Isaiah 41

All 29 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1"Be silent before me, you coastlands! Let the nations gather their strength. Let them step forward and speak their case. Let us come together for judgment.
2. 2Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to follow, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as dust to his sword, and as driven straw to his bow.
3. 3He chases them down and passes through unharmed, traveling roads his feet have never walked before.
4. 4Who has done all this? Who has been directing history since the very beginning? I, the LORD — the first and the last — I am he."
5. 5The coastlands have seen it and are terrified. The farthest corners of the earth tremble. They draw close and come together.
6. 6They help each other, saying to one another, 'Take courage!'
7. 7The carpenter encourages the goldsmith, and the one who smooths with the hammer cheers on the one who strikes the anvil, saying, 'It is ready for soldering.' They fasten it with nails so it will not move.
8. 8"But you, Israel, are my servant. Jacob, I chose you — the descendants of Abraham, my friend.
9. 9I took you from the ends of the earth and called you from among its leaders, saying, "You are my servant. I have chosen you and have not rejected you."
10. 10Don't be afraid, because I am with you. Don't be discouraged, because I am your God. I will make you strong. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with my righteous right hand.
11. 11Everyone who rages against you will end up ashamed and humiliated. Those who fight against you will become nothing and will perish.
12. 12You'll search for your enemies and won't be able to find them. Those who wage war against you will vanish completely, as if they never existed.
13. 13For I, the LORD your God, am holding your right hand. I am telling you, 'Don't be afraid. I will help you.'
14. 14Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you, says the LORD, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15. 15Look — I am making you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them to pieces; you will turn the hills into chaff.
16. 16You will toss them into the air, and the wind will carry them away. A whirlwind will scatter them in every direction. Then you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17. 17When the poor and needy search for water and find none, when their tongues are parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
18. 18I will make rivers flow on barren hilltops and springs burst out in the middle of valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water and the dry ground into flowing springs.
19. 19I will plant cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees in the wilderness. I will fill the desert with cypress, pine, and box trees together —
20. 20so that everyone can see, know, consider, and understand that the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21. 21"Present your case," says the LORD. "Bring your strongest arguments," says the King of Jacob.
22. 22Let them bring them forward and show us what will happen. Let them show the former things, what they were, that we may consider them and know their latter end; or declare to us things to come.
23. 23Tell us what lies ahead, so we can know that you are gods! Do something—whether good or bad—that would cause us to be dismayed as we witness it together.
24. 24But look at you — you are nothing, and your works amount to nothing. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
25. 25"I have raised up someone from the north, and he has come — from the east, where the sun rises, one who calls on my name. He will trample rulers like mortar, the way a potter treads on clay.
26. 26Who announced this from the beginning so we could know? Who predicted it ahead of time so we could say, 'He was right'? Not one of you declared it. Not one of you foretold it. No one heard a word from you.
27. 27The first will say to Zion, 'Look, look at them!' and I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good news.
28. 28When I looked, there was no one; not even among them was there a counselor who could answer a word when I asked.
29. 29Look at them — they are all worthless! Their works amount to nothing. Their metal images are just wind and emptiness."