Isaiah 44
1 Yet nowe heare, O Iaakob my seruant, and Israel, whom I haue chosen.
But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Thus sayeth the Lord, that made thee, and formed thee from the wombe: he wil helpe thee. Feare not, O Iaakob, my seruaunt, and thou righteous, whome I haue chosen.
Thus saith the Lord God that made thee, and he that formed thee from the womb; Thou shalt yet be helped: fear not, my servant Jacob; and beloved Israel, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will powre water vpon the thirstie, and floods vpon the drie grounde: I will powre my Spirit vpon thy seede, and my blessing vpon thy buddes.
For I will give water to the thirsty that walk in a dry land: I will put my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon thy children:
4 And they shall grow as among the grasse, and as the willowes by the riuers of waters.
and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on [the banks of] running water.
5 One shall say, I am the Lordes: another shalbe called by the name of Iaakob: and another shall subscribe with his hand vnto the Lord, and name himselfe by the name of 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 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel and his redeemer, the Lord of hostes, I am the first, and I am the last, and without me is there no God.
Thus saith 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 And who is like me, that shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order before me, since I appointed the ancient people? and what is at hand, and what things are to come? let them shewe vnto them.
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 Feare ye not, neither be afraide: haue not I tolde thee of olde, and haue declared it? you are euen my witnesses, whether there be a God beside me, and that there is no God that I knowe not.
Hide not yourselves, nor go astray: have ye not heard from the beginning, and [have not] I told you? ye are witnesses if there is a God beside me.
9 All they that make an image, are vanitie, and their delectable things shall nothing profite: and they are their owne witnesses, that they see not nor know: therefore they shalbe confounded.
But they that framed [false gods] did not then hearken; and they that graved [images] are all vain, performing their own desires, which shall not profit them, but they shall be ashamed
10 Who hath made a god, or molten an image, that is profitable for nothing?
that form a god, and all that grave worthless things:
11 Beholde, all that are of the fellowship thereof, shall be confounded: for the workemen themselues are men: let them all be gathered together, and stand vp, yet they shall feare, and be confounded together.
and all by whom they were made are withered: yea, let all the deaf be gathered from [among] men, and let them stand together; and let them be ashamed and confounded together:
12 The smith taketh an instrument, and worketh in the coles, and facioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his armes: yea, he is an hungred, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
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 carpenter stretcheth out a line: he facioneth it with a red thread, he planeth it, and he purtreyeth it with the compasse, and maketh it after the figure of a man, and according to the beautie of a man that it may remaine in an house.
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 will hewe him downe cedars, and take the pine tree and the oke, and taketh courage among the trees of the forest: he planteth a firre tree, and the raine doeth nourish it.
He cuts wood out of the forest, which the Lord planted, [even] a pine tree, and the rain made it grow,
15 And man burneth thereof: for he will take thereof and warme himselfe: he also kindleth it and baketh bread, yet he maketh a god, and worshippeth it: he maketh it an idole and boweth vnto it.
that it might be for men to burn: and having taken part of it he warms himself; yea, they burn part of it, and bake loaves thereon; and [of] the rest they make for themselves gods, and they worship them.
16 He burneth the halfe thereof euen in the fire, and vpon the halfe thereof he eateth flesh: he rosteth the roste and is satisfied: also he warmeth himselfe and sayth, Aha, I am warme, I haue bene at the fire.
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 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, euen his idole: he boweth vnto it, and worshippeth and prayeth vnto it, and sayeth, Deliuer me: for thou art my god.
And the rest he makes a graven god, and worships, and prays, saying, Deliver me; for thou art my God.
18 They haue not knowen, nor vnderstand: for God hath shut their eyes that they cannot see, and their heartes, that they cannot vnderstand.
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 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor vnderstanding to say, I haue burnt halfe of it, euen in the fire, and haue baked bread also vpon the coles thereof: I haue rosted flesh, and eaten it, and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I bowe to the stocke of a tree?
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 feedeth of ashes: a seduced heart hath deceiued him, that he cannot deliuer his soule, nor say, Is there not a lye in my right hand?
Know thou that their heart is ashes, and they err, and no one is able to deliver his soul: see, ye will not say, [There is a] lie in my right hand.
21 Remember these (O Iaakob and Israel) for thou art my seruant: I haue formed thee: thou art my seruant: O Israel forget me not.
Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant; I have formed thee [to be] my servant: and do thou, Israel, not forget me.
22 I haue put away thy transgressions like a cloude, and thy sinnes, as a mist: turne vnto me, for I haue redeemed thee.
For behold, I have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions, and thy sin as darkness: turn to me, and I will redeem thee.
23 Reioyce, ye heauens: for the Lord hath done it: shoute, ye lower partes of the earth: brast foorth into prayses, ye mountaines, O forest and euery tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Iaakob and will be glorified in Israel.
Rejoice, ye heavens; for God has had mercy upon Israel: sound the trumpet, ye foundations of the earth: ye mountains, shout [with] joy, ye hills, and all the trees therein: for God has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified.
24 Thus sayeth the Lord thy redeemer and he that formed thee from the wombe, I am the Lord, that made all things, that spred out the heauens alone, and stretched out the earth by my selfe.
Thus saith the Lord that redeems thee, and who formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that performs all things: I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth.
25 I destroy the tokens of ye southsayers, and make them that coniecture, fooles, and turne the wise men backwarde, and make their knowledge foolishnesse.
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 He confirmeth the worde of his seruant and performeth the counsell of his messengers, saying to Ierusalem, Thou shalt bee inhabited: and to the cities of Iudah, Yee shall be built vp, and I will repayre the decayed places thereof.
and confirming the word of his servant, and verifying the counsel of his messengers: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Idumea, Ye shall be built, and her desert places shall spring forth.
27 He saith to the deepe, Be drye and I will drye vp thy floods.
Who says to the deep, Thou shalt be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers.
28 He saith to Cyrus, Thou art my shepheard: and he shall performe all my desire: saying also to Ierusalem, Thou shalt be built: and to the Temple, Thy foundation shall be surely layed.
Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house.
