Isaiah 44
1 And now hear, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.
But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Thus saith the Lord that made and formed thee, thy helper from the womb: Fear not, O my servant Jacob, and thou most righteous whom I have chosen.
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 pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land: I will pour out my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy stock.
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 shall spring up among the herbs, as willows beside the running waters.
and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on [the banks of] running water.
5 One shall say: I am the Lord’s, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand, To the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
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 Thus saith the Lord the king of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts: I am the brat, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.
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 Who is like to me? let him call and declare: and let him set before me the order, since I appointed the ancient people: and the things to come, and that shall be hereafter, let them shew unto them.
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 Fear ye not, neither be ye troubled, from that time I have made thee to hear, and have declared: you are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me, a maker, whom I have not known?
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 The makers of idols are all of them nothing, and their best beloved things shall not profit them. They are their witnesses, that they do not see, nor understand, that they may be ashamed.
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 Who hath formed a god, and made a graven thing that is profitable for nothing?
that form a god, and all that grave worthless things:
11 Behold, all the partakers thereof shall be confounded: for the makers are men: they shall all assemble together, they shall stand and fear, and shall be confounded together.
and all by whom they were made are withered: yes, let all the deaf be gathered from [amongst] men, and let them stand together; and let them be ashamed and confounded together:
12 The smith hath wrought with his file, with coals, and with hammers he hath formed it, and hath wrought with the strength of his arm: he shall hunger and faint, he shall drink no water, and shall be weary.
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 carpenter hath stretched out his rule, he hath formed it with a plane: he hath made it with corners, and hath fashioned it round with the compass: and he hath made the image of a man as it were a beautiful man dwelling in a 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 hath cut down cedars, taken the holm, and the oak that stood among the trees of the forest: he hath planted the pine tree, which the rain hath nourished.
He cuts wood out of the forest, which the Lord planted, [even] a pine tree, and the rain made it grow,
15 And it hath served men for fuel: he took thereof, and warmed himself: and he kindled it, and baked bread: but of the rest he made a god, and adored it: he made a graven thing, and bowed down 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 Part of it he burnt with fire, and with part of it he dressed his meat: he boiled pottage, and was filled, and was warmed, and said: 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 But the residue thereof he made a god, and a graven thing for himself: he boweth down before it, and adoreth it, and prayeth unto it, saying: Deliver me, for thou art 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 not known, nor understood: for their eyes are covered that they may not see, and that they may not understand with their heart.
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 They do not consider in their mind, nor know, nor have the thought to say: I have burnt part of it in the fire, and I have baked bread upon the coals thereof: I have broiled flesh and have eaten, and of the residue thereof shall I make an idol? shall I fall down before the stock of a tree?
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 Part thereof is ashes: his foolish heart adoreth it, and he will not save his soul, nor say: Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand.
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 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my servant. I have formed thee, thou art my servant, O Israel, forget me not.
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 blotted out thy iniquities as a cloud, and thy sins as a mist: return to me, for I have redeemed thee.
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 Give praise, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath shewn mercy: shout with joy, ye ends of the earth: ye mountains, resound with praise, thou, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified.
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 Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer, and thy maker, from the womb: I am the Lord, that make all things, that alone stretch out the heavens, that establish the earth, and there is none 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 That make void the tokens of diviners, and make the soothsayers mad. That turn the wise backward, and that, make 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 That raise up the word of my servant and perform the counsel of my messengers, who say to Jerusalem: Thou shalt be inhabited: and to the cities of Juda: You shall be built, and I will raise up the wastes thereof.
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 say to the deep: Be thou desolate, and I will dry up thy rivers.
Who says to the deep, You shall be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers.
28 Who say to Cyrus: Thou art my shepherd, and thou shalt perform all my pleasure. Who say to Jerusalem: Thou shalt be built: and to the temple: Thy foundations shall be laid.
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.
