Isaiæ 44
1 Et nunc audi, Jacob, serve meus, et Israël, quem elegi.
But now, you people of Israel whom Yahweh has chosen to serve him, listen to me.
2 Hæc dicit Dominus faciens et formans te, ab utero auxiliator tuus: Noli timere, serve meus Jacob, et rectissime, quem elegi.
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 Effundam enim aquas super sitientem, et fluenta super aridam; effundam spiritum meum super semen tuum, et benedictionem meam super stirpem tuam:
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 et germinabunt inter herbas, quasi salices juxta præterfluentes aquas.
They will grow up like [SIM] grass grows along the water, like [SIM] willow/poplar [trees] grow well along a riverbank.
5 Iste dicet: Domini ego sum; et ille vocabit in nomine Jacob; et hic scribet manu sua: Domino, et in nomine Israël assimilabitur.
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 Hæc dicit Dominus, rex Israël, et redemptor ejus, Dominus exercituum: Ego primus, et ego novissimus, et absque me non est deus.
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 Quis similis mei? vocet, et annuntiet: et ordinem exponat mihi, ex quo constitui populum antiquum; ventura et quæ futura sunt annuntient eis.
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 Nolite timere, neque conturbemini: ex tunc audire te feci, et annuntiavi; vos estis testes mei. Numquid est Deus absque me, et formator quem ego non noverim?
[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 Plastæ idoli omnes nihil sunt, et amantissima eorum non proderunt eis. Ipsi sunt testes eorum, quia non vident, neque intelligunt, ut confundantur.
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 Quis formavit deum, et sculptile conflavit ad nihil utile?
Only [foolish people] [RHQ] would make idols in a mold, idols that would never help them at all.
11 Ecce omnes participes ejus confundentur, fabri enim sunt ex hominibus; convenient omnes, stabunt et pavebunt, et confundentur simul.
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 Faber ferrarius lima operatus est, in prunis et in malleis formavit illud, et operatus est in brachio fortitudinis suæ; esuriet et deficiet, non bibet aquam et lassescet.
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 Artifex lignarius extendit normam, formavit illud in runcina, fecit illud in angularibus, et in circino tornavit illud, et fecit imaginem viri quasi speciosum hominem habitantem in domo;
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 succidit cedros, tulit ilicem, et quercum, quæ steterat inter ligna saltus; plantavit pinum, quam pluvia nutrivit:
[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 et facta est hominibus in focum; sumpsit ex eis, et calefactus est; et succendit et coxit panes; de reliquo autem operatus est deum et adoravit; fecit sculptile, et curvatus est ante illud.
[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 Medium ejus combussit igni, et de medio ejus carnes comedit; coxit pulmentum, et saturatus est, et calefactus est, et dixit: Vah! calefactus sum, vidi focum;
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 reliquum autem ejus deum fecit et sculptile sibi; curvatur ante illud, et adorat illud, et obsecrat, dicens: Libera me, quia deus meus es tu!
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 Nescierunt, neque intellexerunt; obliti enim sunt ne videant oculi eorum, et ne intelligant corde suo.
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 Non recogitant in mente sua, neque cognoscunt, neque sentiunt, ut dicant: Medietatem ejus combussi igni, et coxi super carbones ejus panes; coxi carnes et comedi, et de reliquo ejus idolum faciam? ante truncum ligni procidam?
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 Pars ejus cinis est; cor insipiens adoravit illud, et non liberabit animam suam: neque dicet: Forte mendacium est in dextera mea.
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 Memento horum Jacob, et Israël, quoniam servus meus es tu. Formavi te; servus meus es tu, Israël, ne obliviscaris mei.
[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 Delevi ut nubem iniquitates tuas, et quasi nebulam peccata tua: revertere ad me, quoniam redemi te.
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 Laudate, cæli, quoniam misericordiam fecit Dominus; jubilate, extrema terræ; resonate, montes, laudationem, saltus et omne lignum ejus, quoniam redemit Dominus Jacob, et Israël gloriabitur.
[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 Hæc dicit Dominus, redemptor tuus, et formator tuus ex utero: Ego sum Dominus, faciens omnia, extendens cælos solus, stabiliens terram, et nullus mecum;
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 irrita faciens signa divinorum, et ariolos in furorem vertens; convertens sapientes retrorsum, et scientiam eorum stultam faciens;
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 suscitans verbum servi sui, et consilium nuntiorum suorum complens; qui dico Jerusalem: Habitaberis, et civitatibus Juda: Ædificabimini, et deserta ejus suscitabo;
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 qui dico profundo: Desolare, et flumina tua arefaciam;
When I say to the rivers, ‘Dry up!’, they will become dry.
28 qui dico Cyro: Pastor meus es, et omnem voluntatem meam complebis; qui dico Jerusalem: Ædificaberis, et templo: Fundaberis.
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!’”
