THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

 

Isaiah Chapter 44

1 ¶ But now listen, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:

2 The LORD your maker, who formed you from the womb, and will help you, says; Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant; and you, my righteous one, whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour out my spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring:

4 And they will spring up like tender grass, like willows by streams of water.

5 One will say, I am the LORD’S; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; and another will inscribe the LORD’S name on his hand, and take the name of Israel.

6 The LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts, says; I am the first, and I am the last; and there is no God but me.

7 Who, is like me? let him announce the future, let him say what it will be, and lay it out before me. Who has announced from old the things to come? let them tell us what is going to happen, and will happen.

8 Do not be fearful, or afraid: didn’t I say that it would happen long ago, and tell you about it? you are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? there is no other God; I do not know of any.

9 ¶ All those who make graven images are worthless; and their precious idols are good for nothing; they are their own witnesses; that they do not see or know anything; so they will be put to shame.

10 Who has formed a god, or cast a molten image to put it to no use?

11 Behold, all his followers will be ashamed: for those who made it are only men: gather them all together, let them stand here; and they will all be terrified, and will be put to shame together.

12 The smith labors over the coals with tongs, and shapes it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm: but, he gets hungry, and loses strength: if he does not drink water, he is faint.

13 The carpenter stretches out his line; he marks it with a marker; he shapes it with planes, and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the figure of a man, like a handsome man; so that it may sit in a shrine.

14 He chops down cedars, and takes the cypress and the oak, which he let grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest: he plants an ash, and the rain makes it grow.

15 It is something for a man to burn: so he uses some of it to warm himself; yea, he sets it on fire, and bakes bread; then, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes a graven image, and falls down before it.

16 He burns part of it in the fire; on another part of it he roasts meat which he eats; satisfying his hunger: yea, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I feel warm before the fire:

17 And out of what remains of it he makes a god, his idol: he falls down before it, and worships it, and prays to it, and says, Save me; for you are my god.

18 Such men do not know or understand: for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see; and their minds, so that they cannot understand.

19 No one thinks about it in his mind, or has the comprehension or understanding to say, I burned part of it in the fire; and baked bread. I have roasted meat over its coals, and eaten it: shall I make the rest of it into an abominable thing? shall I bow down to the trunk of a tree?

20 He feeds on ashes: a deluded mind has led him astray, he cannot save himself, or even ask, Isn’t what I hold in my hand a delusion?

21 ¶ Remember these things, O Jacob and remember them O Israel; for you are my servant: I have formed you; you are my servant: Israel, you must not forget me.

22 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist: return to me; for I have redeemed you.

23 Sing, O you heavens; for the LORD has done it: shout, you lower parts of the earth: break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it: for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorifies himself through Israel.

24 The LORD, your redeemer, he who formed you in the womb, says, I am the LORD who made all things; who stretched out the heavens alone; who spread out the earth by myself;

25 Who frustrates the omens of liars, and make fools of those who tell the future; who confounds the wise, and makes their knowledge foolishness;

26 Who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; who says to Jerusalem, You will again be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, You will be rebuilt, and I will raise up their ruins:

27 Who says to the deep water, Be dry, and I will dry up your rivers:

28 Who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he will carry out my purpose: even saying to Jerusalem, You will be rebuilt; and to the temple, Your foundation will be laid.