Isaiah 44
1 “And now, hear, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have fixed on—
But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Thus said YHWH, your Maker, and your Former, From the womb He helps you: Do not fear, My servant Jacob, And Yeshurun, whom I have fixed on.
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 pour waters on a thirsty one, And floods on a dry land, I pour My Spirit on your seed, And My blessing on your offspring.
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 have sprung up as among grass, As willows by conduits of water.
and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on [the banks of] running water.
5 This [one] says, For I [am] YHWH’s, And this calls [himself] by the name of Jacob, And this [one] writes [with] his hand, For YHWH, And surnames himself 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 said YHWH, King of Israel, And his Redeemer, YHWH of Hosts: “I [am] the first, and I [am] the last, And besides Me there is 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] as I, call and declare it, And arrange it for Me, Since My placing the people of antiquity, And things that are coming, And those that come, they declare to 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 Do not fear, nor be afraid, Have I not caused you to hear from that time, and declared? And you [are] My witnesses, Is there a God besides Me? Indeed, there is none, I have not known another Rock.”
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 Framers of a carved image, all of them [are] emptiness, And their desirable things do not profit, And they [are] their own witnesses, They do not see, nor know, that they may be ashamed.
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 has formed a god, And poured out a molten image—not profitable?
that form a god, and all that grave worthless things:
11 Behold, all his companions are ashamed, As for artisans—they [are] of men, All of them gather together, they stand up, They fear, they are ashamed 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 He has worked iron [with] an axe, And has worked with coals, And forms it with hammers, And works it by his powerful arm, Indeed, he is hungry, and there is no power, He does not drink water, and he is wearied.
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 He has worked [with] wood, He has stretched out a rule, He marks it out with a line, He makes it with carving tools, And he marks it out with a compass, And makes it according to the form of a man, According to the beauty of a man, To remain in the 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 Cutting down cedars for himself, He also takes a cypress, and an oak, And he strengthens [it] for himself Among the trees of a forest, He has planted an ash, and the shower nourishes [it].
He cuts wood out of the forest, which the Lord planted, [even] a pine tree, and the rain made it grow,
15 And it has been for man to burn, And he takes of them, and becomes warm, Indeed, he kindles [it], and has baked bread, Indeed, he makes a god, and bows himself, He has made it a carved image, And he falls down to 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 Half of it he has burned in the fire, By [this] half of it he eats flesh, He roasts a roasting and is satisfied, Indeed, he is warm and says: “Aha, I have become warm, I have enjoyed the light.”
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 he has made its remnant for a god—For his carved image, He falls down to it, and worships, And prays to it, and he says, “Deliver me, for you [are] my god.”
And the rest he makes a graven god, and worships, and prays, saying, Deliver me; for thou art my God.
18 They have not known, nor do they understand, For He has coated their eyes from seeing, Their heart from acting wisely.
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 turn [it] back to his heart, Nor has knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, Indeed, I have also baked bread over its coals, I roast flesh and I eat, And I make its remnant for an abomination, I fall down to the stock 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 Feeding on ashes, the heart is deceived, It has turned him aside, And he does not deliver his soul, nor says: “Is there not a lie 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 Jacob, and Israel, For you [are] My servant, I formed you, you [are] a servant to Me, O Israel, you do not forget Me.
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 have blotted out, as [by] a thick cloud, Your transgressions, And as [by] a cloud, your sins, Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
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 Sing, O heavens, for YHWH has worked, Shout, O lower parts of earth, Break forth, O mountains, with singing, Forest, and every tree in it, For YHWH has redeemed Jacob, And He beautifies Himself 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 said YHWH, your Redeemer, And your Framer from the womb: “I [am] YHWH, doing all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, Spreading out the earth—who [is] with Me?
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 Making void the tokens of devisers, And makes diviners mad, Turning the wise backward, And makes their knowledge foolish.
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 Confirming the word of His servant, He perfects the counsel of His messengers, Who is saying of Jerusalem, She is inhabited, And of cities of Judah, They will be built, and her ruins I raise up,
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 Who is saying to the deep, Be dry, and your rivers I cause to dry up,
Who says to the deep, Thou shalt be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers.
28 Who is saying of Cyrus, My shepherd, And he perfects all My delight, So as to say of Jerusalem, You are built, And of the temple, You are founded.”
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.
