Isaiah 44
1 But now, you people of Israel whom Yahweh has chosen to serve him, listen to me.
But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 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.
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 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.
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 They will grow up like [SIM] grass grows along the water, like [SIM] willow/poplar [trees] grow well along a riverbank.
and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on [the banks of] running water.
5 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.’”
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 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.
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 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.
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 [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!”
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 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].
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 Only [foolish people] [RHQ] would make idols in a mold, idols that would never help them at all.
that form a god, and all that grave worthless things:
11 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 [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].
He cuts wood out of the forest, which the Lord planted, [even] a pine tree, and the rain made it grow,
15 [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.
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 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.”
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 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!”
And the rest he makes a graven god, and worships, and prays, saying, Deliver me; for thou art my God.
18 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.
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 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!”
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 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]”
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 [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.
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 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.”
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 [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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.’
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 When I say to the rivers, ‘Dry up!’, they will become dry.
Who says to the deep, Thou shalt be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers.
28 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!’”
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.
