Study Desk

"^(C1)Listen to Me ^(C2)in silence, you coastlands, And let the peoples ^(C3)gain new strength; ^(C4)Let them come forward, then let them speak; ^(C5)Let's come together for judgment.

-"^(C1)Who has stirred one from the east Whom He ^(C2)calls in righteousness to His ^(F1)feet? He ^(C3)turns nations over to him And subdues kings. He makes them like ^(C4)dust with his sword, Like the wind-driven ^(C5)chaff with his bow.

-"He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been ^(F1)traversing with his feet.

-"^(C1)Who has performed and accomplished it, Summoning the generations from the beginning? '^(C2)I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. ^(C3)I am He.'"

The ^(C1)coastlands have seen and are afraid; The ^(C2)ends of the earth tremble; They have approached and have come.

Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, "Be strong!"

So the ^(C1)craftsman encourages the ^(C2)smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, "It is good"; And he fastens it with nails, ^(C3)So that it will not totter.

"But you, Israel, ^(C1)My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of ^(C2)Abraham My ^(C3)friend,

You whom I have ^(F1)(C1)taken from the ends of the earth And called from its ^(C2)remotest parts, And said to you, 'You are ^(C3)My servant, I have ^(C4)chosen you and have not rejected you.

-'Do not ^(C1)fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, ^(C2)I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous ^(C3)right hand.'

-"Behold, ^(C1)all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; ^(C2)Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

-"^(C1)You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

-"For I am the LORD your God ^(C1)who takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you, '^(C2)Do not fear, I will help you.'

-"Do not fear, you ^(C1)worm Jacob, you people of Israel; I will help you," declares the LORD, "and ^(C2)your ^(F1)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

-"Behold, I turned you into a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; ^(C1)You will thresh the ^(C2)mountains and pulverize them, And make the hills like chaff.

-"You will ^(C1)winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, And the storm will scatter them; But you will ^(C2)rejoice in the LORD, You will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

"The poor and needy are seeking ^(C1)water, but there is none, And their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, ^(C2)will answer them Myself; As the God of Israel I ^(C3)will not abandon them.

-"I will open ^(C1)rivers on the bare heights, And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make ^(C2)the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land fountains of water.

-"I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia, the ^(C1)myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place the ^(C1)juniper in the desert, Together with the elm tree and the cypress,

So that ^(C1)they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the ^(C2)hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

"^(F1)Present your case," the LORD says. "Bring forward your evidence," The ^(C1)King of Jacob says.

^(C1)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the ^(C2)former events, declare what they were, So that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming;

^(C1)Declare the things that are going to come afterward, So that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, ^(C2)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.

Behold, ^(C1)you are less than nothing, And ^(C2)your work is less than nothing! He who chooses you is an ^(C3)abomination.

"I have put ^(C1)one from the north into motion, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as upon ^(F1)(C2)mortar, As the potter treads on clay."

Who has ^(C1)declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, "He is right!"? There was ^(C2)no one at all who declared, There was no one at all who proclaimed, There was no one at all who heard your words.

"^(C1)Previously I said to Zion, 'Behold, here they are.' And to Jerusalem, 'I will give a ^(C2)messenger of good news.'

-"But ^(C1)when I look, there is no one, And there is no ^(C2)counselor ^(F1)among them Who, if I ask, can ^(C3)give an answer.

-"Behold, all of them are ^(F1)false; Their ^(C1)works are ^(C2)nothing, Their cast metal images are ^(C3)wind and emptiness.