18So to whom will you compare God?
What image can you compare to him?
19A craftsman casts the idol,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold.
He forges silver chains for it.
20He chooses mulberry wood as an offering,[] wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skillful craftsman
to erect an idol that will not fall over.
21Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood it from the founding of the earth?
22He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth.
To him its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and he spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23He is the one who reduces dignitaries to nothing.
He makes the judges of the world useless.
24They have hardly been planted.
They have hardly been sown.
Their stem has hardly taken root in the earth.
Then he blows on them, and they dry up.
A driving storm carries them away like chaff.
25To whom can you compare me as if we were equals?
says the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and see who created these things.
See who brings out their army in great number
and calls them all by name.
Because of his great strength and mighty power,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you speak, O Jacob?
O Israel, why do you say,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and justice for me is ignored by my God”?
28Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the eternal God.
He is the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired, and he will not become weary.
No one can find a limit to his understanding.
29He is the one who gives strength to the weak,
and he increases the strength of those who lack power.
30Young men grow tired and become weary.
Even strong men stumble and fall.
31But those who wait for the Lord will receive new strength.
They will lift up their wings and soar like eagles.
They will run and not become weary.
They will walk and not become tired.
A Summons to Judgment
411Prepare to present your case to me,[] you coastlands, and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come near. Yes, let them say,
“We will gather together for the verdict.”
A Mystery Man Is Summoned From the East
2Who has aroused this one from the east?
In righteousness he summons him to his feet.
He gives nations to him
and causes him to rule over kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like wind-driven stubble with his bow.
3He pursues them and passes by safely.
His feet do not touch the ground.[] 4Who accomplished this and carried it out
by summoning generations from the beginning?
The Lord Controls History
I, the Lord, am the first,
and at the very end I will still be the one.
5The coastlands see and fear.
The ends of the earth tremble.
They draw near. They come.
The Idol Makers Appear
6Each one assists his neighbor,
and to his brother he says, “Be strong.”
7The craftsman strengthens the refiner.
The one who flattens metal with the hammer
strengthens the one who strikes the anvil.
Concerning the soldering he says, “It is good.”
He fastens it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
The Lord Is Your Defender
8But you, O Israel, my servant,
O Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring[] of Abraham, whom I love, 9whom I have snatched from the ends of the earth,
whom I have called from its corners—
I have said to you, “You are my servant.”
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10Do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not be overwhelmed,[] for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
