Isaiah 44
1 And now, hear, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have fixed on:
But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, the one I've chosen.
2 Thus said Jehovah, thy Maker, and thy Former, From the womb He doth help thee; Fear not, my servant Jacob, And Jeshurun, whom I have fixed on.
This is what the Lord says, the one who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Don't be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, the one I've chosen.
3 For I pour waters on a thirsty one, And floods on a dry land, I pour My Spirit on thy seed, And My blessing on thine offspring.
For I'm going to pour out water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I'm going to pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.
4 And they have sprung up as among grass, As willows by streams of water.
They will grow up among the grass, like willows beside streams.
5 This [one] saith, For Jehovah I [am], And this calleth [himself] by the name of Jacob, And this [one] writeth [with] his hand, 'For Jehovah,' and by the name of Israel surnameth himself.
One of them will say, “I belong to the Lord,” while another will call himself by the name Jacob, and yet another will write on his hand, “Belonging to the Lord,” and will name himself Israel.
6 Thus said Jehovah, king of Israel, And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: 'I [am] the first, and I the last, And besides Me there is no God.
This is what the Lord says, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides me.
7 And who as I, doth call and declare it, And arrange it for Me, Since My placing the people of antiquity, And things that are coming, And those that do come, declare they to them?
Who is like me? Let them announce it, make a declaration, and demonstrate it before me. For I was the one who long ago established a people and predicted its future. Let them predict what's going to happen.
8 Fear not, nor be afraid, Have I not from that time caused thee to hear, and declared? And ye [are] My witnesses, Is there a God besides Me? yea, there is none, A Rock I have not known.
Don't tremble, don't be afraid! Didn't I tell you long ago what I was going to do? Didn't I explain it? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? There is no other Rock—I don't know any!
9 Framers of a graven image [are] all of them emptiness, And their desirable things do not profit, And their own witnesses they [are], They see not, nor know, that they may be ashamed.
All those who make idols are stupid; these things they love so much don't bring them any benefit. Those people who believe in idols can't see this, and they don't know anything, making them look foolish.
10 Who hath formed a god, And a molten image poured out — not profitable?
Who makes a god, who molds an idol that's no use to them?
11 Lo, all his companions are ashamed, As to artisans — they [are] of men, All of them gather together, they stand up, They fear, they are ashamed together.
Everyone who makes idols should be ashamed of themselves. Idol-makers are just human beings! Bring them all together and have them stand up, trembling in shame.
12 He hath wrought iron [with] an axe, And hath wrought with coals, And with hammers doth form it, And doth work it by his powerful arm, Yea, he is hungry, and there is no power, He doth not drink water, and he is wearied.
The blacksmith makes an iron tool for woodcarving. Working over hot coals, he hammers it into shape as hard as he can. He gets hungry and loses his strength, and because he doesn't drink he grows weak.
13 He hath wrought [with] wood, He hath stretched out a rule, He doth mark it out with a line, He maketh it with carving tools, And with a compass he marketh it out, And maketh it according to the form of a man, According to the beauty of a man, To remain in the house.
The woodworker measures out a piece of wood, and draws an image on it. He carves it with a chisel and uses a compass to make an outline. He creates an idol that looks like a person, someone beautiful, to be put in a shrine.
14 Cutting down to himself cedars, He taketh also a cypress, and an oak, And he strengtheneth [it] for himself Among the trees of a forest, He hath planted an ash, and the shower doth nourish [it].
He chops down cedars, or takes a cypress or an oak. He lets them grow strong in the forest. He plants a fir tree, and the rain makes it grow.
15 And it hath been for man to burn, And he taketh of them, and becometh warm, Yea, he kindleth [it], and hath baked bread, Yea, he maketh a god, and boweth himself, He hath made it a graven image, And he falleth down to it.
Some wood he burns, to keep him warm and to bake his bread. Then he uses some of the same wood to make a god to worship, an idol he bows down to!
