Isaiah 44
1 But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, the one I've chosen.
But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the Lord says, the one who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Don't be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, the one I've chosen.
Thus says the Lord God that made you, and he that formed you from the womb; You shall yet be helped: fear not, my servant Jacob; and beloved Israel, whom I have chosen.
3 For I'm going to pour out water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I'm going to pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.
For I will give water to the thirsty that walk in a dry land: I will put my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessings upon your children:
4 They will grow up among the grass, like willows beside streams.
and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on [the banks of] running water.
5 One of them will say, “I belong to the Lord,” while another will call himself by the name Jacob, and yet another will write on his hand, “Belonging to the Lord,” and will name himself Israel.
One shall say, I am God's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand, I am God's, and shall call himself by the name of Israel.
6 This is what the Lord says, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me.
Thus says God the King of Israel, and the God of hosts that delivered him; I am the first, and I am hereafter: beside me there is no God.
7 Who is like me? Let them announce it, make a declaration, and demonstrate it before me. For I was the one who long ago established a people and predicted its future. Let them predict what's going to happen.
Who is like me? let him stand, and call, and declare, and prepare for me from the time that I made man for ever; and let them tell you the things that are coming before they arrive.
8 Don't tremble, don't be afraid! Didn't I tell you long ago what I was going to do? Didn't I explain it? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? There is no other Rock—I don't know any!
Hide not yourselves, nor go astray: have you not heard from the beginning, and [have not] I told you? you are witnesses if there is a God beside me.
9 All those who make idols are stupid; these things they love so much don't bring them any benefit. Those people who believe in idols can't see this, and they don't know anything, making them look foolish.
But they that framed [false gods] did not then listen; and they that graved [images] are all vain, performing their own desires, which shall not profit them, but they shall be ashamed
10 Who makes a god, who molds an idol that's no use to them?
that form a god, and all that grave worthless things:
11 Everyone who makes idols should be ashamed of themselves. Idol-makers are just human beings! Bring them all together and have them stand up, trembling in shame.
and all by whom they were made are withered: yes, let all the deaf be gathered from [amongst] men, and let them stand together; and let them be ashamed and confounded together:
12 The blacksmith makes an iron tool for woodcarving. Working over hot coals, he hammers it into shape as hard as he can. He gets hungry and loses his strength, and because he doesn't drink he grows weak.
For the artificer sharpens the iron; he fashions [the idol] with an axe, and fixes it with an awl, and fashions it with the strength of his arm: and he will be hungry and weak, and will drink no water.
13 The woodworker measures out a piece of wood, and draws an image on it. He carves it with a chisel and uses a compass to make an outline. He creates an idol that looks like a person, someone beautiful, to be put in a shrine.
The artificer having chosen a piece of wood, marks it out with a rule, and fits it with glue, and makes it as the form of a man, and as the beauty of a man, to set it up in the house.
14 He chops down cedars, or takes a cypress or an oak. He lets them grow strong in the forest. He plants a fir tree, and the rain makes it grow.
He cuts wood out of the forest, which the Lord planted, [even] a pine tree, and the rain made it grow,
15 Some wood he burns, to keep him warm and to bake his bread. Then he uses some of the same wood to make a god to worship, an idol he bows down to!
that it might be for men to burn: and having taken part of it he warms himself; yes, they burn part of it, and bake loaves thereon; and [of] the rest they make for themselves gods, and they worship them.
16 So he burns part of the wood to roast his meat to eat, and to warm him up, and says, “Ah! Look at that fire that keeps me warm!”
Half thereof he burns in the fire, and with half of it he bakes loaves on the coals; and having roasted flesh on it he eats, and is satisfied, and having warmed himself he says, I am comfortable, for I have warmed myself, and have seen the fire.
17 Then he uses the rest of the wood to make himself a god, an idol he bows down to in worship and prays to, saying, “Save me, for you are my god!”
And the rest he makes a graven god, and worships, and prays, saying, Deliver me; for you are my God.
18 How ignorant they are, how dumb! Their eyes have been plastered over so they can't see, their minds closed so they don't have insight.
They have no understanding to perceive; for they have been blinded so that they should not see with their eyes, nor perceive with their heart.
19 They can't think things over, they don't have the wisdom or the understanding to say, “Some of the wood I burned in the fire—I used it to bake my bread and roast my meat to eat. The rest of it I used to make a disgusting idol, and I bow down in worship to a block of wood.”
And one has not considered in his mind, nor known in his understanding, that he has burnt up half of it in the fire, and baked loaves on the coals thereof and has roasted and eaten flesh, and of the rest of it he has made an abomination, and they worship it.
20 He is feeding on ashes, seduced by the deceptive thinking of his mind. He can't save himself, and he doesn't even ask, “Isn't this idol I'm holding just a lie?”
Know you that their heart is ashes, and they err, and no one is able to deliver his soul: see, you will not say, [There is a] lie in my right hand.
21 “Remember all this, Jacob and Israel, for you are my servant. I made you, Israel, you are my servant. I won't forget you.
Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel; for you are my servant; I have formed you [to be] my servant: and do you, Israel, not forget me.
22 I have wiped away your acts of rebellion as if they were like a cloud, your sins as if they were like the mist. Come back to me, for I have set you free.”
For behold, I have blotted out as a cloud your transgressions, and your sin as darkness: turn to me, and I will redeem you.
23 Sing in celebration, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; cry out loud, you depths of the earth. Shout with joy, you mountains, you forests and every tree. For the Lord has set Jacob free, and his glory is shown in Israel!
Rejoice, you heavens; for God has had mercy upon Israel: sound the trumpet, you foundations of the earth: you mountains, shout [with] joy, you hills, and all the trees therein: for God has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified.
24 This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, who shaped you in the womb: “I am the Lord, the Creator of everything. I alone made the heavens, and I myself formed the earth.
Thus says the Lord that redeems you, and who formed you from the womb, I am the Lord that performs all things: I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth.
25 I am the one who proves the signs of false prophets are wrong. I am the one who makes fools of fortune-tellers. I turn the wisdom of the wise upside-down, and make their knowledge ridiculous.
Who else will frustrate the tokens of those that have divining spirits, and prophecies from the heart of [man]? turning the wise back, and making their counsel foolishness;
26 But I confirm the messages given by my servants, and fulfill what my messengers say. They state, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited again, the towns of Judah will be rebuilt, your ruins will be repaired.’
and confirming the word of his servant, and verifying the counsel of his messengers: who says to Jerusalem, You shall be inhabited; and to the cities of Idumea, You shall be built, and her desert places shall spring forth.
27 When I order deep waters, ‘Dry up!’ I will make sure the rivers dry up!
Who says to the deep, You shall be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers.
28 When I say to Cyrus, ‘You are my shepherd,’ he will carry out everything I wish. He will give the order, ‘Jerusalem shall be rebuilt,’ and he will say, ‘the Temple shall be restored.’”
Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, You shall be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house.
