Isaiah 44
1 And now, hear, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have fixed on:
Now listen, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have 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 Yahweh says, he who made you and formed you in the womb and who will help you: “Do not fear, Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have 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 will pour water on the thirsty ground, and flowing streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your children.
4 And they have sprung up as among grass, As willows by streams of water.
They will spring up among the grass, like willows by the streams of water.
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 will say, 'I belong to Yahweh,' and another will call out the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand 'Belonging to Yahweh,' and name himself by the name of 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 Yahweh says—the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: “I am the first, and I am the last; and there is no God but 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 him announce it and explain to me the events that occurred since I established my ancient people, and let them declare the events to come.
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.
Do not fear or be afraid. Have I not declared to you long ago, and announced it? You are my witnesses: Is there any God besides me? There is no other Rock; I know of none.”
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 who fashion idols are nothing; the things they delight in are worthless; their witnesses cannot see or know anything, and they will be put to shame.
10 Who hath formed a god, And a molten image poured out — not profitable?
Who would form a god or cast an idol that is worthless?
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.
Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are only men. Let them take their stand together; they will cower and be put to 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 smith works with his tools, forming it, working over the coals. He shapes it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength wanes; he drinks no water and becomes faint.
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 carpenter measures the wood with a line, and marks it with a stylus. He shapes it with his tools and marks it out with a compass. He shapes it after the figure of a man, like an attractive human, so it may stay in a house.
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 cuts down cedars, or chooses a cypress tree or an oak tree. He picks for himself trees 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.
Then a man uses it for a fire and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes from it a god and bows down to it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
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.
He burns part of the wood for the fire, roasting his meat over it. He eats and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm, I have seen the fire.”
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].'
With the rest of the wood he makes a god, his carved image; he bows down to it and reverences it, and prays to it saying, “Rescue 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.
They do not know, nor do they understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see, and their hearts cannot perceive.
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.'
No one thinks, nor do they comprehend and say, “I have burned part of the wood in the fire; yes, I have also baked bread upon its coals. I have roasted meat over its coals and eaten. Now should I make the other part of the wood into something disgusting to worship? Should I bow down 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?'
It is as if he were eating ashes; his deceived heart misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, “This thing in my right hand is a false god.”
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.
Think about these things, Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant: I have formed you; you are my servant: Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
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 blotted out, like a thick cloud, your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud, your sins; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
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, you heavens, for Yahweh has done this; shout, you depths of the earth. Break out into singing, you mountains, you forest with every tree in it; for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and will show his glory 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 Yahweh says, your Redeemer, he who formed you from the womb: “I am Yahweh, who made everything, who alone stretched out the heavens, who alone fashioned 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 who frustrate the omens of the empty talkers and who disgrace those who read omens; I who overturn the wisdom of the wise and make their advice foolish.
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,
I, Yahweh, who confirmed the words of his servant and brings to pass the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,' and of the towns of Judah, 'They will be built again, and I will raise up their ruins';
27 Who is saying to the deep, Be dry, and thy rivers I cause to dry up,
who says to the deep sea, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your currents.'
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.
Yahweh is the one who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, he will do my every wish; he will decree about Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and about the temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'”
