1 But now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen.
2 This is what Yahweh says - he who made you and will help you, he who formed you from the womb: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water upon the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon your race and my blessing upon your offspring.
4 They will spring up like grass, like poplars beside the flowing streams.
5 One will say, "I belong to Yahweh"; another will call himself by Jacob's name. On his hand another will write "Yahweh" and take the name of Israel.
6 This is what the Lord says - Israel's King and Redeemer, Yahweh Sabaoth: I am the first and the last, there is no other God besides me.
7 Who then is like me? Let him stand up and speak, let him argue this out with me. Who from the beginning has foretold the future, and revealed to us what was to come?
8 Do not be afraid or troubled. Have I not proclaimed and foretold this long ago? You are my witnesses; is there a God besides me or another Rock? I know of none.
9 Good-for-nothing are all idol makers, and useless are the works they prize so much. Their witnesses, blind and ignorant, will be put to shame.
10 Who ever fashioned a god or cast an idol without hope of gain? See how its devotees will be ridiculed, for its craftsmen are but men.
11 Let them all assemble, let them come to court; they will be both terrified and scorned.
12 The blacksmith works on an iron image over the fire and beats it into shape with a hammer. He gets hungry and tired; if there is no water to drink, he gets exhausted.
13 In like manner, the wood carver takes the measurement and marks the outline of an idol, carves it with chisels, giving it a bodily form and a human face that it may live in a shrine.
14 He cut down cedars or perhaps took an oak or cypress from the forest or maybe he planted a cedar which the rain caused to grow.
15 For the common people, that means fuel which they use to warm themselves and to cook their food. But the craftsman carves out of the tree trunk an idol which he worships and before which he bows down.
16 The remaining portion he burns to warm himself; over its live embers he roasts meat and is satisfied. He says, "Well and good, I feel warm and enjoy the light."
17 The other portion which he has made into an idol he worships and bows before it, praying "Rescue me, for you are my god."
18 They have no knowledge, no discernment. For they have shut their mind to un-derstanding, their heart to all reason.
19 Not one of them has the intelligence to reflect and the sense to say, "Half of the log I burned, and on its embers I baked bread and roasted meat. Shall I then make a dirty idol of what remains? Am I to worship a block of wood?"
20 Only one of deluded mind can hold on to ashes. Will he not save himself at least and confess, "What I hold is only a lie?"
21 Remember this, Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel, I have formed you to be my servant; Israel, do not forget me.
22 I have blotted out your offenses as a thick cloud, your sins as a mist. Return to me for I am redeeming you.
23 Sing gladly, O heavens, for Yahweh has done this. Shout aloud, O earth below! Burst into song, you mountains, you forests with all your trees! For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob and shown his glory to Israel.
24 Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am Yahweh who made all things, I alone stretched out the heavens, and spread out the earth. Who helped me?
25 I am he who thwarts the omens of false prophets, who makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes nonsense of their knowledge.
26 I confirm the word of my servant and carry out the plan announced by my messengers. I am he who says of Jerusalem, "It shall be inhabited," and of the towns of Judah, "They shall be rebuilt; I will restore their ruins."
27 I am he who says to the ocean, "Be dry, I will dry up your wellsprings!"
28 I call on Cyrus, "My shepherd!" and he goes to fulfill my will. I say to Jerusalem, "Be rebuilt!" and see: the cornerstone is laid.
Versículos relacionados com Isaiah, 44:
Chapter 44 of Isaiah begins with a message from God to the people of Israel, reminding them that he is his Creator and Redeemer, and that they should not worship idols or trust in other gods. God promises that he will bless and restore Israel, and that they do not need to fear, for He is with them. Next, five verses related to the topics addressed in Isaiah 44:
Psalm 115:4-7: "Their idols are silver and gold, work of man's hands. They have mouth, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; they have nose, but they do not smell. " This psalm describes the idols that people worship, contrasting them with the true God, who is alive and active.
Acts 17:24-25: "The God who has made the world and all that there is, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by the hands of men, nor is served by human hands, as if needed to Something, for he himself gives everyone life, breathing and all things. " Paul uses this speech in Athens to explain that the true God is the creator of everything and cannot be confined to a temple or image.
Jeremiah 10:6-7: "You are not like you, O Lord; you are great, and great is your name in power. Who will not fear you, O king of nations? Every wise nations, and throughout his kingdom, there is no other way to you. " Jeremiah talks about the greatness and uniqueness of God, which is superior to all other gods or idols.
John 14:6: "Jesus answered him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but for me." Jesus states that He is the only way to know God and have eternal life, reinforcing the message of Isaiah 44 about the need to trust God and not in other gods.
Ephesians 2:10: "For we are his own, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has previously prepared for us to and to and will." Paul talks about our identity as creatures of God, created to do good and glorify him, in line with the message of Isaiah 44 about the importance of recognizing God as our Creator and Redeemer.
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