brother, “Be strong! ”
7 wch. 40:19 The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good ”;
and they strengthen it with nailsx[ch. 40:20] so that it cannot be moved.
8 But you, Israel,ych. 44:1, 2 my servant,
Jacob,zDeut. 7:6; 10:15; 14:2; Ps. 135:4; [1 Pet. 2:9] whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham,a2 Chr. 20:7; James 2:23 my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and calledbch. 43:5, 6 from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You arey[See ver. 8 above] my servant,
z[See ver. 8 above] I have chosen you and not cast you off ”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you withcPs. 48:10 my righteous right hand.
11 d[ch. 45:24] Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 ePs. 37:10 You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
fch. 40:17 those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you. ”
14 Fear not, youg[Ps. 22:6] worm Jacob,
you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
yourhch. 54:5; [Ps. 78:35]; See ch. 43:14 Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
15 iMic. 4:13 Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall threshj[ch. 2:14] the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff;
16 k[Jer. 51:2] you shall winnow them, andl[ver. 2] the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
mch. 45:25 And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
17 n[ch. 44:3] When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 och. 35:6, 7 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
pPs. 107:35 I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 qch. 35:1, 2; 55:12, 13 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desertrch. 60:13 the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
thatsJob 12:9 the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21
Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them, andt[ver. 26; ch. 44:7; 45:21; 46:10] tell us
what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
or declare to us the things to come.
23 t[See ver. 22 above] Tell us what is to come hereafter,
that we may know that you are gods;
u[ch. 45:7] do good, or do harm,
that we may be dismayed and terrified.1Or that we may both be dismayed and see
24 Behold,vver. 29; [Ps. 115:8; 1 Cor. 8:4] you are nothing,
and your work is less than nothing;
an abomination is he who chooses you.
25 wJer. 50:3 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
xver. 2 from the rising of the sun,y[Ps. 44:5] and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 z[ver. 22] Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right ”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
none who heard your words.
27 ach. 51:12 I was the first to say1Or Formerly I said to Zion, “Behold, here they are! ”
andbch. 40:9; 52:7 I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 cSee ver. 21-24 But when I look there is no one;
among these there is no counselor
who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 d[ver. 12] Behold, they are all a delusion;
their works are nothing;
their metal images are empty wind.