Bible in Basic English
For I, the Lord your God, have taken your right hand in mine, saying to you, Have no fear; I will be your helper.
Have no fear, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will be your helper, says the Lord, even he who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel.
See, I will make you like a new grain-crushing instrument with teeth, crushing the mountains small, and making the hills like dry stems.
You will send the wind over them, and it will take them away; they will go in all directions before the storm-wind: you will have joy in the Lord, and be glad in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and crushed are looking for water where no water is, and their tongue is dry for need of it: I the Lord will give ear to their prayer, I the God of Israel will not give them up.
I will make rivers on the dry mountain-tops, and fountains in the valleys: I will make the waste land a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the waste land the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive-tree; and in the lowland will be planted the fir-tree, the plane, and the cypress together:
So that they may see and be wise and give their mind to it, and that it may be clear to them all that the hand of the Lord has done this, and that the Holy One of Israel has made it.
Put forward your cause, says the Lord; let your strong argument come out, says the King of Jacob.
Let the future be made clear to us: give us news of the past things, so that we may give thought to them; or of the things to come, so that we may see if they are true.
Give us word of what will be after this, so that we may be certain that you are gods: yes, do good or do evil, so that we may all see it and be surprised.
But you are nothing, and your work is of no value: foolish is he who takes you for his gods.
I have sent for one from the north, and from the dawn he has come; in my name he will get rulers together and go against them; they will be like dust, even as the wet earth is stamped on by the feet of the potter.
Who has given knowledge of it from the first, so that we may be certain of it? and from the start, so that we may say, His word is true? There is no one who gives news, or says anything, or who gives ear to your words.
I was the first to give word of it to Zion, and I gave the good news to Jerusalem.
And I saw that there was no man, even no wise man among them, who might give an answer to my questions.
Truly they are all nothing, their works are nothing and of no value: their metal images are of no more use than wind.
— Isaiah 41:13-1964, Bible in Basic English
“For I am the LORD your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you,‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’ Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, men of Israel. I am helping you,” says the LORD, your protector, the Holy One of Israel. “Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and double-edged. You will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like straw. You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away; the wind will scatter them. You will rejoice in the LORD; you will boast in the Holy One of Israel. The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched from thirst. I, the LORD, will respond to their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. I will make streams flow down the slopes and produce springs in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the wilderness into a pool of water and the arid land into springs. I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness; I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the arid rift valley. I will do this so people will observe and recognize, so they will pay attention and understand that the LORD’s power has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” The Lord Challenges the Pagan Gods“Present your argument,” says the LORD.“Produce your evidence,” says Jacob’s king. “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen! Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, so we may examine them and see how they were fulfilled. Or decree for us some future events! Predict how future events will turn out, so we might know you are gods. Yes, do something good or bad, so we might be frightened and in awe. Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. I have stirred up one out of the north and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. He steps on rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay. Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know? Who announced it ahead of time, so we could say,‘He’s correct’? Indeed, none of them decreed it! Indeed, none of them announced it! Indeed, no one heard you say anything! I first decreed to Zion,‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ I sent a herald to Jerusalem. I look, but there is no one, among them there is no one who serves as an adviser, that I might ask questions and receive answers. Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance.”
Have no fear, for I am with you; do not be looking about in trouble, for I am your God; I will give you strength, yes, I will be your helper; yes, my true right hand will be your support.
Truly, all those who are angry with you will be made low and put to shame: those desiring to do you wrong will come to nothing and never again be seen.
You will make search for your haters but they will not be there; those who make war against you will be as nothing and will come to destruction.
For I, the Lord your God, have taken your right hand in mine, saying to you, Have no fear; I will be your helper.
Have no fear, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will be your helper, says the Lord, even he who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel.
See, I will make you like a new grain-crushing instrument with teeth, crushing the mountains small, and making the hills like dry stems.
You will send the wind over them, and it will take them away; they will go in all directions before the storm-wind: you will have joy in the Lord, and be glad in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and crushed are looking for water where no water is, and their tongue is dry for need of it: I the Lord will give ear to their prayer, I the God of Israel will not give them up.
I will make rivers on the dry mountain-tops, and fountains in the valleys: I will make the waste land a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the waste land the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive-tree; and in the lowland will be planted the fir-tree, the plane, and the cypress together:
So that they may see and be wise and give their mind to it, and that it may be clear to them all that the hand of the Lord has done this, and that the Holy One of Israel has made it.
Put forward your cause, says the Lord; let your strong argument come out, says the King of Jacob.
Let the future be made clear to us: give us news of the past things, so that we may give thought to them; or of the things to come, so that we may see if they are true.
Give us word of what will be after this, so that we may be certain that you are gods: yes, do good or do evil, so that we may all see it and be surprised.
But you are nothing, and your work is of no value: foolish is he who takes you for his gods.
I have sent for one from the north, and from the dawn he has come; in my name he will get rulers together and go against them; they will be like dust, even as the wet earth is stamped on by the feet of the potter.
Who has given knowledge of it from the first, so that we may be certain of it? and from the start, so that we may say, His word is true? There is no one who gives news, or says anything, or who gives ear to your words.
I was the first to give word of it to Zion, and I gave the good news to Jerusalem.
And I saw that there was no man, even no wise man among them, who might give an answer to my questions.
Truly they are all nothing, their works are nothing and of no value: their metal images are of no more use than wind.