Isaiah 41:19-29

41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;

I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

41:20 I will do this so ¹  people ²  will observe and recognize,

so they will pay attention and understand

that the Lord’s power ³  has accomplished this,

and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” ⁴ 

The Lord Challenges the Pagan Gods

41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.

“Produce your evidence,” ⁵  says Jacob’s king. ⁶ 

41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!

Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, ⁷ 

so we may examine them ⁸  and see how they were fulfilled. ⁹ 

Or decree for us some future events!

41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, ¹⁰ 

so we might know you are gods.

Yes, do something good or bad,

so we might be frightened and in awe. ¹¹ 

41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;

the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. ¹² 

41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north ¹³  and he advances,

one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ¹⁴ 

He steps on ¹⁵  rulers as if they were clay,

like a potter treading the clay.

41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?

Who announced it ¹⁶  ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?

Indeed, none of them decreed it!

Indeed, none of them announced it!

Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

41:27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ ¹⁷ 

I sent a herald to Jerusalem. ¹⁸ 

41:28 I look, but there is no one,

among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,

that I might ask questions and receive answers.

41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, ¹⁹ 

their accomplishments are nonexistent;

their metal images lack any real substance. ²⁰ 

[41:20]  ¹ tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”

[41:20]  ² tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”

[41:20]  ³ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[41:20]  ⁴ tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”

[41:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.

[41:21]  ⁶ sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.

[41:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”

[41:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”

[41:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”

[41:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”

[41:23]  ¹¹ tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).

[41:24]  ¹² tn Heb “an object of disgust [is he who] chooses you.”

[41:25]  ¹³ sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.

[41:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”

[41:25]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).

[41:26]  ¹⁶ tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[41:27]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “First to Zion, ‘Look here they are!’” The words “I decreed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[41:27]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[41:29]  ¹⁹ tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.

[41:29]  ²⁰ tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”