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Isaiah 44:13-28
New Living Translation
Isaiah 44:13-28
New Living Translation
13 Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood
and draws a pattern on it.
He works with chisel and plane
and carves it into a human figure.
He gives it human beauty
and puts it in a little shrine.
14 He cuts down cedars;
he selects the cypress and the oak;
he plants the pine in the forest
to be nourished by the rain.
15 Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire.
With it he warms himself and bakes his bread.
Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it
and makes himself a god to worship!
He makes an idol
and bows down in front of it!
16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat
and to keep himself warm.
He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
17 Then he takes what’s left
and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it,
worshiping and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
“You are my god!”
18 Such stupidity and ignorance!
Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,
“Why, it’s just a block of wood!
I burned half of it for heat
and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
He trusts something that can’t help him at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,
“Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”
Restoration for Jerusalem
21 “Pay attention, O Jacob,
for you are my servant, O Israel.
I, the Lord, made you,
and I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud.
I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist.
Oh, return to me,
for I have paid the price to set you free.”
23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing.
Shout for joy, O depths of the earth!
Break into song,
O mountains and forests and every tree!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
and is glorified in Israel.
24 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer and Creator:
“I am the Lord, who made all things.
I alone stretched out the heavens.
Who was with me
when I made the earth?
25 I expose the false prophets as liars
and make fools of fortune-tellers.
I cause the wise to give bad advice,
thus proving them to be fools.
26 But I carry out the predictions of my prophets!
By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’
and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt;
I will restore all your ruins!’
27 When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’
they will be dry.
28 When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’
he will certainly do as I say.
He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;
he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”
Isaiah 44:13-28
New International Version
Isaiah 44:13-28
New International Version
13 The carpenter(A) measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,(B)
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.(C)
14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine,(D) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(E) for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships(F) it;
he makes an idol and bows(G) down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.(H)”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.(I)
He prays(J) to it and says,
“Save(K) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(L) nothing;
their eyes(M) are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding(N) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(O)
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(P) thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(Q)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(R) a deluded(S) heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(T)”
21 “Remember(U) these things, Jacob,
for you, Israel, are my servant.(V)
I have made you, you are my servant;(W)
Israel, I will not forget you.(X)
22 I have swept away(Y) your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return(Z) to me,
for I have redeemed(AA) you.”
23 Sing for joy,(AB) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, you earth(AC) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,(AD)
you forests and all your trees,(AE)
for the Lord has redeemed(AF) Jacob,
he displays his glory(AG) in Israel.
Jerusalem to Be Inhabited
I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,(AK)
who spreads out the earth(AL) by myself,
25 who foils(AM) the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,(AN)
who overthrows the learning of the wise(AO)
and turns it into nonsense,(AP)
26 who carries out the words(AQ) of his servants
and fulfills(AR) the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem,(AS) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
and of their ruins,(AT) ‘I will restore them,’(AU)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
and I will dry up(AV) your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus,(AW) ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,(AX) “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple,(AY) “Let its foundations(AZ) be laid.”’
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.