Isaiah, 44

1. And now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen.

1. Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:

2. Thus says Yahweh who made you, who formed you in the womb; he will help you. Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

2. Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, [which] will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

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

3. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

4. and they will spring up among the grass, like willows on the banks of a stream.

4. And they shall spring up [as] among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

5. One person will say, 'I belong to Yahweh,' another will call himself by Jacob's name. On his hand another will write 'Yahweh's' and be surnamed 'Israel'.

5. One shall say, I [am] the LORD'S; and another shall call [himself] by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe [with] his hand unto the LORD, and surname [himself] by the name of Israel.

6. Thus says Yahweh, Israel's king, Yahweh Sabaoth, his redeemer: I am the first and I am the last; there is no God except me.

6. Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God.

7. Who is like me? Let him call out, let him affirm it and convince me it is so; let him say what has been happening since I instituted an eternal people, and predict to them what will happen next!

7. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

8. Have no fear, do not be afraid: have I not told you and revealed it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God except me? There is no Rock; I know of none.

8. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared [it]? ye [are] even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, [there is] no God; I know not [any].

9. The makers of idols are all nothingness; the works they delight in serve no purpose. And these are the witness against them: they see nothing, they know nothing; and so they will be put to shame.

9. They that make a graven image [are] all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they [are] their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.

10. Who ever fashioned a god or cast an image without hope of gain?

10. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image [that] is profitable for nothing?

11. Watch how all its devotees will be put to shame, and the men who made it too, who are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forward and feel both fear and shame!

11. Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they [are] of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; [yet] they shall fear, [and] they shall be ashamed together.

12. The blacksmith makes an axe over the charcoal, beats it into shape with a hammer, works on it with his strong arm. Then he feels hungry and his strength deserts him; having drunk no water, he is exhausted.

12. The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.

13. The wood carver takes his measurements, outlines the image with chalk, executes it with the chisel, following the outline with a compass. He makes it look like a human being, with human standards of beauty, so that it can reside in a house.

13. The carpenter stretcheth out [his] rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.

14. He has cut down cedars, has selected an oak and a terebinth which he has grown for himself among the trees in the forest and has planted a pine tree which the rain has nourished.

14. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish [it].

15. Once it is suitable to burn, he takes some of it to warm himself; having kindled it, he bakes bread. But he also makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol from it and bows down before it.

15. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth [it], and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth [it]; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.

16. Half of it he burns on the fire, over this half he roasts meat, eats it and is replete; at the same time he warms himself and says, 'Ah, how warm I am, watching the flames!'

16. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth [himself], and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:

17. With the remainder he makes a god, his idol, bows down before it, worships it and prays to it. 'Save me,' he says, 'for you are my god.'

17. And the residue thereof he maketh a god, [even] his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth [it], and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou [art] my god.

18. They know nothing, they understand nothing, since their eyes are incapable of seeing and their hearts of reflecting.

18. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; [and] their hearts, that they cannot understand.

19. Not one of them looks into his heart, not one of them has the knowledge and wit to think, 'I burned half of it on the fire and cooked food over the embers. Am I right to make something disgusting out of what is left? Am I right to bow down before a block of wood?'

19. And none considereth in his heart, neither [is there] knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten [it]: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?

20. He hankers after ashes, his deluded heart has led him astray; he will not save himself, he will not think, 'What I have in my hand is nothing but a lie!'

20. He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, [Is there] not a lie in my right hand?

21. Remember these things, Jacob, and Israel, since you are my servant. I formed you, you are my servant; Israel, I shall not forget you.

21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou [art] my servant: I have formed thee; thou [art] my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

22. I have dispelled your acts of revolt like a cloud and your sins like a mist. Come back to me, for I have redeemed you.

22. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

23. Heavens, shout for joy, for Yahweh has acted! Underworld, shout aloud! Shout for joy, you mountains, forests and all your trees! For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob and displayed his glory in Israel.

23. Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done [it]: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

24. Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, he who formed you in the womb: I, Yahweh, have made all things, I alone spread out the heavens. When I hammered the earth into shape, who was with me?

24. Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I [am] the LORD that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

25. I, who foil the omens of soothsayers and make fools of diviners, who confound sages turning their knowledge into folly,

25. That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise [men] backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

26. who confirm the word of my servant and make the plans of my envoys succeed; who say to Jerusalem, 'You will be inhabited,' and to the towns of Judah, 'You will be rebuilt and I shall restore the ruins of Jerusalem';

26. That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:

27. who say to the ocean, 'Dry up! I shall make your rivers run dry';

27. That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:

28. who say to Cyrus, 'My shepherd.' He will perform my entire will by saying to Jerusalem, 'You will be rebuilt,' and to the Temple, 'You will be refounded.'

28. That saith of Cyrus, [He is] my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.