Isaiah 44
1 And now, give ear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have taken for myself:
But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 The Lord who made you, forming you in your mother's body, the Lord, your helper, says, Have no fear, O Jacob my servant, and you, Jeshurun, whom I have taken for myself.
Thus says the Lord God that made you, and he that formed you from the womb; You shall yet be helped: fear not, my servant Jacob; and beloved Israel, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will send water on the land needing it, and streams on the dry earth: I will let my spirit come down on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring.
For I will give water to the thirsty that walk in a dry land: I will put my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessings upon your children:
4 And they will come up like grass in a well-watered field, like water-plants by the streams.
and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on [the banks of] running water.
5 One will say, I am the Lord's; and another will give himself the name, Jacob; another will put a mark on his hand, I am the Lord's, and another will take the name of Israel for himself.
One shall say, I am God's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand, I am God's, and shall call himself by the name of Israel.
6 The Lord, the King of Israel, even the Lord of armies who has taken up his cause, says, I am the first and the last, and there is no God but me.
Thus says God the King of Israel, and the God of hosts that delivered him; I am the first, and I am hereafter: beside me there is no God.
7 If there is one like me, let him come forward and say it, let him make it clear and put it in order before me: who has made clear in the past the things to come? let him make clear the future to me.
Who is like me? let him stand, and call, and declare, and prepare for me from the time that I made man for ever; and let them tell you the things that are coming before they arrive.
8 Have no fear, be strong in heart; have I not made it clear to you in the past, and let you see it? and you are my witnesses. Is there any God but me, or a Rock of whom I have no knowledge?
Hide not yourselves, nor go astray: have you not heard from the beginning, and [have not] I told you? you are witnesses if there is a God beside me.
9 Those who make a pictured image are all of them as nothing, and the things of their desire will be of no profit to them: and their servants see not, and have no knowledge; so they will be put to shame.
But they that framed [false gods] did not then listen; and they that graved [images] are all vain, performing their own desires, which shall not profit them, but they shall be ashamed
10 Whoever makes a god, makes nothing but a metal image in which there is no profit.
that form a god, and all that grave worthless things:
11 Truly, all those who make use of secret arts will be put to shame, and their words of power are only words of men: let them all come forward together; they will all be in fear and be put to shame.
and all by whom they were made are withered: yes, let all the deaf be gathered from [among] men, and let them stand together; and let them be ashamed and confounded together:
12 The iron-worker is heating the metal in the fire, giving it form with his hammers, and working on it with his strong arm: then for need of food his strength gives way, and for need of water he becomes feeble.
For the artificer sharpens the iron; he fashions [the idol] with an axe, and fixes it with an awl, and fashions it with the strength of his arm: and he will be hungry and weak, and will drink no water.
13 The woodworker is measuring out the wood with his line, marking it out with his pencil: after smoothing it with his plane, and making circles on it with his instrument, he gives it the form and glory of a man, so that it may be placed in the house.
The artificer having chosen a piece of wood, marks it out with a rule, and fits it with glue, and makes it as the form of a man, and as the beauty of a man, to set it up in the house.
14 He has cedars cut down for himself, he takes an oak and lets it get strong among the trees of the wood; he has an ash-tree planted, and the rain gives it growth.
He cuts wood out of the forest, which the Lord planted, [even] a pine tree, and the rain made it grow,
15 Then it will be used to make a fire, so that a man may get warm; he has the oven heated with it and makes bread: he makes a god with it, to which he gives worship: he makes a pictured image out of it, and goes down on his face before it.
that it might be for men to burn: and having taken part of it he warms himself; yes, they burn part of it, and bake loaves thereon; and [of] the rest they make for themselves gods, and they worship them.
16 With part of it he makes a fire, and on the fire he gets meat cooked and takes a full meal: he makes himself warm, and says, Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire:
Half thereof he burns in the fire, and with half of it he bakes loaves on the coals; and having roasted flesh on it he eats, and is satisfied, and having warmed himself he says, I am comfortable, for I have warmed myself, and have seen the fire.
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, even his pictured image: he goes down on his face before it, giving worship to it, and making prayer to it, saying, Be my saviour; for you are my god.
And the rest he makes a graven god, and worships, and prays, saying, Deliver me; for you are my God.
18 They have no knowledge or wisdom; for he has put a veil over their eyes, so that they may not see; and on their hearts, so that they may not give attention.
They have no understanding to perceive; for they have been blinded so that they should not see with their eyes, nor perceive with their heart.
19 And no one takes note, no one has enough knowledge or wisdom to say, I have put part of it in the fire, and made bread on it; I have had a meal of the flesh cooked with it: and am I now to make the rest of it into a false god? am I to go down on my face before a bit of wood?
And one has not considered in his mind, nor known in his understanding, that he has burnt up half of it in the fire, and baked loaves on the coals thereof and has roasted and eaten flesh, and of the rest of it he has made an abomination, and they worship it.
20 As for him whose food is the dust of a dead fire, he has been turned from the way by a twisted mind, so that he is unable to keep himself safe by saying, What I have here in my hand is false.
Know you that their heart is ashes, and they err, and no one is able to deliver his soul: see, you will not say, [There is a] lie in my right hand.
21 Keep these things in mind, O Jacob; and you Israel, for you are my servant: I have made you; you are my servant; O Israel, I will not let you go out of my memory.
Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel; for you are my servant; I have formed you [to be] my servant: and do you, Israel, not forget me.
22 I have put your evil doings out of my mind like a thick cloud, and your sins like a mist: come back to me; for I have taken up your cause.
For behold, I have blotted out as a cloud your transgressions, and your sin as darkness: turn to me, and I will redeem you.
23 Make a song, O heavens, for the Lord has done it: give a loud cry, you deep parts of the earth: let your voices be loud in song, you mountains, and you woods with all your trees: for the Lord has taken up the cause of Jacob, and will let his glory be seen in Israel.
Rejoice, you heavens; for God has had mercy upon Israel: sound the trumpet, you foundations of the earth: you mountains, shout [with] joy, you hills, and all the trees therein: for God has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified.
24 The Lord, who has taken up your cause, and who gave you life in your mother's body, says, I am the Lord who makes all things; stretching out the heavens by myself, and giving the earth its limits; who was with me?
Thus says the Lord that redeems you, and who formed you from the womb, I am the Lord that performs all things: I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth.
25 Who makes the signs of those who give word of the future come to nothing, so that those who have knowledge of secret arts go off their heads; turning the wise men back, and making their knowledge foolish:
Who else will frustrate the tokens of those that have divining spirits, and prophecies from the heart of [man]? turning the wise back, and making their counsel foolishness;
26 Who makes the word of his servants certain, and gives effect to the purposes of his representatives; who says of Jerusalem, Her people will come back to her; and of the towns of Judah, I will give orders for their building, and will make her waste places fertile again:
and confirming the word of his servant, and verifying the counsel of his messengers: who says to Jerusalem, You shall be inhabited; and to the cities of Idumea, You shall be built, and her desert places shall spring forth.
27 Who says to the deep, Be dry, and I will make your rivers dry:
Who says to the deep, You shall be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers.
28 Who says of Cyrus, He will take care of my sheep, and will do all my pleasure: who says of Jerusalem, I will give the word for your building; and of the Temple, Your bases will be put in place.
Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, You shall be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house.
