16. You will throw them into the air, and the wind will blow them away and scatter them. Then you will be happy in the Lord. You will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.
17. “The poor and needy look for water, but they cannot find any. Their tongues are dry with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer their prayers. I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.
18. I will make rivers flow on dry hills. I will make springs of water flow through the valleys. I will change the desert into a lake filled with water. There will be springs of water in that dry land.
19. I will make trees grow in the desert. There will be cedar, acacias, olive trees, cypress, fir trees, and pines.
20. I will do this so that people will see it and know who did it. They will notice what happened. Then they will understand that the Lord’S hand made it happen, that the Holy One of Israel created it all.”
21. The Lord, the king of Jacob, says, “Come, present your arguments. Show me your proof.
22. Let your idols come in and tell us what will happen. Idols, tell us what happened in the beginning. We will listen closely so that we can make a decision. Tell us what will happen in the future.
23. What signs did you give in the past to prove that you really are gods? Do something! Do anything, good or bad, so that we can see that you are alive. Then we might fear and respect you.
24. “Look, you false gods are worthless. You cannot do anything. Only some horrible fool would want to worship you.”
25. “I called someone in the north to come. He is coming from the east where the sun rises, and he honors my name. He tramples kings the way a potter softens clay with his feet.
26. “Who told us about this before it happened so that we could say he was right? None of your idols told us anything. They didn’t say a word, and they cannot hear anything you say.
27. I, the Lord, was the first one to tell Zion about these things. I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say, ‘Look, your people are coming back!’”
28. I looked at those false gods. Not one of them said anything. They had no advice to offer. I asked them questions, but they didn’t say a word.
29. Those gods are all less than nothing. They cannot do anything. They are worthless.