Isaiah 44
1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
But now, you people of Israel whom Yahweh has chosen to serve him, listen to me.
2 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.
Yahweh, the one who created you and helps you, says this: “You dear people of Israel whom I have chosen, you who serve me, do not be afraid.
3 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.
I will pour water on your dry land and cause streams to flow. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants and greatly bless them.
4 After they shall spring up [as] among grass, like willows by the water-courses.
They will grow up like [SIM] grass grows along the water, like [SIM] willow/poplar [trees] grow well along a riverbank.
5 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.
Some of them will say, ‘I belong to Yahweh,’ and others will say, ‘We are descendants of Jacob,’ and others will write on their hands, ‘We belong to Yahweh,’ and others will say, ‘We are Israelis.’”
6 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.
Yahweh, the King of Israel, the one who saves us, the Commander of the armies of angels, says this: “I am the one who begins everything and who ends everything; there is no other God.
7 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.
If there is anyone like me [RHQ], he should proclaim it! He should speak and tell me [now]! He should tell what has happened since I caused my people [of Israel] to become a nation long ago, and he should also tell what things will happen; he should predict what will happen in the future.
8 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.
[My people], do not be afraid. Long ago I told you things that would happen [RHQ]; I predicted them, and you can testify that I did that. There certainly is not [RHQ] any other God. There is no other God who is able to protect you [MET]; I know that there is no other God!”
9 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.
All those who make idols are foolish, and the idols that they (think highly of/greatly respect) are worthless. And the people who worship those idols— [it is as though] they are blind, and they will be ashamed [for having worshiped those idols].
10 Who hath formed a god, or cast an image that profiteth nothing?
Only [foolish people] [RHQ] would make idols in a mold, idols that would never help them at all.
11 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.
Those who make idols and those who worship them will be ashamed. Those who make idols are only human beings, [but they claim that they are making gods]! They should stand in front of God in a court, and [when they hear what he says], they will be terrified, and they will all be disgraced.
12 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.
Metalworkers stand in front of hot coals in order to make idols. They pound them strongly with hammers, and shape them. Because they work very hard, they become hungry and weak; they become very thirsty and feel exhausted.
13 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.
Then a woodcarver takes a big block/piece of wood and he measures it; then he marks it to show where he will cut it. He uses a chisel and other tools to carve it to resemble a human. He causes it to become a very beautiful [idol], and then he puts it in a shrine.
14 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.
[Before he carves an idol from that block of wood], he has cut down a cedar tree, or he has selected a cypress tree or an oak tree and allowed it to grow tall in the forest. Or, he has planted a pine/evergreen tree and the rain has watered it [and caused it to grow tall].
15 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.
[And after he uses part of the tree to make an idol], he uses the other part of the tree to make a fire, either to warm himself or to bake bread. But he uses [part of the same tree] to make for himself an idol to worship! He makes an idol and then he bows down to worship it.
16 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:
He burns part of the wood of the tree to cook his meat and eats the meat and his stomach becomes full, and he burns part of the wood to warm his body, and he says, “I feel warm while I am watching the flames in the fire.”
17 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.
Then he takes the rest of the wood and makes an idol which is his god. He bows down to it and worships it, and prays to it and says, “You are my god, so save me!”
18 They know not, they understand not; for their eyes are daubed over, that they cannot see; their hearts, that they cannot understand.
Those people are very stupid and ignorant [SAR]. [It is as though] they are blind and cannot see, and their minds are closed and they cannot think well.
19 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?
They do not think about what they are doing, that they are taking a block of wood and burning half of it to warm themselves and using some of the rest to bake bread and roast some meat! [They do not say to themselves], “It is stupid [RHQ] to take the rest of the wood to make a detestable idol! It does not make sense to bow down to a block of wood!”
20 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?
They are very stupid to [worship something that if you burn it, it becomes] ashes! They trust in something that cannot save them; they do not admit, “In my hand I hold something that is not really a god! [RHQ]”
21 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.
[Yahweh says, “You descendants of] [MTY] Jacob, you people of Israel who should be serving me, I created you, and I will not forget you.
22 I have blotted out, as a vapor, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
I have gotten rid of your sins like [SIM] [the wind blows away] a cloud. [It is as though] your transgressions were a morning mist [SIM] that I have blown away. Return to me because I have rescued you.”
23 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.
[The sun and moon and stars] in the sky should sing, and all the things that are beneath the ground should shout joyfully! All the mountains and forests, and all you trees, should sing loudly, because Yahweh has rescued [the descendants of] [MTY] Jacob; [the people of] Israel will praise/honor him.
24 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;
Yahweh, who saved you and created you, says this: “I am Yahweh, the one who created everything. I am the only one who stretched out the sky. There was [RHQ] no one who (was with/helped) me when I created the earth.
25 That frustrate the tokens of the liars, and confuseth diviners; that turneth the wise backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
I show that the false prophets are liars, and I show that those who perform rituals to predict the future are fools. Some people who [falsely think that they] are [IRO] wise [say that they] know a lot, but I show that they are foolish.
26 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.
But I always cause to happen what my prophets predict [DOU]. [I tell them to] say to [the people of] [MTY] Jerusalem, ‘[Some day] people will live here again.’ [And I tell them to] say to [the people in other] towns in Judah [that Yahweh says], ‘Your towns will be rebuilt; I will cause the places that are only ruins to be rebuilt.’
27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and thy rivers will I dry up;
When I say to the rivers, ‘Dry up!’, they will become dry.
28 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.
When I say about King Cyrus, ‘He will [take care of my people like] [MET] a shepherd [takes care of his sheep], he will do what I want him to do,’ he will say about Jerusalem, ‘We must rebuild it!’, and he will also say, ‘We must rebuild the temple!’”
