Isaiæ 44
1 et nunc audi Iacob serve meus et Israhel quem elegi
But now, you people of Israel whom Yahweh has chosen to serve him, listen to me.
2 haec dicit Dominus faciens et formans te ab utero auxiliator tuus noli timere serve meus Iacob 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 iuxta praeterfluentes 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 Iacob et hic scribet manu sua Domino et in nomine Israhel adsimilabitur
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 haec dicit Dominus rex Israhel et redemptor eius 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 adnuntiet et ordinem exponat mihi ex quo constitui populum antiquum ventura et quae futura sunt adnuntient 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 adnuntiavi 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 plastae idoli omnes nihil sunt et amantissima eorum non proderunt eis ipsi sunt testes eorum quia non vident neque intellegunt 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 eius 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 suae 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 quae 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 eius conbusit igni et de medio eius carnes comedit coxit pulmentum et saturatus est et calefactus est et dixit va 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 eius deum fecit 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 lutati enim sunt ne videant oculi eorum et ne intellegant 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 eius conbusi igne et coxi super carbones eius panes coxi carnes et comedi et de reliquo eius 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 eius 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 Iacob et Israhel quoniam servus meus es tu formavi te servus meus es tu Israhel non oblivisceris 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 caeli quoniam fecit Dominus iubilate extrema terrae resonate montes laudationem saltus et omne lignum eius quoniam redemit Dominus Iacob et Israhel 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 haec dicit Dominus redemptor tuus et formator tuus ex utero ego sum Dominus faciens omnia extendens caelos 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 conplens qui dico Hierusalem habitaberis et civitatibus Iuda aedificabimini et deserta eius 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 conplebis qui dico Hierusalem aedificaberis 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!’”
