Isaiah 44
1 But now listen, O Jacob My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is the word of the LORD, your Maker, who formed you from the womb and who will help you: “Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Thus says Jehovah who made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
For I will pour water upon him who is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.
4 They will sprout among the grass like willows by flowing streams.
And they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.
5 One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”
One shall say, I am Jehovah's, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand to Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
6 Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
Thus says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.
7 Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place.
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? And let them declare the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass.
8 Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Fear ye not, nor be afraid. Have I not declared to thee of old, and shown it? And ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Yea, there is no Rock. I know not any.
9 All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
Those who fashion a graven image are all of them vanity. And the things that they delight in shall not profit. And their own witnesses see not, nor know, that they may be put to shame.
10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing?
Who has fashioned a god, or molded an image that is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will all be brought to terror and shame.
Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame, and the workmen. They are of men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. They shall fear. They shall be put to shame together.
12 The blacksmith takes a tool and labors over the coals; he fashions an idol with hammers and forges it with his strong arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he fails to drink water and grows faint.
The smith makes an axe, and works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. Yea, he is hungry, and his strength fails. He drinks no water, and is faint.
13 The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He fashions it in the likeness of man, like man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.
The carpenter stretches out a line. He marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes. And he marks it out with the compasses, and shapes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
14 He cuts down cedars or retrieves a cypress or oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
He hews down cedars for him, and takes the holm tree and the oak, and strengthens for himself one among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir tree, and the rain nourishes it.
15 It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread; he even fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
Then it shall be for a man to burn. And he takes of it, and warms himself. Yea, he kindles it, and bakes bread. Yea, he makes a god, and worships it. He makes it a graven image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire, and he roasts meat on that half. He eats the roast and is satisfied. Indeed, he warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
He burns part of it in the fire. With part of it he eats flesh. He roasts roast, and is satisfied. Yea, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.
17 From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
And the residue of it he makes a god, even his graven image. He falls down to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me, for thou are my god.
18 They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
They do not know, nor do they consider. For he has shut their eyes, that they cannot see, and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
19 And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
And none calls to mind, nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire. Yea, I have also baked bread upon the coals of it. I have roasted flesh and eaten it. And shall I make the residue of it an abomination? Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
20 He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
21 Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I have made you, and you are My servant; O Israel, I will never forget you.
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou are my servant. I have formed thee. Thou are my servant, O Israel, thou shall not be forgotten by me.
22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed thee.
23 Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O depths of the earth. Break forth in song, O mountains, you forests and all your trees. For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and revealed His glory in Israel.
Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah has done it. Shout, ye lower parts of the earth. Break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein. For Jehovah has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.
24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,
Thus says Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he who formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, who makes all things, who stretches forth the heavens alone, who spreads abroad the earth (who is with me?),
25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
who frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad, who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’
who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited, and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places of it,
27 who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’
who says to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers,
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built, and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
