Isaiah 41:17-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 41
17'The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them Myself; As the God of Israel I will not abandon them. 18I will open rivers on the bare heights, And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land fountains of water. 19I will put the cedar in the wilderness, The acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place the juniper in the desert, Together with the elm tree and the cypress, 20So that they may see and recognize, And consider and gain insight as well, That the hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. 21'Present your case,' the Lord says. 'Bring forward your evidence,' The King of Jacob says. 22Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, So that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; 23Declare the things that are going to come afterward, So that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together. 24Behold, you are less than nothing, And your work is less than nothing! He who chooses you is an abomination.King James Version
Chapter 41
17When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: 20That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
22Let 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.
23Shew 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.
24Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 41
17The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I will answer them. I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them. 18I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool and dry land into springs. 19I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees in the wilderness. I will put juniper, elm, and cypress trees together in the desert.
20so that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21"Submit your case," says the Lord. "Present your arguments," says Jacob's King.
22"Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell us the past events, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome, or tell us the future.
23Tell us the coming events, then we will know that you are gods. Indeed, do something good or bad, then we will be in awe when we see it.
New Living Translation
Chapter 41
17'When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them. 18I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground. 19I will plant trees in the barren desert — cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine. 20I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means — that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it.
21'Present the case for your idols,' says the Lord. 'Let them show what they can do,' says the King of Israel.
22'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.
23Yes, 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.
24But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves.
English Standard Version
Chapter 41
17When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, 20that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. 21Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. 22Let 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. 23Tell 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. 24Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.New International Version
Chapter 41
17The 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.
21Present your case,' says the LORD. 'Set forth your arguments,' says Jacob's King.
22Tell 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.
New King James Version