Isaiah 41:17-29

“I, YAHWEH, will respond to the cry of the poor and needy when they are thirsty and their tongues are parched with thirst! When they seek a drink of water but there is none, I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. I will open up refreshing streams on the barren hills and springing fountains in the valleys. I will make the desert a pleasant pool and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the treeless desert cedars and acacias, myrtle and olive trees. I will set in the wilderness evergreens, together with many elms and cypresses. Everyone will see and know that I, YAHWEH, with my mighty hands have done this. They will consider and comprehend that the Holy One of Israel has created it.” YAHWEH says, “Present your case.” “Let’s hear your arguments,” says the King of Jacob’s tribes. “Come, you idols, and let’s hear your prophecy for the future. Tell us, tell us about your former prophecies so we can test them and see if they were fulfilled, or decree some future event for us. Prophesy what the future holds to prove to us that you are gods. Do something—anything! Frighten us or put us in awe! But you are nothing at all! What have you ever accomplished? Whoever chooses to worship you is disgusting! “I stirred up one from the north, who comes from the rising of the sun. He will call on my name. He will trample rulers into the mud as a potter treads clay. Which of you foretold this from the start? Who prophesied it from long ago that we can say, ‘He is right’? None of you prophesied it! None of you announced it ahead of time! No one heard you say a thing about it! I was the first to decree to Zion, ‘Look, this is what’s about to happen!’ I am bringing a messenger to Jerusalem with good news. But when I look, I find no one who is capable to counsel me! There is no one who can respond to me with the right answer! Who could I even ask? Look, all these gods are nothingness! What have they ever accomplished? Their metal images are nothing but empty wind and confusion!