The Lord Helps Israel
1The Lord says, “People who live on the islands,
come and stand quietly in front of me.
Let the nations gain new strength
in order to state their case.
Let them come forward and speak.
Let us go to court and find out who is right.
2“Who has stirred up a king from the east?
Who has helped him win his battles?
I hand nations over to him.
I bring kings under his control.
He turns them into dust with his sword.
With his bow he turns them into straw blowing in the wind.
3He hunts them down. Then he moves on unharmed.
He travels so fast that his feet
don’t seem to touch the ground.
4Who has made that happen? Who has carried it out?
Who has created all the people who have ever lived?
I, the Lord, have done it.
I was with the first of them.
And I will be with the last of them.”
5The people on the islands have seen that king coming.
And it has made them afraid.
People tremble with fear from one end of the earth to the other.
They come and gather together.
6They help one another.
They say to one another, “Be strong!”
7One skilled worker makes a statue of a god.
Another covers it with gold.
The first worker says to the second,
“You have done a good job.”
Another worker smooths out the metal with a hammer.
Still another gives the statue its final shape.
The one who hammers says to the one who shapes,
“You have done a good job.”
Then they nail the statue down so it won’t fall over.
8The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants.
Family of Jacob, I have chosen you.
You are the children of my friend Abraham.
9I gathered you from one end of the earth to the other.
From the farthest places on earth I brought you together.
I said, ‘You are my servants.’
I have chosen you.
I have not turned my back on you.
10So do not be afraid. I am with you.
Do not be terrified. I am your God.
I will make you strong and help you.
I will hold you safe in my hands.
I always do what is right.
11“All those who are angry with you will be put to shame.
And they will be dishonored.
Those who oppose you will be destroyed.
And they will vanish.
12You might search for your enemies.
But you will not find them.
Those who go to war against you
will completely disappear.
13I am the Lord your God.
I take hold of your right hand.
I say to you, ‘Do not be afraid.
I will help you.’
14Family of Jacob, you are as weak as a worm.
But do not be afraid.
People of Israel, there are only a few of you.
But do not be afraid.
I myself will help you,” announces the Lord.
He is the one who sets his people free.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
15He says, “I will make you into a threshing sled.
It will be new and sharp.
It will have many teeth.
You will grind the mountains down and crush them.
You will turn the hills into nothing but straw.
16You will toss them in the air.
A strong wind will catch them and blow them away.
You will be glad because I will make that happen.
You will praise me.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
17“Those who are poor and needy search for water.
But there isn’t any.
Their tongues are dry because they are thirsty.
But I will help them. I am the Lord.
I will not desert them.
I am Israel’s God.
18I will make streams flow on the bare hilltops.
I will make springs come up in the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water.
I will turn the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
19I will make trees grow in the desert.
I will plant cedar and acacia trees there.
I will plant myrtle and olive trees there.
I will make juniper trees grow in the dry and empty desert.
I will plant fir and cypress trees there.
20Then people will see and know
that my powerful hand has done it.
They will consider and understand
that I have created it.
I am the Holy One of Israel.”
21The Lord says to the nations and their gods,
“State your case.”
Jacob’s King says to them,
“Prove your case to me.
22Tell us, you false gods,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what happened in the past.
Then we can check it out
and see if it is really true.
Or announce to us the things that will take place.
23Tell us what will happen in the days ahead.
Then we will know that you are gods.
Do something. It does not matter whether it is good or bad.
Then we will be terrified and filled with fear.
24But you false gods are less than nothing.
Your actions are completely worthless.
I hate it when people worship you.
25“I have stirred up a king
who will come from the north.
He lives in the east.
He will bring honor to me.
He walks all over rulers as if they were mud.
He steps on them just as a potter stomps on clay.
26Which one of you false gods said those things
would happen before they did?
Who told us about them
so we could know them?
Who told us ahead of time?
Who told us so we could say,
‘You are right’?
None of you false gods told us about them.
None of you told us ahead of time.
In fact, no one heard you say anything at all.
