9. I have taken you from the ends of the earthand called you from its most distant places.I said to you, ‘You are my servant.I’ve chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.’
10. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you.Don’t be intimidated; I am your God.I will strengthen you.I will help you.I will support you with my victorious right hand.
11. “Everyone who is angry with youwill be ashamed and disgraced.Those who oppose youwill be reduced to nothing and disappear.
12. You will search for your enemies,but you will not find them.Those who are at war with youwill be reduced to nothing and no longer exist.
13. I, the Lord your God, hold your right handand say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid; I will help you.’
14. Don’t be afraid, Jacob, you worm.You people of Israel, I will help you,”declares the Lord, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel.
15. “I am going to make you into a new threshing sledgewith sharp, double-edged teeth.You will thresh the mountains and crush them to dust.You will turn the hills into straw.
16. You will winnow them.The wind will carry them away.The windstorm will scatter them.But you will find joy in the Lordand praise the Holy One of Israel.
17. “The poor and needy are looking for water, but there is none.Their tongues are parched with thirst.I, the Lord, will answer them.I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
18. I will make rivers flow on bare hilltops.I will make springs flow through valleys.I will turn deserts into lakes.I will turn dry land into springs.
19. I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and wild olive trees in the desert.I will place cedar, fir, and cypress trees together in the wilderness.
20. People will see and know.Together they will consider and understandthat the Lord’s power has done this,that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21. “Present your case,” says the Lord.“Bring forward your best arguments,” says Jacob’s king.