Commentary on Isaiah - Volume 3

1Be silent to me, O islands; And let the peoples collect their strength; Let them draw near; then let them speak; Let us come near together to judgment.

2Who raised up righteousness from the east, Called him to his foot, Gave nations before him, And subdued kings; Gave them as dust to his sword, And as driven stubble to his bow?

3He pursued them; he departed in peace, By the way that his foot had not gone.

4Who hath appointed And done it. He who calleth the nations from the beginning. I Jehovah am the first, And with the last I am the same.

5The islands saw, And were afraid; The farthest boundaries of the earth trembled; They drew near And came.

6Every one brought assistance to his neighbor, And said to his neighbor, Be courageous.

7The carver encouraged the founder, And he that beateth with the hammer him that striketh by turns; And he said, It is good for soldering; And he fastened it with nails, that it might not be moved.

8But thou, O Israel, (art) my servant, O Jacob, whom I have chosen, Thou seed of Abraham my friend.

9For I have taken thee from the ends of the earth; From its eminences have I called thee; And I have said to thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, And have not cast thee off;

10Fear not, for I am with thee; Be not terrified, for I am thy God; For I strengthen thee; yea, ²⁶⁴ I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

11Behold, they who provoke thee, Shall be ashamed And shall blush; They who contend with thee, Shall become as nothing, And shall perish.

12Thou shalt seek them, And shalt not find them; They who contend with thee shall be as nothing, And they who fight with thee shall be as consumption.

13For I (am) Jehovah thy God, Taking hold of thy right hand, And saying to thee, Fear not, I will help thee.

14Fear not, thou worm Jacob, Ye dead men of Israel. I will help thee, saith Jehovah, And thy Redeemer, ²⁶⁵ the Holy One of Israel.

15Behold, I have made thee a cart, Like a sharp thrashing instrument having teeth; Thou shalt thrash the mountains, And beat them small; And thou shalt reduce the hills to dust.

16Thou shalt winnow them; And the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them. But thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah; Thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17The needy And poor shall seek waters, Which are nowhere to be seen; Their tongue shall be parched with thirst. I Jehovah will listen to them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

18I will open rivers on lofty mountain-tops, And fountains in the midst of a plain; I will make the wilderness pools of waters, And the dry land fountains of waters.

19In the wilderness I will give the cedar, The sloe, the myrtle, And the pine; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, The elm And poplar together.

20Therefore let them see And know; Let them likewise think And understand; That the hand of Jehovah hath done this, And that the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

21Plead your cause, saith Jehovah; Produce your strong reasons, saith the king of Jacob.

22Let them bring them forth, And let them tell us what is to come; Let them declare the former things which were, And we will lay our heart to them; And we shall know the latest of those things; And declare ye to us what is to come.

23Tell what shall be hereafter, That we may know that ye are gods; Yea, do good, or do evil, That we may relate And likewise may see ²⁶⁶ it.

24Behold, you are of nothing, And your work is of nothing; (The man) hath chosen abomination in you.

25I have raised him from the north, And he hath come; From the rising of the sun shall he call on my name; And he shall come to princes, as to clay; And he shall tread the clay like a potter.

26Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? Beforehand, And we will say, (He is) righteous. Surely, there is none that declareth; Surely, there is none that causeth (us) to hear; Surely, there is none that heareth your words.

27The first to Zion; Behold, behold them; And I will give a messenger to Jerusalem.

28I looked, And there was none; I inquired at them, And there was no counselor; I asked them, And they answered not a word.

29Behold, all are vanity; And their works are a failure; Their images are wind And confusion.