Isaiah 41:1-20

New King James Version

² “Who raised up one ^(C)from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who ^(D)gave 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 passed ^[a]safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
^4 (E)Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am ^(F)the first;
And with the last I am ^(G)He.’ ”

⁵ The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
^6 (H)Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
^[b]“Be of good courage!”
^7 (I)So the craftsman encouraged the ^(J)goldsmith;^[c]
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, ^[d]“It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
^(K)That it might not totter.

⁸ “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have ^(L)chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My ^(M)friend.
⁹ You 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:
^10 (N)Fear not, ^(O)for 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 ^(P)ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
¹² You shall seek them and not find them—
^[e]Those 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 ^(Q)worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵ “Behold, ^(R)I 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 ^(S)winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And ^(T)glory in the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁷ “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not ^(U)forsake them.
¹⁸ I will open ^(V)rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the ^(W)wilderness 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 ^(X)desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
^20 (Y)That 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.