16 Half of it he hath burnt in the fire, By [this] half of it he eateth flesh, He roasteth a roasting, and is satisfied, Yea, he is warm, and saith: 'Aha, I have become warm, I have enjoyed the light.
So he burns part of the wood to roast his meat to eat, and to warm him up, and says, “Ah! Look at that fire that keeps me warm!”
17 And its remnant for a god he hath made — For his graven image, He falleth down to it, and worshippeth, And prayeth unto it, and he saith, 'Deliver me, for my god thou [art].'
Then he uses the rest of the wood to make himself a god, an idol he bows down to in worship and prays to, saying, “Save me, for you are my god!”
18 They have not known, nor do they understand, For He hath daubed their eyes from seeing, Their heart from acting wisely.
How ignorant they are, how dumb! Their eyes have been plastered over so they can't see, their minds closed so they don't have insight.
19 And none doth turn [it] back unto his heart, Nor hath knowledge nor understanding to say, 'Half of it I have burned in the fire, Yea, also, I have baked bread over its coals, I roast flesh and I eat, And its remnant for an abomination I make, To the stock of a tree I fall down.'
They can't think things over, they don't have the wisdom or the understanding to say, “Some of the wood I burned in the fire—I used it to bake my bread and roast my meat to eat. The rest of it I used to make a disgusting idol, and I bow down in worship to a block of wood.”
20 Feeding on ashes, the heart is deceived, It hath turned him aside, And he delivereth not his soul, nor saith: 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?'
He is feeding on ashes, seduced by the deceptive thinking of his mind. He can't save himself, and he doesn't even ask, “Isn't this idol I'm holding just a lie?”
21 Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel, For My servant thou [art], I formed thee, a servant to Me thou [art], O Israel, thou dost not forget Me.
“Remember all this, Jacob and Israel, for you are my servant. I made you, Israel, you are my servant. I won't forget you.
22 I have blotted out, as [by] a thick cloud, Thy transgressions, And as [by] a cloud thy sins, Return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee.
I have wiped away your acts of rebellion as if they were like a cloud, your sins as if they were like the mist. Come back to me, for I have set you free.”
23 Sing, O heavens, for Jehovah hath wrought, Shout, O lower parts of earth, Break forth, O mountains, with singing, Forest, and every tree in it, For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, And in Israel He doth beautify Himself.
Sing in celebration, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; cry out loud, you depths of the earth. Shout with joy, you mountains, you forests and every tree. For the Lord has set Jacob free, and his glory is shown in Israel!
24 Thus said Jehovah, thy redeemer, And thy framer from the womb: 'I [am] Jehovah, doing all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, Spreading out the earth — who [is] with Me?
This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, who shaped you in the womb: “I am the Lord, the Creator of everything. I alone made the heavens, and I myself formed the earth.
25 Making void the tokens of devisers, And diviners it maketh mad, Turning the wise backward, And their knowledge it maketh foolish.
I am the one who proves the signs of false prophets are wrong. I am the one who makes fools of fortune-tellers. I turn the wisdom of the wise upside-down, and make their knowledge ridiculous.
26 Confirming the word of His servant, The counsel of His messengers it perfecteth, Who is saying of Jerusalem, She is inhabited, And of cities of Judah, They shall be built, and her wastes I raise up,
But I confirm the messages given by my servants, and fulfill what my messengers say. They state, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited again, the towns of Judah will be rebuilt, your ruins will be repaired.’
27 Who is saying to the deep, Be dry, and thy rivers I cause to dry up,
When I order deep waters, ‘Dry up!’ I will make sure the rivers dry up!
28 Who is saying of Cyrus, My shepherd, And all my delight He doth perfect, So as to say of Jerusalem, Thou art built, And of the temple, Thou art founded.
When I say to Cyrus, ‘You are my shepherd,’ he will carry out everything I wish. He will give the order, ‘Jerusalem shall be rebuilt,’ and he will say, ‘the Temple shall be restored.’”
