< Isaiah 44 >
1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
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.
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.
4 After they shall spring up [as] among grass, like willows by the water-courses.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
10 Who hath formed a god, or cast an image that profiteth nothing?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
18 They know not, they understand not; for their eyes are daubed over, that they cannot see; their hearts, that they cannot understand.
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?
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?
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.
22 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, 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 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 That frustrate the tokens of the liars, and confuseth diviners; that turneth the wise backward, and maketh their knowledge 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.
27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and thy rivers will I dry up;
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.
