Isa 44
1
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, who I have chosen:
2
Thus says YHWH that made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you: Fear
not, O Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3
For I will pour water upon him whom is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I
will pour my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your offspring:
4
and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.
5
One shall say, I am YHWH`s; and another shall call [himself] by the name of Jacob;
and another shall subscribe with his hand to YHWH, and surname [himself] by the name
of Israel.
6
Thus 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 is no God.
7
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since
I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come
to pass, let them declare.
8
Fear you not, neither be afraid: have I not declared to you of old, and showed it?
and you are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know
not any.
9
They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity; and the things that they
delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they
may be put to shame.
10
Who has fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
11
Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let
them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be put
to shame together.
12
The smith [makes] an axe, and works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and
works it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks
no water, and is faint.
13
The carpenter stretches out a line; he marks it out with a pencil; he shapes it with
planes, and he marks it out with the compasses, and shapes it after the figure of
a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
14
He hews him down cedars, and takes the holm-tree and the oak, and strengthens for
himself one among the trees of the forest: he plants a fir-tree, and the rain does
nourish it.
15
Then shall it be for a man to burn; and he takes thereof, and warms himself; yea,
he kindles it, and bakes bread: yea, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it
a graven image, and falls down thereto.
16
He burns part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eats flesh; he roasts roast,
and is satisfied; yea, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the
fire.
17
And its residue he makes a god, even his graven image; he falls down to it
and worships, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me; for you are my god.
18
They know not, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they cannot
see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
19
And none calls" to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have
burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon its coals;
I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make its residue an abomination?
shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
20
He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his
soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
21
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel; for you are my servant: I have formed
you; you are my servant: O Israel, you shall not be forgotten of me.
22
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins:
return to me; for I have redeemed you.
23
Sing, O you heavens, for YHWH has done it; shout, you lower parts of the earth; break
forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for YHWH has
redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.
24
Thus says YHWH, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb: I am YHWH, that
makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spreads abroad the
earth (who is with me?);
25
that frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; that turns wise men
backward, and makes their knowledge foolish;
26
that confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers;
that says of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They shall
be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof;
27
that says to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up your rivers;
28
That says of Cyrus, [He is] my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying
of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Your foundation shall be laid.