Isaiah 44

¹And now listen, O Jacob My servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen!

²Thus says YHWH, the One having made you and having formed you from the womb, who will help you: “Do not fear, My servant Jacob, and Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

³For I will pour water upon a thirsty one, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon your offspring.

⁴And they will sprout up among the grass, like willows by streams of water.

⁵This one will say ‘I am unto YHWH and this one will call himself by the name of Jacob; and this one will write on his hand ‘Unto YHWH,’ and will address himself by the name of Israel.”

⁶Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel and his Redeemer—YHWH of Hosts: “I am the First, and I am the Last, and besides Me there are no gods.

⁷And who is like Me? Let him call and declare it, and arrange it for Me, from My putting forth the people of old, and the things to come and what is coming, let them declare it themselves!

⁸Do not dread and do not be afraid! Have I not long ago reported it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses: Is there a God besides Me? And there is no Rock—not one” I know.

⁹Those fashioning an idol—all of them are nothing, and their delights cannot benefit. And their own witnesses, they cannot see, and they do not know, so they are put to shame.

¹⁰Who would fashion a god, or cast an idol, that gives no benefit?

¹¹Behold, all its companions will be put to shame, and its craftsmen, for they are are of men. All of them, let them gather, let them take their stand; let them dread, let them be ashamed together!

¹²The craftsman of iron has an ax and works over the coal, and with hammers he fashions it, and works it with the strength of his arm. Even so he grows hungry, and has no strength; he does not drink water, and he becomes faint.

¹³The craftsman of wood stretches out the measuring-line; he traces it with the stylus, he fashions it with the chisel, and he marks it out with the compass; he makes it like the figure of a man, like the splendor of mankind, that it may dwell in a house.

¹⁴He cuts down for himself cedars and takes cypress and oak. And he gives strength to it among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir-tree, and the rain makes it grow,

¹⁵and it is for man to burn. And he takes from it and warms himself; also he kindles a fire and bakes bread; also he makes a god and bows down to it; he makes it a carved image and falls down before it!

¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire, on half of it he eats meat; he roasts a roast and is satisfied; also, he warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm, I have seen the fire!”

¹⁷And the rest of it he makes into a god, as his idol; he bows down before it, and he bows down and prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

¹⁸They do not know and they do not understand, for He has covered over their eyes from seeing, their hearts from understanding.

¹⁹And no one turns it back to his heart, and there is no knowledge and no understanding to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire, and also I have baked bread on its coals and roasted meat, and I have eaten. Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”

²⁰He grazes on ashes, a deceived heart has stretched him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, and he does not say, “Is not a lie in my right hand?”

²¹Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant. I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel; you will not be forgotten by Me.

²²I have blotted out like a cloud your transgressions, and like a mist your sins; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

²³Sing out, O heavens, for YHWH has done it! Give a shout,, O lower parts of the earth! Break forth O mountains, into singing, O forest and every tree in it. For YHWH has redeemed Jacob, and in Israel He has glorified Himself.

²⁴Thus says YHWH, your Redeemer, and the One forming you from the womb: “I am YHWH, the One making all things, the One stretching out the heavens by Myself alone, the One spreading out the earth—who besides Me—

²⁵breaking the omens of devisers, and making fools of those devining; the One turning the wise ones backward, and making their knowledge foolish;

²⁶the One making stand the word of His servant and fufilling the counsel of His messengers; the One saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited;’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and her ruins I will raise up;’

²⁷the One saying to the deep, ‘Be dry, and your rivers I will dry up;’

²⁸the One saying of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd and all My delight he will fulfill,’ and saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”