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Let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them approach, then let them testify;
let us assemble together for judgment.
2 “Who has raised up one from the east,
and summoned him to His righteous service?
He hands over nations to him,
and subdues kings before him.
He makes them like dust with His sword,
and as driven chaff with His bow.
3 He pursues them and passes on safely,
hardly touching the path with His feet.
4 Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first,
and with the last—I am He’.”
5 The coastlands have seen it and fear,
the ends of the earth tremble;
they draw near and come.
6 Each one helps his neighbour,
and each one says to his brother,
“Be of good courage!”
7 So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and he smooths it with the hammer,
and encourages the one who strikes the anvil.
He says of the soldering, “It is good,”
and he fastens it with nails
so it not fall over.
8 “But you, O Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
descendants of Abraham, My friend;
9 you whom I have taken
from the ends of the earth,
and called you from its farthest regions.
I said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10 Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you;
I will help you;
I will uphold you
with the right hand of My righteousness’.
11 “Know for certain, that all who rage against you
will be ashamed and disgraced;
those who strive against you
will be as nothing and will perish.
12 You will search for your enemies,
but you will not find them;
those who war against you will be as nothing,
and as a thing of naught.
13 For I, the Lord your God,
take hold of your right hand,
and say to you, ‘Fear not,
for I will help you’.
14 “Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
you men of Israel,
for I Myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth;
you will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and make the hills as chaff.
16 You will winnow them,
and the wind will carry them away,
and the whirlwind will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the Lord,
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “When the poor and needy seek water,
but there is none,
and their tongue fails for thirst,
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the barren heights,
and fountains 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 plant in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree,
the pine, and the box tree together,
20 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.
21 “Submit your case,” declares the Lord.
“Present your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22 “Bring in your idols, and have them declare to us
what is going to happen.
Or tell us of past events,
so we may consider them,
and understand their final outcome.
Or declare to us what the future holds.
23Show us the things that are to come hereafter,
so we may know that you are gods.
At least do something; yes, do good, or do evil,
so we may be dismayed when we all see it.
24 Behold, you are nothing,
and your works are as nothing;
anyone who chooses you is detestable.
25 “I have raised up one from the north,
and he has come;
from the rising of the sun
he has been summoned by name.
he will trample on rulers as on mortar,
as the potter treads clay.
26 Who has declared this from the beginning,
that we might know;
and from beforehand,
that we might say, ‘He is right’?
There was no one who declared it,
no one who proclaimed,
no one who heard your words.
27 I was the first to say to Zion:
‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings.
28 But when I look, there is no one;
among them there is no counsellor,
who, when I asked of them,
could answer a word.
29 See, they are all false;
their works are worthless;
their moulded images are but wind and confusion.”