Isaiah 41 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

God’s Help for Israel

Isa 41:1“Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea.
Bring your strongest arguments.
Come now and speak.
The court is ready for your case.

Isa 41:2

Isa 41:2“Who has stirred up this king from the east,
rightly calling him to God’s service?
Who gives this man victory over many nations
and permits him to trample their kings underfoot?
With his sword, he reduces armies to dust.
With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind.

Isa 41:3

Isa 41:3He chases them away and goes on safely,
though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.

Isa 41:4

Isa 41:4Who has done such mighty deeds,
summoning each new generation from the beginning of time?
It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last.
I alone am he.”

Isa 41:5

Isa 41:5The lands beyond the sea watch in fear.
Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.

Isa 41:6

Isa 41:6The idol makers encourage one another,
saying to each other, “Be strong!”

Isa 41:7

Isa 41:7The carver encourages the goldsmith,
and the molder helps at the anvil.
“Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.”
Carefully they join the parts together,
then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over.

Isa 41:8

Isa 41:8“But as for you, Israel my servant,
Jacob my chosen one,
descended from Abraham my friend,

Isa 41:9

Isa 41:9I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
saying, ‘You are my servant.’
For I have chosen you
and will not throw you away.

Isa 41:10

Isa 41:10Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isa 41:11

Isa 41:11“See, all your angry enemies lie there,
confused and humiliated.
Anyone who opposes you will die
and come to nothing.

Isa 41:12

Isa 41:12You will look in vain
for those who tried to conquer you.
Those who attack you
will come to nothing.

Isa 41:13

Isa 41:13For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the LORD your God.
And I say to you,
‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

Isa 41:14

Isa 41:14Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob,
don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you.
I am the LORD, your Redeemer.
I am the Holy One of Israel.’

Isa 41:15

Isa 41:15You will be a new threshing instrument
with many sharp teeth.
You will tear your enemies apart,
making chaff of mountains.

Isa 41:16

Isa 41:16You will toss them into the air,
and the wind will blow them all away;
a whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in the LORD.
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Isa 41:17

Isa 41:17“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the LORD, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.

Isa 41:18

Isa 41:18I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.

Isa 41:19

Isa 41:19I will plant trees in the barren desert—
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.

Isa 41:20

Isa 41:20I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means—
that it is the LORD who has done this,
the Holy One of Israel who created it.

Isa 41:21

Isa 41:21“Present the case for your idols,”
says the LORD.
“Let them show what they can do,”
says the King of Israel.[fn]

Isa 41:22

Isa 41:22“Let them try to tell us what happened long ago
so that we may consider the evidence.
Or let them tell us what the future holds,
so we can know what’s going to happen.

Isa 41:23

Isa 41:23Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead.
Then we will know you are gods.
In fact, do anything—good or bad!
Do something that will amaze and frighten us.

Isa 41:24

Isa 41:24But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all.
Those who choose you pollute themselves.

Isa 41:25

Isa 41:25“But I have stirred up a leader who will come from the north.
I have called him by name from the east.
I will give him victory over kings and princes.
He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.

Isa 41:26

Isa 41:26“Who told you from the beginning
that this would happen?
Who predicted this,
making you admit that he was right?
No one said a word!

Isa 41:27

Isa 41:27I was the first to tell Zion,
‘Look! Help is on the way!’[fn]
I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.

Isa 41:28

Isa 41:28Not one of your idols told you this.
Not one gave any answer when I asked.

Isa 41:29

Isa 41:29See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
All your idols are as empty as the wind.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(41:21)

Hebrew the King of Jacob. See note on 14:1.

(41:27)

Or ‘Look! They are coming home.’

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

Isaiah Chapter 41 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Isaiah 41 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

Isaiah Chapter 41 — Additional Translations:

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