27I was the first to tell Zion.
I said, ‘Look! The people of Israel are coming back!’
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28I look, but there is no one
among the gods that can give me advice.
None of them can answer
when I ask them the simplest question.
29So they are not really gods at all.
What they do does not amount to anything.
They are as useless as wind.
上帝是以色列的帮助
1上帝说：“众海岛啊，
要在我面前安静！
让众民重新拿出勇力，
让他们前来说话，
让我们一起来理论。
2“谁使一人从东方兴起？
谁凭公义把他召到跟前？
谁把列国交给他，
使他征服列国的君王，
用刀将他们化为尘土，
用弓将他们沦为风吹的碎秸？
3他追赶他们，
安然走过从未踏足之路。
4谁成就了这事？
谁在太初就掌管历史的方向？
是我耶和华，
我太初就在那里，
末了也在那里。
5“众海岛看见我的作为就害怕，
地极也颤抖，
他们都上前来，
6彼此帮助，
互相勉励说，‘要刚强！’
7工匠鼓励银匠，
打磨的勉励打砧的，
说，‘打得好！’
他们用钉子把偶像钉牢，免得摇晃。
8“然而，以色列啊，你是我的仆人；
雅各啊，你是我拣选的，
是我朋友亚伯拉罕的后裔。
9我把你从地极带来，
从遥远的角落召来。
我对你说，‘你是我的仆人，
我拣选了你，没有丢弃你。
10我是你的上帝，我必与你同在，
你不用惊慌也不用害怕。
我必赐你力量，帮助你，
用我公义的右手扶持你。’
11“看啊，向你发怒的人必抱愧蒙羞；
与你为敌的人都要灭亡，
归于无有。
12你寻找与你相争的人，
却找不到；
与你争战的人必归于无有。
13因为我是你的上帝耶和华，
我必拉着你的右手对你说，
‘不要怕，我必帮助你。’
14“如蛆如虫的雅各啊，以色列人啊，不要怕！
我耶和华必帮助你。
以色列的圣者是你的救赎主。
15看啊，我要使你成为一具簇新、
带许多利齿的打谷器。
你要打烂高山，
使丘陵碎如糠秕。
16你要簸它们，让风吹散它们，
让狂风卷走它们。
但你要以耶和华为喜乐，
以以色列的圣者为荣耀。
17“贫穷困苦的人找不到水喝，
他们口干舌燥。
但我耶和华必应允他们的呼求，
我——以色列的上帝不会撇弃他们。
18我要使光秃的山岭上江河奔流，
山谷中泉水涌流；
我要使沙漠变成水塘，
使干地冒出泉水。
19我要在旷野栽香柏树、
皂荚树、番石榴树和橄榄树。
我要在沙漠种松树、杉树和黄杨树。
20人一看就知道，
一想就明白，
这是耶和华亲手成就的，
是以色列的圣者创造的。”
21耶和华对偶像说：
“陈明你们的理由。”
雅各的王说：
“拿出你们的证据吧。”
22告诉我们将要发生的事，
给我们说说以前发生的事，
我们好思想，以便明白事情的结局。
向我们宣告将来的事，
23告诉我们以后会发生什么，
好叫我们知道你们是神明。
不论降福降祸，显显身手吧，
好叫我们一同惊惧！
24看啊，你们实在算不得什么，
你们所做的毫无意义，
拜你们的人真是可憎！
25“我使一人从北方兴起，
他来了，
他在东方求告我的名。
他必把掌权者像灰泥一样踏在脚下，
像窑匠踩泥一样践踏。
26谁从太初就宣告这事，让我们知道呢？
谁预先讲明这事，让我们说他能未卜先知呢？
谁也没有说过，
谁也没有预言过，
谁也没有听见你们说过什么。
27是我首先把这件事告诉锡安，
我要给耶路撒冷一个报好消息的使者。
28我看了看，没有出谋划策的。
我问话，没有一个回答。
29看啊，它们全是假的，
毫无作为，虚空如风。
