Isaiah 41:21-29

Isaiah 41:21-29 The Message (MSG)

“Set out your case for your gods,” says GOD. “Bring your evidence,” says the King of Jacob. “Take the stand on behalf of your idols, offer arguments, assemble reasons. Spread out the facts before us so that we can assess them ourselves. Ask them, ‘If you are gods, explain what the past means— or, failing that, tell us what will happen in the future. Can’t do that? How about doing something—anything! Good or bad—whatever. Can you hurt us or help us? Do we need to be afraid?’ They say nothing, because they are nothing— sham gods, no-gods, fool-making gods. “I, God, started someone out from the north and he’s come. He was called out of the east by name. He’ll stomp the rulers into the mud the way a potter works the clay. Let me ask you, Did anyone guess that this might happen? Did anyone tell us earlier so we might confirm it with ‘Yes, he’s right!’? No one mentioned it, no one announced it, no one heard a peep out of you. But I told Zion all about this beforehand. I gave Jerusalem a preacher of good news. But around here there’s no one— no one who knows what’s going on. I ask, but no one can tell me the score. Nothing here. It’s all smoke and hot air— sham gods, hollow gods, no-gods.”

Isaiah 41:21-29 King James Version (KJV)

Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay. Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

Isaiah 41:21-29 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

“Present your case,” the LORD says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The King of Jacob says. Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together. Behold, you are of no account, And your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. “I have aroused one from the north, and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My name; And he will come upon rulers as upon mortar, Even as the potter treads clay.” Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know? Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”? Surely there was no one who declared, Surely there was no one who proclaimed, Surely there was no one who heard your words. “Formerly I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a messenger of good news.’ But when I look, there is no one, And there is no counselor among them Who, if I ask, can give an answer. Behold, all of them are false; Their works are worthless, Their molten images are wind and emptiness.

Isaiah 41:21-29 New Century Version (NCV)

The LORD says, “Present your case.” The King of Jacob says, “Tell me your arguments. Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Have them tell us what happened in the beginning. Then we will think about these things, and we will know how they will turn out. Or tell us what will happen in the future. Tell us what is coming next so we will believe that you are gods. Do something, whether it is good or bad, and make us afraid. You gods are less than nothing; you can’t do anything. Those who worship you should be hated. “I have brought someone to come out of the north I have called by name a man from the east, and he knows me. He walks on kings as if they were mud, just as a potter walks on the clay. Who told us about this before it happened? Who told us ahead of time so we could say, ‘He was right’? None of you told us anything; none of you told us before it happened; no one heard you tell about it. I, the LORD, was the first one to tell Jerusalem that the people were coming home. I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news. I look at the idols, but there is not one that can answer. None of them can give advice; none of them can answer my questions. Look, all these idols are false. They cannot do anything; they are worth nothing.

Isaiah 41:21-29 American Standard Version (ASV)

Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come. Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. I am the first that saith unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word. Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.

Isaiah 41:21-29 New International Version (NIV)

“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King. “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, tell 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. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; whoever chooses you is detestable. “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. Who 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. I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’ I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news. I look but there is no one— no one among the gods to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them. See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion.

Isaiah 41:21-29 New King James Version (NKJV)

“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob. “Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together. Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. “I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the rising of the sun he shall call on My name; And he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay. Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words. The first time I said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!’ And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word. Indeed they are all worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion.

Isaiah 41:21-29 Amplified Bible (AMP)

“Present your case [for idols made by men’s hands],” says the LORD. “Produce your evidence [of divinity],” Says the king of Jacob. Let them bring forward [their evidence] and tell us what is going to happen. Regarding the former events, tell what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome; Or announce to us the things that are going to come. Tell us the things that are to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, you should do something good or do evil, that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle]. Hear this! You [idols] are less than nothing, And your work is worthless; The worshiper who chooses you [as a god] is repulsive. “I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer]. And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar, Even as a potter treads clay.” Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know? Or from earlier times, so that we could say, “He is [unquestionably] right!”? In fact, there was no one who declared it, Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it; There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless]. “I was first to say to Zion, ‘Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].’ And to Jerusalem, ‘I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [that Cyrus will be stirred up and put into action to save them].’ But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events], And there is no counselor among them, Who, if I ask, can give an answer. In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false; Their works are worthless, Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.

Isaiah 41:21-29 New Living Translation (NLT)

“Present the case for your idols,” says the LORD. “Let them show what they can do,” says the King of Israel. “Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen. Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything—good or bad! Do something that will amaze and frighten us. But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves. “But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north. From the east he will call on my name. I will give him victory over kings and princes. He will trample them as a potter treads on clay. “Who told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one said a word! I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look! Help is on the way!’ I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news. Not one of your idols told you this. Not one gave any answer when I asked. See, they are all foolish, worthless things. All your idols are as empty as the wind.

Isaiah 41:21-29 The Passion Translation (TPT)

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!

Isaiah 41:21-29 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you. I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay. Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words. I was the first to say to Zion, “Behold, here they are!” and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news. But when I look, there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer. Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.