19I will put in the desert

the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.

I will set pines in the wasteland,

the fir and the cypress together,

20so that people may see and know,

may consider and understand,

that the hand of the Lord has done this,

that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

21“Present your case,” says the Lord.

“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.

22“Bring in [your idols] to tell us

what is going to happen.

Tell us what the former things were,

so that we may consider them

and know their final outcome.

Or declare to us the things to come,

23tell us what the future holds,

so we may know that you are gods.

Do something, whether good or bad,

so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

24But you are less than nothing

and your works are utterly worthless;

he who chooses you is detestable.

25“I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—

one from the rising sun who calls on my name.

He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,

as if he were a potter treading the clay.

26Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,

or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?

No one told of this,

no one foretold it,

no one heard any words from you.

27I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’

I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings.

28I look but there is no one—

no one among them to give counsel,

no one to give answer when I ask them.

29See, they are all false!

Their deeds amount to nothing;

their images are but wind and confusion.