17. The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,their tongues are parched with thirst.I, the Lord, will answer them;I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18. I will open up rivers on the bare heights,and fountains in the broad valleys;I will turn the wilderness into a marshland,and the dry ground into springs of water.
19. In the wilderness I will plant the cedar,acacia, myrtle, and olive;In the wasteland I will set the cypress,together with the plane tree and the pine,
20. That all may see and know,observe and understand,That the hand of the Lord has done this,the Holy One of Israel has created it.
21. Present your case, says the Lord;bring forward your arguments, says the King of Jacob.
22. Let them draw near and foretell to uswhat it is that shall happen!What are the things of long ago?Tell us, that we may reflect on themand know their outcome;Or declare to us the things to come,
23. tell what is to be in the future,that we may know that you are gods!Do something, good or evil,that will put us in awe and in fear.
24. Why, you are nothingand your work is nought;to choose you is an abomination!
25. I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes;from the east I summon him by name;He shall trample the rulers down like mud,like a potter treading clay.
26. Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know;beforehand, that we might say, “True”?Not one of you foretold it, not one spoke;not one heard you say,
27. “The first news for Zion: here they come,”or, “I will give Jerusalem a herald of good news.”
28. When I look, there is not one,not one of them to give counsel,to make an answer when I question them.