Discovery BoxIsaiah 41:17-23 
Context41:17 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; 1
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes
and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water
and the arid land into springs.
41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;
I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.
41:20 I will do this so 2 people 3 will observe and recognize,
so they will pay attention and understand
that the Lord’s power 4 has accomplished this,
and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” 5
41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence,” 6 says Jacob’s king. 7
41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!
Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, 8
so we may examine them 9 and see how they were fulfilled. 10
Or decree for us some future events!
41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, 11
so we might know you are gods.
Yes, do something good or bad,
so we might be frightened and in awe. 12
1 tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
2 tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”
3 tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”
4 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
5 tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”
6 tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.
7 sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.
8 tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”
9 tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”
10 tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”
11 tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”
12 tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).
tn Heb “so we might be frightened and afraid together.” On the meaning of the verb שָׁתָע (shata’), see the note at v. 10.
