And the inhabitants are to him as grasshoppers:
That extendeth the heavens, as a thin veil;
And spreadeth them out, as a tent to dwell in:

23 That reduceth princes to nothing;

That maketh the judges of the earth a mere inanity. 24 Yea they shall not leave a plant behind them, they shall not be sown,

25

Their trunk shall not spread its root in the ground:

If he but blow upon them, they instantly wither;
And the whirlwind shall bear them away like the stubble.
To whom then will ye liken me?

And to whom shall I be equalled? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high;

27

And see, who hath created these.

He draweth forth their armies by number;

He calleth them all by name :

Through the greatness of his strength, and the mightiness of his power,

Not one of them faileth to appear.

Wherefore sayest thou then, O Jacob,
And why speakest thou thus, O Israel;
My way is hidden from JEHOVAH,

And my cause passeth unregarded by my God?
28 Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard,
That JEHOVAH is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the bounds of the earth?
That he neither fainteth, nor is wearied;
And that his understanding is unsearchable?

29 He giveth strength to the faint,

And to the infirm he multiplieth force.

30 The young men shall faint and be wearied;

And the chosen youths shall stumble and fall:

31 But they that trust in JEHOVAH shall gather new strength;

CHAP. 1
XLI.

They shall put forth fresh feathers like the moulting eagle:

They shall run, and not be wearied;

They shall march onward, and shall not faint.

LET the distant nations repair to me with new force of mind;

And let the peoples recover their strength.

2

Let them draw near; then let them speak;

Let us enter into solemn debate together.

Who hath raised up the righteous man from the east;

Hath called him to attend his steps?

Hath subdued nations at his presence;
And given him dominion over kings?

Hath made them like the dust before his sword;
And like the driven stubble before his bow?

3 He pursueth them; he passeth in safety;
By a way never trodden before with his feet.
4 Who hath performed, and made these things,
Calling the several generations from the beginning?
I JEHOVAH, the first;

5

And with the last, I am the same.

The distant nations saw, and they were afraid;
The remotest parts of the earth, and they were terrified.
They drew near, they came together;

6 Every one assisted his neighbour,

And said to his brother, Be of good courage.

7 The carver encourageth the smith;

8

He that smootheth with the hammer, him that smiteth

on the anvil;

Saying of the solder, It is good;

And he fixeth the idol with nails, that it shall not move.

But thou, Israel, my servant;

Thou, Jacob, whom I have chosen ;

The seed of Abraham, my friend:

9 Thou, whom I have led by the hand from the ends of the earth;

And called from the extremities thereof;

And I said unto thee, Thou art my servant;
I have chosen thee, and I will not reject thee:

10 Fear not, for I am with thee;

Be not dismayed, for I am thy God.

I have strengthened thee, I have assisted thee;

I have even supported thee with my faithful right hand. 11 Behold, they, that were enraged against thee, shall be ashamed and confounded;

They, that contended with thee, shall become as nothing, and shall utterly perish.

12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even the men that strove with thee:

They shall become as nothing, and as mere nought, even the men that opposed thee in battle.

13 For I am JEHOVAH thy God, that hold thee fast by thy right hand;

That say unto thee, Fear not; I am thy helper.

14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob; ye mortals of Israel; I am thy helper, saith JEHOVAH;

And thine avenger is the Holy One of Israel.

15 Behold, I have made thee a thrashing wain;
A new corn-drag armed with pointed teeth:

Thou shalt thrash the mountains, and beat them small;
And reduce the hills to chaff:

16 Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall bear them

17

away;

And the tempest shall scatter them abroad:

But thou shalt rejoice in JEHOVAH;

In the Holy One of Israel shalt thou triumph.

The poor and the needy seek for water, and there is

none;

Their tongue is parched with thirst:

I JEHOVAH will answer them;

The God of Israel, I will not forsake them.

18 I will open in the high places rivers;

And in the midst of the vallies, fountains:
I will make the desert a standing pool;
And the dry ground streams of waters.
19 In the wilderness I will give the cedar;

The acacia, the myrtle, and the tree producing oil;
I will plant the fir-tree in the desert;

The pine, and the box together:

20 That they may see, and that they may know;
And may consider, and understand at once;
That the hand of JEHOVAH hath done this,
And that the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

21

Draw near, produce your cause, saith JEHOVAH: Produce these your mighty powers, saith the king of Jacob.

22 Let them approach, and tell us the things that shall

happen:

The things that shall first happen, what they are, let
them tell us;

And we will consider them; and we shall know the event.
Or declare to us things to come hereafter;

23 Tell us the things that will come to pass in latter times:
Then shall we know that ye are Gods.

Yea, do good, or do evil;

Then shall we be struck at once with admiration and
terror.

24 But, behold, ye are less than nothing;
And your operation is less than nought:
Abhorred be the man that chooseth you!

25

26

I have raised up one from the north, and he shall

come;

From the rising of the sun he shall invoke my name:
And he shall trample on princes, like the mortar;
Even as the potter treadeth down the clay.

Who hath declared this from the beginning, that we
should know it?

And beforehand, that we might say, The prediction is true?

There was not one, that foretold it; not one, that declared it;

There was not one, that heard your words.

27 I first to Sion [give the word], Behold they are here; And to Jerusalem I give the messenger of glad tidings. 28 But I looked, and there was no man;

And among the idols, and there was no one that gave warning;

29 And I inquired of them, and [there was no one] that

CHAP. 1

XLII.

could return an answer.

Behold, they are all of them vanity; their works are nought:

Mere wind and emptiness are their molten images.

BEHOLD my servant, whom I will uphold;

My chosen, in whom my soul delighteth:
I will make my spirit rest upon him;
And he shall publish judgment to the nations.

2 He shall not cry aloud, nor raise a clamour,

Nor cause his voice to be heard in the public places: 3 The bruised reed he shall not break;

And the dimly burning flax he shall not quench:

He shall publish judgment, so as to establish it perfectly.

4 His force shall not be abated, nor broken;

5

Until he hath firmly seated judgment in the earth :
And the distant nations shall earnestly wait for his law.

Thus saith the God, even JEHOVAH,

Who created the heavens, and stretched them out;

Who spread abroad the earth, and the produce thereof; Who giveth breath to the people upon it,

And spirit to them that tread thereon:

6 I JEHOVAH have called thee for a righteous purpose; And I will take hold of thy hand, and will preserve thee;

And I will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light to the nations:

7 To open the eyes of the blind;

To bring the captive out of confinement;

And from the dungeon those that dwell in darkness.

8 I am JEHOVAH, that is my name;

And my glory will I not give to another,

Nor my praise to the graven images.

9 The former predictions, lo! they are come to pass; And new events I now declare:

10

Before they spring forth, I make them known unto you.

Sing unto JEHOVAH a new song;

His praise, from the ends of the earth:

Ye that go down upon the sea, and all that fill it; Ye distant sea-coasts, and ye that dwell therein: 11 Let the desert cry aloud, and the cities thereof; The villages, and they that dwell in Kedar:

Let the inhabitants of the rocky country utter a joyful sound;

Let them shout aloud from the top of the mountains : 12 Let them ascribe glory to JEHOVAH;

13

And among the distant nations make known his praise.
JEHOVAH shall march forth like a hero;
Like a mighty warrior shall he rouse his vengeance: