[1] 9. O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain! lift up thy voice with strength, O thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem! lift it up, &c.—Birks and Kay.
[2] Lift up your eyes into the heavens, and behold! who hath created these things? He bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by names; by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power, not one faileth.—Matthew Arnold.
second prophecy.—chap. xli.
The God of the World’s History, and of Prophecy.
1. Be silent to Me, ye islands; and let the nations procure fresh strength: let them come near, then speak; we will enter into contest together.
2. Who hath raised up the man from the rising of the sun, whom justice meets at His foot, He giveth up nations before Him, and kings He subdues, giveth men like dust to His sword, and like driven stubble to His bow? 3. He pursueth them, and marcheth in peace by a course which He never trod with His foot. 4. Who hath wrought and executed it? He who calleth the generations of men from the beginning, I Jehovah am first, and with the last one am I He. 5. Islands have seen it and shuddered; the ends of the earth trembled; they have approached, and drawn near. 6. One helped his companion, and he said to his brother, Only firm! 7. The caster puts firmness into the melter, the hammer-smoother into the anvil-smelter, saying of the soldering, It is good; and made him firm with nails, that he should not shake.
8. And[1] thou, Israel My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham My friend;[2] 9. thou whom I have laid hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said to Thee, Thou art My servant, I have chosen and not despised thee, 10. fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not afraid, for I am thy God: I have chosen thee, I also help thee, I also hold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. 11. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee must be ashamed and confounded; the men of thy conflict become as nothing, and perish. 12. Thou wilt seek them, and not find them, the men of thy feuds; the men of thy warfare become as nothing, and nonentity. 13. For I, Jehovah thy God, lay hold of thy right hand, He who saith to thee, Fear not, I will help thee.
14. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and handful[3] Israel: I will help thee, saith Jehovah; and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. 15. Behold, I have made thee a threshing roller, a sharp new one, with double edges; thou wilt thresh mountains, and pound them; and hills thou wilt make chaff. 16. Thou wilt winnow them, and wind carries them away, and tempest scatters them; and thou wilt rejoice in Jehovah, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17. The poor and needy, who seek for water and there is none, their tongue faints for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18. I open streams upon hills of the field, and springs in the midst of valleys; I make the desert into a pond, and dry land into fountains of water. 19. I give in the desert cedars, acacias, and myrtles, and oleasters; I set on the steppe cypresses, plane-trees, sherbin-trees together, 20. that they may see, and know, and lay to heart, and understand all together, that the hand of Jehovah hath accomplished it, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21. Bring hither your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your proofs, saith the King of Jacob. 22. Let them bring forward, and make known to us what will happen; make known the beginning, what it is, and we will fix our heart upon it, and take knowledge of its issue; or let us hear what is to come. 23. Make known to us what is coming later, and we will acknowledge that ye are gods! yea, do good, and do evil, and we will measure ourselves, and see together.