Isaiah 41:10-43:1

New International Version

¹⁰So do not fear,^(A) for I am with you;^(B)
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen^(C) you and help^(D) you;
I will uphold you^(E) with my righteous right hand.^(F)

¹¹“All who rage^(G) against you
    will surely be ashamed and disgraced;^(H)
those who oppose^(I) you
    will be as nothing and perish.^(J)
¹²Though you search for your enemies,
    you will not find them.^(K)
Those who wage war against you
    will be as nothing^(L) at all.
¹³For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand^(M)
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help^(N) you.
¹⁴Do not be afraid,^(O) you worm^(P) Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help^(Q) you,” declares the Lord,
    your Redeemer,^(R) the Holy One^(S) of Israel.
¹⁵“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,^(T)
    new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains^(U) and crush them,
    and reduce the hills to chaff.^(V)
¹⁶You will winnow^(W) them, the wind will pick them up,
    and a gale^(X) will blow them away.^(Y)
But you will rejoice^(Z) in the Lord
    and glory^(AA) in the Holy One^(AB) of Israel.

¹⁷“The poor and needy search for water,^(AC)
    but there is none;
    their tongues are parched with thirst.^(AD)
But I the Lord will answer^(AE) them;
    I, the God of Israel, will not forsake^(AF) them.
¹⁸I will make rivers flow^(AG) on barren heights,
    and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert^(AH) into pools of water,^(AI)
    and the parched ground into springs.^(AJ)
¹⁹I will put in the desert^(AK)
    the cedar and the acacia,^(AL) the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers^(AM) in the wasteland,
    the fir and the cypress^(AN) together,^(AO)
²⁰so that people may see and know,^(AP)
    may consider and understand,^(AQ)
that the hand^(AR) of the Lord has done this,
    that the Holy One^(AS) of Israel has created^(AT) it.

²¹“Present your case,^(AU)” says the Lord.
    “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.^(AV)
²²“Tell us, you idols,
    what is going to happen.^(AW)
Tell us what the former things^(AX) were,
    so that we may consider them
    and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,^(AY)
²³    tell us what the future holds,
    so we may know^(AZ) that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,^(BA)
    so that we will be dismayed^(BB) and filled with fear.
²⁴But you are less than nothing^(BC)
    and your works are utterly worthless;^(BD)
    whoever chooses you is detestable.^(BE)

²⁵“I have stirred^(BF) up one from the north,^(BG) and he comes—
    one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads^(BH) on rulers as if they were mortar,
    as if he were a potter treading the clay.
²⁶Who told of this from the beginning,^(BI) so we could know,
    or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
    no one foretold^(BJ) it,
    no one heard any words^(BK) from you.
²⁷I was the first to tell^(BL) Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
    I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.^(BM)
²⁸I look but there is no one^(BN)—
    no one among the gods to give counsel,^(BO)
    no one to give answer^(BP) when I ask them.
²⁹See, they are all false!
    Their deeds amount to nothing;^(BQ)
    their images^(BR) are but wind^(BS) and confusion.

The Servant of the Lord

42 “Here is my servant,^(BT) whom I uphold,
    my chosen one^(BU) in whom I delight;^(BV)
I will put my Spirit^(BW) on him,
    and he will bring justice^(BX) to the nations.^(BY)
²He will not shout or cry out,^(BZ)
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³A bruised reed^(CA) he will not break,^(CB)
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.^(CC)
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;^(CD)
⁴    he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice^(CE) on earth.
    In his teaching^(CF) the islands^(CG) will put their hope.”^(CH)

⁵This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,^(CI) who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth^(CJ) with all that springs from it,^(CK)
    who gives breath^(CL) to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶“I, the Lord, have called^(CM) you in righteousness;^(CN)
    I will take hold of your hand.^(CO)
I will keep^(CP) you and will make you
    to be a covenant^(CQ) for the people
    and a light^(CR) for the Gentiles,^(CS)
⁷to open eyes that are blind,^(CT)
    to free^(CU) captives from prison^(CV)
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.^(CW)

⁸“I am the Lord;^(CX) that is my name!^(CY)
    I will not yield my glory to another^(CZ)
    or my praise to idols.^(DA)
⁹See, the former things^(DB) have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce^(DC) them to you.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰Sing^(DD) to the Lord a new song,^(DE)
    his praise^(DF) from the ends of the earth,^(DG)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,^(DH)
    you islands,^(DI) and all who live in them.
¹¹Let the wilderness^(DJ) and its towns raise their voices;
    let the settlements where Kedar^(DK) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela^(DL) sing for joy;
    let them shout from the mountaintops.^(DM)
¹²Let them give glory^(DN) to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise^(DO) in the islands.^(DP)
¹³The Lord will march out like a champion,^(DQ)
    like a warrior^(DR) he will stir up his zeal;^(DS)
with a shout^(DT) he will raise the battle cry
    and will triumph over his enemies.^(DU)

¹⁴“For a long time I have kept silent,^(DV)
    I have been quiet and held myself back.^(DW)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.^(DX)
¹⁵I will lay waste^(DY) the mountains^(DZ) and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up^(EA) the pools.
¹⁶I will lead^(EB) the blind^(EC) by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light^(ED) before them
    and make the rough places smooth.^(EE)
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake^(EF) them.
¹⁷But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’^(EG)
    will be turned back in utter shame.^(EH)

Israel Blind and Deaf

¹⁸“Hear, you deaf;^(EI)
    look, you blind, and see!
¹⁹Who is blind^(EJ) but my servant,^(EK)
    and deaf like the messenger^(EL) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant^(EM) with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
²⁰You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”^(EN)
²¹It pleased the Lord
    for the sake^(EO) of his righteousness
    to make his law^(EP) great and glorious.
²²But this is a people plundered^(EQ) and looted,
    all of them trapped in pits^(ER)
    or hidden away in prisons.^(ES)
They have become plunder,
    with no one to rescue them;^(ET)
they have been made loot,
    with no one to say, “Send them back.”

²³Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention^(EU) in time to come?
²⁴Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?^(EV)
Was it not the Lord,^(EW)
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow^(EX) his ways;
    they did not obey his law.^(EY)
²⁵So he poured out on them his burning anger,^(EZ)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,^(FA) yet they did not understand;^(FB)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.^(FC)

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created^(FD) you, Jacob,
    he who formed^(FE) you, Israel:^(FF)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed^(FG) you;
    I have summoned you by name;^(FH) you are mine.^(FI)