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 hath said the Lord thy Maker, and he that formed thee from the womb, who will help thee, Fear not, O my servant Jacob; 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 [as] I pour water upon the thirsty [land], and rain-droppings upon the dry ground: [so] will I pour my spirit over thy seed, and my blessing over thy offspring.
4 They will sprout among the grass like willows by flowing streams.
After they shall spring up [as] among grass, like willows by the water-courses.
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.”
This one will say, I belong to the Lord; and the other will call himself by the name of Jacob; and the other will inscribe himself with his hand unto the Lord, 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 hath said the Lord, the king of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last; and beside 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, like me, will announce, and will tell it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the people of ancient times? and the future things, and those which are to happen, —let them foretell unto them.
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.”
Have no dread, and do not despond; have I not long since informed thee, and have told it? and ye are my witnesses: Is there a god beside me? yea, there is no rock, whom I know not.
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.
The makers of graven images are all vanity; and their costly idols cannot profit; and they are their own witnesses, that they see not and know not, in order that they may be ashamed.
10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing?
Who hath formed a god, or cast an image that profiteth 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 associates shall be ashamed, for the workmen themselves are but men: let them all be gathered, let them stand up, they shall be terrified, they shall be ashamed 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 iron-smith [maketh] an axe and worketh it in the coals, and with hammers he fashioneth it, and worketh it with his powerful arm; he also, when he is hungry, loseth his strength: when he drinketh no water, he becometh 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 worker in wood stretcheth out the rule; he marketh it out with chalk; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, after the beauty of a child of earth, that it may 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 felleth for himself cedars, and taketh cypress and oak, and he chooseth for himself the strongest among the trees of the forest; he planteth an ash, and the rain causeth it to grow.
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 doth it serve a man for burning; and he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself; he also heateth therewith, and baketh bread; he also worketh out a god, and boweth himself; he maketh of it an image, and kneeleth down thereto.
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.”
The half thereof hath he burnt in fire; with the half thereof will he eat flesh; he will roast food, and be satisfied; he will also warm himself, and say, Aha, I am warm, I have felt 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 thereof hath he made into a god, his graven image; he kneeleth down unto it, and boweth himself, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for my god art thou.
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 know not, they understand not; for their eyes are daubed over, that they cannot see; 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 he layeth it not to heart, and hath no knowledge, no understanding, to say, The half thereof have I burnt in fire; and I have also baked upon its coals bread; I [now] will roast flesh, and eat it: and shall I make of its residue an abomination, before a block of wood shall I kneel?
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 pursueth ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, and will not 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 art my servant: I have formed thee to be my servant, thou [art this]; O Israel, thou shalt 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 vapor, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto 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 the Lord hath done it; shout, ye lowest depths of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and on Israel will he glorify himself.
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 hath said the Lord, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that hath made all things; that hath stretched forth the heavens by myself alone; that hath spread abroad the earth from my own self;
25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
That frustrate the tokens of the liars, and confuseth diviners; that turneth the wise backward, and maketh 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,’
That fulfilleth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith of Jerusalem, It shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and their ruins will I raise up.
27 who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’
That saith to the deep, Be dry, and thy rivers will I dry up;
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.’”
That saith of Cyrus, [He is] my shepherd, and all my pleasure shall he perform: even saying of Jerusalem, It shall be built; and the temple's foundation shall be laid.
