Isaiah 44

¹ "But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
and Israel whom I have chosen.

² Thus says the LORD who made you,
who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Do not fear, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

³ For I will pour water on the thirsty ground,
and streams on the dry land.
I will pour my spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.

⁴ They will spring up among the grass,
like willows by streams of water.

⁵ This one will say, 'I belong to the LORD,'
and that one will call himself by the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,'
and will take the name Israel.

⁶ Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
"I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.

⁷ Who is like me? Let him proclaim it!
Let him declare it and lay it out before me —
who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to happen.

⁸ Do not tremble and do not be afraid.
Have I not announced it to you long ago and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know of none."

⁹ All who fashion idols are nothing,
and the things they delight in do not profit.
Their witnesses neither see nor know,
so that they may be put to shame.

¹⁰ Who fashions a god or casts an image
that profits nothing?

¹¹ See — all his companions will be put to shame,
and the craftsmen are merely human.
Let them all assemble and stand;
they will dread and be put to shame together.

¹² The ironsmith takes a cutting tool
and works it over the coals.
He shapes it with hammers
and works it with his strong arm.
He grows hungry and his strength fails;
he drinks no water and grows faint.

¹³ The woodworker stretches a line;
he marks it out with a stylus.
He shapes it with planes
and marks it with a compass.
He shapes it into a human figure,
like the beauty of a man, to dwell in a shrine.

¹⁴ He cuts down cedars for himself;
he takes a cypress or an oak
and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel and the rain nourishes it.

¹⁵ Then it becomes fuel for a man.
He takes part of it and warms himself;
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Also he makes a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down before it.

¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire.
Over the half he eats meat;
he roasts a roast and is satisfied.
Also he warms himself and says,
"Aha! I am warm; I see the fire!"

¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god,
into his idol, and bows down to it.
He worships it and prays to it and says,
"Deliver me, for you are my god!"

¹⁸ They do not know, nor do they understand,
for he has smeared shut their eyes so they cannot see,
and their hearts so they cannot comprehend.

¹⁹ No one considers in his heart,
nor is there knowledge or discernment to say:
"Half of it I burned in the fire;
I also baked bread on its coals;
I roasted meat and ate it.
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"

²⁰ He feeds on ashes;
a deluded heart has led him astray.
He cannot deliver himself or say,
"Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

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

²² I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like a mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.

²³ Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it!
Shout, O depths of the earth!
Break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest and every tree in it!
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
and in Israel he displays his glory.

²⁴ Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
"I am the LORD, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth — who was with me?

²⁵ who frustrates the signs of diviners
and makes fools of fortune-tellers,
who turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,

²⁶ who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,'
and of the cities of Judah, 'They will be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins,'

²⁷ who says to the deep, 'Be dry,
and I will dry up your rivers,'

²⁸ who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd,
and he will fulfill all my purpose,'
saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,'
and of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.'"