Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment.
Who hath raised up one from the east, {Or, whom righteousness calleth to its foot Or, whom righteousness meeteth whitersoever he goeth}whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; {Or, he maketh as the dust their sword, as the driven stubble their bow}he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow.
He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet.
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he.
The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come.
They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage.
So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that is should not be moved.
But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend,
thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away;
fear thou not, for I am with thee; {Or, look not around thee}be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish.
Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and {Or, thy Redeemer, the Holy One &c.}thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Behold, I have made thee to be a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I 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.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the {Or, oleaster}oil-tree; I will set in the desert the {Or, cypress}fir-tree, the {Or, plane}pine, and the box-tree together:
that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
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 {Or, look one upon another}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 {Or, deputies}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.
{Or, Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nought}Behold, all of them, their works are vanity and nought; their molten images are wind and confusion.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 41,6 Jes 41,6
The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains.
Say to them that are of a {Hebrew: hasty.}fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: {Or, behold, your God! vengeance will come, even the recompense of God}behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.
The smith {Or, sharpeneth a tool}maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint.
Proclaim ye this among the nations; {Hebrew: sanctify.}prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
{Or, Assemble yourselves}Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah.
And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of {Hebrew: smitting.}plagues in the wilderness.
Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen {Or, before it}upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen {Or, before it}upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, unto this day.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the {Or, chief soothsayers}judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the {Or, lawyers}sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the {Or, chief soothsayers}judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the {Or, lawyers}sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, {Or, bagpipe}dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up;
and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of {Greek: Artemis.}Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen;
whom he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this business we have our wealth.
And ye see and hear; that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods, that are made with hands:
and not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute; but also that the temple of the great goddess {Greek: Artemis.}Diana be made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence whom all Asia and {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world worshippeth.
And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is {Greek: Artemis.}Diana of the Ephesians.