The Helper of Israel
1“Be silent before me, you islands!
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgment.
2“Who has stirred up one from the east,
calling him in righteousness to his service41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every step?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.”
5The islands have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
7The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.
8“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11“All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.
12Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.
13For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
14Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17“The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22“Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
23tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
24But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.
25“I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.
上帝是以色列的幫助
1上帝說：「眾海島啊，
要在我面前安靜！
讓眾民重新得力，
讓他們前來說話，
讓我們一起來理論。
2「誰使一人從東方興起？
誰憑公義把他召到跟前？
誰把列國交給他，
使他征服列國的君王，
用刀將他們化為塵土，
用弓驅散他們如風吹的碎稭？
3他追趕他們，
安然走過從未踏足之路。
4誰成就了這事？
誰從太初就決定各個世代？
是我耶和華，
我太初就在那裡，
末了也在那裡。
5「眾海島看見就害怕，
地極也顫抖，
他們都上前來，
6彼此幫助，
互相勉勵說，『要剛強！』
7工匠鼓勵金匠，
打磨的勉勵打砧的，
談到銲接的說，『銲得好！』
他們用釘子把偶像釘牢，免得搖晃。
8「然而，以色列啊，你是我的僕人；
雅各啊，你是我揀選的，
是我朋友亞伯拉罕的後裔。
9我把你從地極帶來，
從遙遠的角落召來。
我對你說，『你是我的僕人，
我揀選了你，沒有丟棄你。
10你不要害怕，因為我與你同在，
你不要驚慌，因為我是你的上帝。
我必賜你力量，幫助你，
用我公義的右手扶持你。』
11「看啊，凡向你發怒的人必抱愧蒙羞；
與你為敵的人都要滅亡，
歸於無有。
12你尋找與你相爭的人，
卻找不到；
與你爭戰的人必歸於無有。
13因為我是你的上帝耶和華，
我拉著你的右手對你說，
『不要怕，我必幫助你。』
14「蠕蟲雅各啊，以色列人啊，不要怕！
你的救贖主——以色列的聖者耶和華說，
『我必幫助你。』
15看啊，我要使你成為一具簇新、
帶許多利齒的打穀器。
你要打碎高山，
使丘陵碎如糠秕。
16你要簸它們，讓風吹散它們，
讓狂風捲走它們。
但你要以耶和華為喜樂，
以以色列的聖者為榮耀。
17「貧窮困苦的人找不到水喝，
他們口乾舌燥。
但我耶和華必應允他們的呼求，
我，以色列的上帝不會撇棄他們。
18我要使光禿的山嶺上江河奔流，
山谷中泉水湧流；
我要使沙漠變成水塘，
使乾地冒出泉水。
19我要在曠野栽種香柏樹、
皂莢樹、番石榴樹和橄欖樹。
我要在沙漠種松樹、杉樹和黃楊樹，
20好讓人一看就知道，
一想就明白，
這是耶和華親手所為，
是以色列的聖者創造的。」
21耶和華對偶像說：
「陳明你們的主張吧。」
雅各的王說：
「擺出你們的證據吧。」
22告訴我們將要發生的事，
告訴我們以前發生的事，
我們好思想並明白事情的結局。
向我們宣告將來的事，
23告訴我們以後會發生什麼，
好叫我們知道你們是神明。
不論降福降禍，
好叫我們一同驚懼！
24看啊，你們實在算不得什麼，
你們所做的毫無意義，
選擇你們的人真是可憎！
25「我使一人從北方興起，
他來了，
他在東方求告我的名。
他必把掌權者像灰泥一樣踏在腳下，
像窯匠踩泥一樣。
26誰從太初就宣告這事，讓我們知道呢？
誰預先講明這事，讓我們說他是對的呢？
誰也沒有宣告過，
誰也沒有預言過，
誰也沒有聽見你們說什麼。
27是我首先告訴錫安的，
我給耶路撒冷一個報好消息的使者。
28我看了看，沒有一個出謀劃策的。
我問話，沒有一個回答。
29看啊，偶像全是假的，
毫無作為，鑄像虛空如風。
