Isaías 44
1 Pero ahora escucha, Jacob, mi siervo, Israel, el que he elegido.
But now, you people of Israel whom Yahweh has chosen to serve him, listen to me.
2 Esto es lo que dice el Señor, el que te hizo, el que te formó en el vientre y el que te ayudará: No temas, Jacob, siervo mío, Jesurún, el que yo he elegido.
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 Porque voy a derramar agua sobre la tierra sedienta, y arroyos sobre la tierra seca. Voy a derramar mi Espíritu sobre tu descendencia, y mi bendición sobre tus hijos.
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 Crecerán entre la hierba, como los sauces junto a los arroyos.
They will grow up like [SIM] grass grows along the water, like [SIM] willow/poplar [trees] grow well along a riverbank.
5 Uno de ellos dirá: “Pertenezco al Señor,” mientras que otro se llamará con el nombre de Jacob, y otro escribirá en su mano: “Pertenezco al Señor”, y se llamará 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 Esto es lo que dice el Señor, el Rey y Redentor de Israel, el Señor Todopoderoso: Yo soy el primero y soy el último, y no hay otro Dios fuera de mí.
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 ¿Quién es como yo? Que lo anuncien, lo declaren y lo demuestren ante mí. Porque yo fui quien estableció hace tiempo un pueblo y predijo su futuro. Que predigan lo que va a suceder.
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 ¡No teman, no tengan miedo! ¿No les dije hace tiempo lo que iba a hacer? ¿No les expliqué lo que iba a hacer? Ustedes son mis testigos. ¿Hay algún otro Dios además de mí? No hay otra roca, ¡no conozco ninguna!
[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 Todos los que hacen ídolos son estúpidos; esas cosas que tanto aman no les aportan ningún beneficio. Esa gente que cree en ídolos no puede ver esto, y no sabe nada, lo que los hace parecer tontos.
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 ¿Quién hace un dios, quién moldea un ídolo que no le sirve para nada?
Only [foolish people] [RHQ] would make idols in a mold, idols that would never help them at all.
11 Todo el que hace ídolos debería avergonzarse. Los fabricantes de ídolos son sólo seres humanos. Reúnanlos a todos y pónganlos de pie, temblando de vergüenza.
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 El herrero hace una herramienta de hierro para tallar madera. Trabajando sobre las brasas, le da forma con toda la fuerza que puede. Tiene hambre y pierde las fuerzas, y por no beber se debilita.
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 El carpintero mide un trozo de madera y dibuja en él una imagen. La talla con un cincel y utiliza un compás para hacer el contorno. Crea un ídolo que parece una persona, alguien hermoso, para ponerlo en un santuario.
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 Corta cedros, o toma un ciprés o un roble. Los deja crecer con fuerza en el bosque. Planta un abeto y la lluvia lo hace crecer.
[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 Quema parte de la leña para calentarse y cocer el pan. Luego utiliza parte de la misma madera para hacer un dios al que adorar, un ídolo ante el que se inclina.
[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 Entonces quema parte de la leña para asar su carne para comer, y para calentarse, y dice: “¡Ah! ¡Mira ese fuego que me mantiene caliente!”
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 Luego utiliza el resto de la leña para hacerse un dios, un ídolo ante el que se inclina en señal de adoración y al que reza diciendo: “¡Sálvame, porque tú eres mi dios!”
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 ¡Qué ignorantes son, qué tontos! Sus ojos han sido tapados para que no puedan ver, sus mentes cerradas para que no tengan entendimiento.
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 No pueden reflexionar, no tienen la sabiduría ni el entendimiento para decir: “Una parte de la leña que quemé en el fuego la usé para hornear mi pan y asar mi carne para comer. El resto lo usé para hacer un ídolo repugnante, y me inclino en adoración ante un bloque de madera”.
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 Se alimenta de cenizas, seducido por el pensamiento engañoso de su mente. No puede salvarse a sí mismo, y ni siquiera se pregunta: “¿No es este ídolo que sostengo sólo una mentira?”
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 Acuérdate de todo esto, Jacob e Israel, porque tú eres mi siervo. Yo te hice, Israel, tú eres mi siervo. No te olvidaré.
[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 He borrado tus actos de rebeldía como si fueran una nube, tus pecados como si fueran la niebla. Vuelve a mí, porque te he liberado.
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 Canten en fiesta, cielos, porque el Señor ha hecho esto; griten con fuerza, profundidades de la tierra. Griten de alegría, montañas, bosques y todo árbol. Porque el Señor ha liberado a Jacob, y su gloria se muestra en 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 Esto es lo que dice el Señor, tu Redentor, que te formó en el seno materno: “Yo soy el Señor, el Creador de todo. Sólo yo hice los cielos, y yo mismo formé la tierra.
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 Yo soy el que demuestra que las señales de los falsos profetas son erróneas. Yo soy el que pone en ridículo a los adivinos. Yo pongo al revés la sabiduría de los sabios, y hago que sus conocimientos sean ridículos.
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 Pero yo confirmo los mensajes dados por mis siervos, y cumplo lo que dicen mis mensajeros. Ellos dicen: ‘Jerusalén volverá a ser habitada, las ciudades de Judá serán reconstruidas, sus ruinas serán reparadas’.
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 Cuando ordene a las aguas profundas: ‘¡Sécate!’ ¡me aseguraré de que los ríos se sequen!
When I say to the rivers, ‘Dry up!’, they will become dry.
28 Cuando le diga a Ciro: ‘Tú eres mi pastor’, él cumplirá todo lo que yo quiera. Él dará la orden: Jerusalén será reconstruida, y dirá: ‘El Templo será restaurado’”.
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!’”
