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Isaiah 44:9-20
World English Bible
Isaiah 44:9-20
World English Bible
9 Everyone who makes a carved image is vain.
The things that they delight in will not profit.
Their own witnesses don’t see, nor know, that they may be disappointed.
10 Who has fashioned a god,
or molds an image that is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all his fellows will be disappointed;
and the workmen are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together.
Let them stand up.
They will fear.
They will be put to shame together.
12 The blacksmith takes an ax,
works in the coals,
fashions it with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
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.
He marks it out with compasses,
and shapes it like the figure of a man,
with the beauty of a man,
to reside in a house.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
and takes the cypress and the oak,
and strengthens for himself one among the trees of the forest.
He plants a cypress tree,
and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it will be for a man to burn;
and he takes some of it, and warms himself.
Yes, he burns it, and bakes bread.
Yes, he makes a god, and worships it;
he makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns part of it in the fire.
With part of it, he eats meat.
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
Yes, he warms himself,
and says, “Aha! I am warm. I have seen the fire.”
17 The rest of it he makes into a god,
even his engraved image.
He bows down to it and worships,
and prays to it, and says, “Deliver me; for you are my god!”
18 They don’t know, neither do they consider:
for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see;
and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
19 No one thinks,
neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned part of it in the fire.
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals.
I have roasted meat and eaten it.
Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination?
Shall I bow down to a tree trunk?”
20 He feeds on ashes.
A deceived heart has turned him aside;
and he can’t deliver his soul,
nor say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”
Isaiah 44:9-20
New Living Translation
Isaiah 44:9-20
New Living Translation
9 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?”
Isaiah 44:9-20
New International Version
Isaiah 44:9-20
New International Version
9 All who make idols(A) are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.(B)
Those who would speak up for them are blind;(C)
they are ignorant, to their own shame.(D)
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,(E)
which can profit nothing?(F)
11 People who do that will be put to shame;(G)
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.(H)
12 The blacksmith(I) takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.(J)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.(K)
13 The carpenter(L) 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,(M)
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.(N)
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,(O) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(P) 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(Q) it;
he makes an idol and bows(R) 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.(S)”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.(T)
He prays(U) to it and says,
“Save(V) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(W) nothing;
their eyes(X) 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(Y) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(Z)
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(AA) thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(AB)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(AC) a deluded(AD) heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(AE)”
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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) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.