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 the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, 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 him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy 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 spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
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 am the LORD’S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand to the LORD, and surname 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 saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD 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, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show 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 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? verily, there is no God; 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 delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, 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 hath formed a god, or 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 companions shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be 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 The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is 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 his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may 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 He heweth down cedars for himself and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish 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 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take of it, and warm himself; indeed, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth 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 He burneth part of it in the fire; with part of it he eateth flesh; he roasteth meat, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen 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 And the rest of it he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down to 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 have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, 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 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; I have also baked bread upon its coals; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? shall 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 He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor 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, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten by 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 a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: 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 the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree in it: for the LORD 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 the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad 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 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh 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 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up its decayed places:
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 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
When I say to the rivers, ‘Dry up!’, they will become dry.
28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy 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!’”
