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44 “But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant,
    Israel my chosen one.
The Lord who made you and helps you says:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
    O dear Israel,[a] my chosen one.
For I will pour out water to quench your thirst
    and to irrigate your parched fields.
And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,
    and my blessing on your children.
They will thrive like watered grass,
    like willows on a riverbank.
Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’
    Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’
Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands
    and will take the name of Israel as their own.”

The Foolishness of Idols

This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:

“I am the First and the Last;
    there is no other God.
Who is like me?
    Let him step forward and prove to you his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times
    when I established a people and explained its future.
Do not tremble; do not be afraid.
    Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago?
You are my witnesses—is there any other God?
    No! There is no other Rock—not one!”

How foolish are those who manufacture idols.
    These prized objects are really worthless.
The people who worship idols don’t know this,
    so they are all put to shame.
10 Who but a fool would make his own god—
    an idol that cannot help him one bit?
11 All who worship idols will be disgraced
    along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—
    who claim they can make a god.
They may all stand together,
    but they will stand in terror and shame.

12 The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool,
    pounding and shaping it with all his might.
His work makes him hungry and weak.
    It makes him thirsty and faint.
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.’”

Cyrus, the Lord’s Chosen One

45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
    whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
    Their fortress gates will be opened,
    never to shut again.
This is what the Lord says:

“I will go before you, Cyrus,
    and level the mountains.[b]
I will smash down gates of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
    secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

“And why have I called you for this work?
    Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
    Israel my chosen one.
I am the Lord;
    there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
    though you don’t even know me,
so all the world from east to west
    will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
    I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
    I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.

“Open up, O heavens,
    and pour out your righteousness.
Let the earth open wide
    so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.
    I, the Lord, created them.

“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
    Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
    ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
    ‘How clumsy can you be?’
10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
    ‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
    ‘Why did you make me this way?’”

11 This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
    Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earth
    and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
    All the stars are at my command.
13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,
    and I will guide his actions.
He will restore my city and free my captive people—
    without seeking a reward!
    I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

Future Conversion of Gentiles

14 This is what the Lord says:

“You will rule the Egyptians,
    the Ethiopians,[c] and the Sabeans.
They will come to you with all their merchandise,
    and it will all be yours.
They will follow you as prisoners in chains.
    They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,
‘God is with you, and he is the only God.
    There is no other.’”

15 Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
    you work in mysterious ways.
16 All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
    They will all be disgraced together.
17 But the Lord will save the people of Israel
    with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
    they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.

18 For the Lord is God,
    and he created the heavens and earth
    and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
    not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
    “and there is no other.
19 I publicly proclaim bold promises.
    I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel[d] to seek me
    if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
    and declare only what is right.

20 “Gather together and come,
    you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
    and pray to gods that cannot save!
21 Consult together, argue your case.
    Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
    What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
    There is none but me.
22 Let all the world look to me for salvation!
    For I am God; there is no other.
23 I have sworn by my own name;
    I have spoken the truth,
    and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
    and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.[e]
24 The people will declare,
    “The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
    will come to him and be ashamed.
25 In the Lord all the generations of Israel will be justified,
    and in him they will boast.

Babylon’s False Gods

46 Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon,
    bow as they are lowered to the ground.
They are being hauled away on ox carts.
    The poor beasts stagger under the weight.
Both the idols and their owners are bowed down.
    The gods cannot protect the people,
and the people cannot protect the gods.
    They go off into captivity together.

“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,
    all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
    Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
    until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
    I will carry you along and save you.

“To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?
Some people pour out their silver and gold
    and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
    Then they bow down and worship it!
They carry it around on their shoulders,
    and when they set it down, it stays there.
    It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
    It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
    Remember this, you guilty ones.
Remember the things I have done in the past.
    For I alone am God!
    I am God, and there is none like me.
10 Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.
11 I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
    a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
    and I will do it.

12 “Listen to me, you stubborn people
    who are so far from doing right.
13 For I am ready to set things right,
    not in the distant future, but right now!
I am ready to save Jerusalem[f]
    and show my glory to Israel.

Prediction of Babylon’s Fall

47 “Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon, and sit in the dust.
    For your days of sitting on a throne have ended.
O daughter of Babylonia,[g] never again will you be
    the lovely princess, tender and delicate.
Take heavy millstones and grind flour.
    Remove your veil, and strip off your robe.
    Expose yourself to public view.[h]
You will be naked and burdened with shame.
    I will take vengeance against you without pity.”

