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 saith Jehovah, thy Creator, He that formed thee, and hath helped thee from thy birth, Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, O 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 I will pour water upon the thirsty land, And streams upon the dry ground. I will pour out my spirit on thy children, And my blessing on thine 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 shall grow up, as among grass; As willows by the water-brooks.
They will grow up like [SIM] grass grows along the water, like [SIM] willow/poplar [trees] grow well along a riverbank.
5 One shall say, “I belong to Jehovah”; Another shall call upon the name of Jacob; Another shall write upon his hand, Jehovah's! And praise 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 saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, His redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I 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 Who like me hath proclaimed the future, —Let him declare it, and set it in order before me!— Since I established the people of old? Let them make known the future, even that which is to come!
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 Fear ye not, neither be ye afraid! Have I not declared and made it known to you of old? Ye are my witnesses; Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no other rock; I know not any.
[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 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity, And their valued works are profitable for nothing; They are their own witnesses; They neither see nor understand, So 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, And cast a graven image, that is profitable for nothing?
Only [foolish people] [RHQ] would make idols in a mold, idols that would never help them at all.
11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed; The workmen are themselves mortal men; They shall all be assembled; they shall stand up; They shall tremble, and be put to shame 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 smith prepareth an axe in the coals, And fashioneth it with hammers, And worketh it with his strong arm; He becometh hungry, and his strength faileth; He drinketh no water, and is 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 carpenter stretcheth out the line; He marketh out the form of it with the sharp tool; He formeth it with planes; He marketh it with the compass; He maketh it in the figure of a man, With the beauty of a man, To 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 heweth him down cedars; He taketh the ilex and the oak; He chooseth for himself among the trees of the forest; He planteth the ash, and the rain matureth 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 These are fuel for man; He taketh thereof and warmeth himself; He kindleth with it, and baketh bread; A god also he formeth of it, and worshippeth it; A graven image, and falleth down before 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 burneth with fire; With half of it he eateth flesh; He roasteth meat, and satisfieth himself; He also warmeth himself, and saith, Aha! I am warm; I feel 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 Of the residue he maketh a god, even his graven image; He falleth down before it and worshippeth it, And prayeth to it, and saith, “Deliver me, for thou art 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 know not, neither understand; For their eyes are closed up, that they cannot see, And 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 None considereth in his mind, Or hath knowledge and understanding to say: “Half of it I have burned with fire; I have also baked bread on the coals of it; I have roasted flesh and have eaten; And shall I make the remnant an abomination? Shall I fall down before 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 He toileth for ashes; A deluded heart turneth him aside, So that he cannot deliver himself, and 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, O Israel, for thou art my servant! I formed thee; thou art my servant; O Israel, I will not forget thee.
[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 caused thy transgressions to vanish like a cloud, And thy sins like a mist; Return to 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 Jehovah hath done it; Shout, O ye depths of the earth! Break forth into song, ye mountains! Thou forest, and every tree therein! For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, And glorified 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 saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, Even he that formed thee from the womb; I am Jehovah, who made all things; Who stretched out the heavens alone; Who spread out the earth by myself;
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 Who frustrateth the signs of deceivers, And maketh the diviners mad; Who putteth the wise men to shame, And maketh their knowledge folly;
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 Who establisheth the word of his servant, And performeth the purpose of his messengers; Who saith of Jerusalem, “She shall be inhabited,” And of the cities of Judah, “They shall be built,” And, “Her desolated places I will restore.”
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 saith to the deep, “Be dry! I will dry up thy streams!”
When I say to the rivers, ‘Dry up!’, they will become dry.
28 Who saith of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd; He shall perform all my pleasure”; Who saith of Jerusalem, “She shall be built,” And of the temple, “Her 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!’”
