41
1 Keep silence before Me, O iyim (islands);
and let the people renew their ko'ach (strength);
let them come near;
then let them speak; let us come near together for mishpat (judgment, i.e., G-dʼs tribunal).
2 Who awakened the just one* from the mizrach (east),
called him to His raglayim,
gave the Goyim before him,
and made him rule over melachim?
He gave them as the aphar to his† cherev,
and as windblown kash (chaff, stubble) to his‡ keshet (bow).
3 He§ pursues them,
and passes on in shalom, even by the orach (path)
that his feet do not even come.
4 Who hath wrought and done it,
calling forth the dorot from the beginning?
I Hashem, the Rishon (First),
and with the Acharonim (Last ones); I am He.
5 The iyim (islands) saw it, and feared;
the ketzot ha'aretz (ends of the earth) trembled;
they approached and came near.
6 They helped everyone his re'a;
and everyone said to his brother, chazak!
7 So the charash (craftsman) encouraged the tzoref (goldsmith),
and he that smootheth with the patish (hammer)
encouraged him that strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, tov hu;
and he fastened it with nails,
so that it should not topple.
8 But thou, Yisroel, art Avdi,
Ya'akov whom I have chosen,
the zera Avraham Ohavi (My friend).
9 Thou whom I have taken hold of from the ketzot ha'aretz,
and called thee from the farthest borders thereof,
and said unto thee, Thou art Avdi;
I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee;
be not dismayed; for I am Eloheicha;
I will strengthen thee; indeed, I will help thee;
indeed, I will uphold thee with My yamin tzedek.
11 Surely, all they that were raging against thee
shall be ashamed and disgraced;
they shall be as nothing;
and the anshei rivecha (they that strive with thee) shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them,
even the anshei matzutecha (them that contended with thee):
the anshei milchamtecha (they that war against thee) shall be as nothing,
and as a thing of naught.
13 For I Hashem Eloheicha
will take hold of thy yamin (right hand),
saying unto thee:
Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou tola'at (worm) Ya'akov, and ye men of Yisroel;
I will help thee, saith Hashem,
and thy Go'el (Redeemer), the Kadosh Yisroel.
15 Hinei, I will make thee a new sharp threshing iron
having pifiyyot (blades);
thou shalt thresh the harim, and beat them small,
and shalt make the geva'ot (hills) as motz (chaff).
16 Thou shalt winnow them,
and the ruach shall carry them away,
and the se'arah shall scatter them;
and thou shalt rejoice in Hashem,
and shalt glory in Kadosh Yisroel.
17 When the aniyim and evyonim seek mayim, and there is none,
and their leshon faileth for tzama (thirst),
I Hashem will hear them,
I the Elohei Yisroel will not forsake them.
18 I will open neharot on the hilltops,
and springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the midbar a pool of mayim,
and the dry land sources of mayim.
19 I will plant in the midbar the cedar,
the acacia, and the myrtle, and the etz shemen;
I will set in the Aravah the cypress,
and the fir, and the box tree together;
20 So that they may see, and know,
and consider, and understand together,
that the Yad Hashem hath done this,
and the Kadosh Yisroel hath created it.
21 Present your case, saith Hashem;
bring forth your strong arguments for proof, saith Melech Ya'akov.
22 Let them bring them forth,
and tell us what shall happen;
let them tell the rishonot (former things), what they are,
that we may consider them,
and know the acharit (latter end, final outcome) of them;
or declare us things to come.
23 Tell the things that are to come hereafter,
that we may know that ye are elohim;
indeed, do tov, or do rah,
that we may be afraid, and terrified.
24 See, ye are of nothing,
and your work of nought;
a toevah (abomination) is he that chooseth you.
25 I have awakened one* from the tzafon (north), and he shall come;
from the rising of the shemesh shall he call upon My Shem;
and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar,
and as the yotzer (potter) treadeth clay.
26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And from beforehand, that we may say, He was in the right?
Indeed, there is none that telleth,
indeed, there is none that preacheth,
indeed, there is none that heareth your words.
27 The rishon shall say to Tziyon, Hinei, behold them;
and I will give to Yerushalayim mevaser (one that bringeth good news).
28 For I beheld, and there was no ish;
even among them, and there was no Yo'etz (counselor),
that, when I asked of them,
could answer a word.
29 See, they† are all aven (wickedness);
their ma'asim are nothing;
their molten images are ruach and tohu.
* 41:2 Koresh, Cyrus 44:28 † 41:2 the conquerorʼs ‡ 41:2 the conquerorʼs § 41:3 the conqueror * 41:25 Koresh, Cyrus † 41:29 the idols