Isaiah 44
1 “And now, hear, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have fixed on—
But now, you people of Israel whom Yahweh has chosen to serve him, listen to me.
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.
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 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.
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 And they have sprung up as among grass, As willows by conduits of water.
They will grow up like [SIM] grass grows along the water, like [SIM] willow/poplar [trees] grow well along a riverbank.
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.”
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 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.
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 [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.
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 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.”
[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 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.
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 has formed a god, And poured out a molten image—not profitable?
Only [foolish people] [RHQ] would make idols in a mold, idols that would never help them at all.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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].
[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 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.
[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 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.”
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 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.”
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 have not known, nor do they understand, For He has coated their eyes from seeing, Their heart from acting wisely.
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 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.”
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 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?”
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, 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.
[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 [by] a thick cloud, Your transgressions, And as [by] a cloud, your sins, Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
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 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.
[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 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?
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 Making void the tokens of devisers, And makes diviners mad, Turning the wise backward, And makes 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 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,
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 Who is saying to the deep, Be dry, and your rivers I cause to dry up,
When I say to the rivers, ‘Dry up!’, they will become dry.
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.”
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!’”