Our Redeemer, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    is the Holy One of Israel.

“O beautiful Babylon, sit now in darkness and silence.
    Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms.
For I was angry with my chosen people
    and punished them by letting them fall into your hands.
But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy.
    You oppressed even the elderly.
You said, ‘I will reign forever as queen of the world!’
    You did not reflect on your actions
    or think about their consequences.

“Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom,
    living at ease and feeling secure.
You say, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.
    I will never be a widow or lose my children.’
Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment:
    widowhood and the loss of your children.
Yes, these calamities will come upon you,
    despite all your witchcraft and magic.

10 “You felt secure in your wickedness.
    ‘No one sees me,’ you said.
But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray,
    and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’
11 So disaster will overtake you,
    and you won’t be able to charm it away.
Calamity will fall upon you,
    and you won’t be able to buy your way out.
A catastrophe will strike you suddenly,
    one for which you are not prepared.

12 “Now use your magical charms!
    Use the spells you have worked at all these years!
Maybe they will do you some good.
    Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
13 All the advice you receive has made you tired.
    Where are all your astrologers,
those stargazers who make predictions each month?
    Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.
14 But they are like straw burning in a fire;
    they cannot save themselves from the flame.
You will get no help from them at all;
    their hearth is no place to sit for warmth.
15 And all your friends,
    those with whom you’ve done business since childhood,
will go their own ways,
    turning a deaf ear to your cries.

God’s Stubborn People

48 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel
    and born into the family of Judah.
Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord
    and call on the God of Israel.
You don’t keep your promises,
    even though you call yourself the holy city
and talk about depending on the God of Israel,
    whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Long ago I told you what was going to happen.
    Then suddenly I took action,
    and all my predictions came true.
For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are.
    Your necks are as unbending as iron.
    Your heads are as hard as bronze.
That is why I told you what would happen;
    I told you beforehand what I was going to do.
Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it.
    My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’
You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled,
    but you refuse to admit it.
Now I will tell you new things,
    secrets you have not yet heard.
They are brand new, not things from the past.
    So you cannot say, ‘We knew that all the time!’

“Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new,
    things you never heard of before.
For I know so well what traitors you are.
    You have been rebels from birth.
Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name,
    I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out.
10 I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.
    Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
11 I will rescue you for my sake—
    yes, for my own sake!
I will not let my reputation be tarnished,
    and I will not share my glory with idols!

Freedom from Babylon

12 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
    Israel my chosen one!
I alone am God,
    the First and the Last.
13 It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth,
    my right hand that spread out the heavens above.
When I call out the stars,
    they all appear in order.”

14 Have any of your idols ever told you this?
    Come, all of you, and listen:
The Lord has chosen Cyrus as his ally.
    He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylon
    and to destroy the Babylonian[i] armies.

15 “I have said it: I am calling Cyrus!
    I will send him on this errand and will help him succeed.
16 Come closer, and listen to this.
    From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.”

And now the Sovereign Lord and his Spirit
    have sent me with this message.
17 This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you what is good for you
    and leads you along the paths you should follow.
18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
    Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
    and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
19 Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore—
    too many to count!
There would have been no need for your destruction,
    or for cutting off your family name.”

20 Yet even now, be free from your captivity!
    Leave Babylon and the Babylonians.[j]
Sing out this message!
    Shout it to the ends of the earth!
The Lord has redeemed his servants,
    the people of Israel.[k]
21 They were not thirsty
    when he led them through the desert.
He divided the rock,
    and water gushed out for them to drink.
22 “But there is no peace for the wicked,”
    says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 44:2 Hebrew Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel.
  2. 45:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads the swellings.
  3. 45:14 Hebrew Cushites.
  4. 45:19 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
  5. 45:23 Hebrew will confess; Greek version reads will declare allegiance to God. Compare Rom 14:11.
  6. 46:13 Hebrew Zion.
  7. 47:1 Or Chaldea; also in 47:5.
  8. 47:2 Hebrew Bare your legs; pass through the rivers.
  9. 48:14 Or Chaldean.
  10. 48:20a Or the Chaldeans.
  11. 48:20b Hebrew his servant, Jacob. See note on 14:1.

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