Israel the Lord's Chosen

44 “But now hear, (A)O Jacob my servant,
    Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the Lord who made you,
    (B)who formed you from the womb and will help you:
(C)Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
    (D)Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
(E)For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
    and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
    (F)like willows by flowing streams.
(G)This one will say, ‘I am the Lord's,’
    another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord's,’
    and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Besides Me There Is No God

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
    and (H)his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
(I)“I am the first and I am the last;
    besides me there is no god.
(J)Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.[a]
    Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
    Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid;
    have I not told you from of old and declared it?
    (K)And you are my witnesses!
(L)Is there a God besides me?
    There is no (M)Rock; I know not any.”

The Folly of Idolatry

(N)All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 (O)Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 (P)Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

12 (Q)The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.[b] He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. (R)He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 (S)He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. (T)He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an (U)abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 (V)He feeds on (W)ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not (X)a lie in my right hand?”

The Lord Redeems Israel

21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
    and Israel, for you are (Y)my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
    (Z)O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 (AA)I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
    and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.

23 (AB)Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
    shout, O (AC)depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
    O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
    (AD)and will be glorified[c] in Israel.

24 Thus says the Lord, (AE)your Redeemer,
    (AF)who formed you from the womb:
(AG)“I am the Lord, who made all things,
    (AH)who alone stretched out the heavens,
    who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the signs of liars
    and makes fools of diviners,
(AI)who turns wise men back
    and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 (AJ)who confirms the word of his servant
    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
    (AK)and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
    and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 (AL)who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
    I will dry up your rivers’;
28 who says of (AM)Cyrus, ‘He is (AN)my shepherd,
    and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
    (AO)and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 44:7 Or Who like me can proclaim it?
  2. Isaiah 44:13 Hebrew stylus
  3. Isaiah 44:23 Or will display his beauty

44 Yet now hear, O Ya’akov Avdi; and Yisroel, whom I have chosen;

Thus saith Hashem that made thee, and formed thee from the beten (womb), Who will help thee; Fear not, O Ya’akov, Avdi; and thou, Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.

For I will pour mayim upon him that is thirsty, and flowing streams upon the yabashah [Gn 1:9]; I will pour out My Ruach [Hakodesh] upon thy zera, and My brocha upon thine offspring;

V’tzamechu (and they shall spring up; Tzemach) as among khatzir, as willows by the streams of mayim.

One shall say, I belong to Hashem; and another shall call himself by the shem of Ya’akov; and another shall write [in witness] with his yad, Hashem’s, and surname himself by the shem Yisroel.

Thus saith Hashem Melech Yisroel, and His Go’el, Hashem Tzva’os; I am the Rishon, and I am the Acharon; and apart from Me there is no Elohim.

And who is like Me, who can preach as I do? Let him make it known and set it out in order before Me, since I appointed the Am Olam and the otiyyot (things to come, future things) and what is approaching, let them expound and make known in support of themselves.

Fear ye not, neither be afraid; have not I proclaimed to thee long ago, and have made it known? Ye are even My edim. Is there Eloah apart from Me? And there is no Tzur. I know of none.

They that make a pesel are all of them tohu; and their chamudim (favorite [idols]) are worthless; and they [the idols] are their own edim; they [the idols] see not, nor know; so that they [the idol people] are put to shame.

10 Who hath formed el (g-d), or molded a pesel to no profit?

11 Behold, all its chaverim shall be ashamed; and the charashim (craftsmen), they are only adam; let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.

12 The charash barzel (ironsmith) with his ma’atzad (chizel) both worketh in the red-hot coals, and formeth it with hammers, and forgeth it with his zero’a ko’ach and also, he is hungry, and his ko’ach faileth; he drinketh no mayim, and grows faint.

13 The charash etzim (carpenter) stretcheth out his [measuring line]; he marketh it out with sered (red chalk); he worketh it with planes, and he marketh it out with a compass, and maketh it after the tavnit ish (pattern of a man), according to the tiferet adam; that it may stay inside the bais (idolatrous cult shrine).

14 He heweth down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he secureth for himself among the atzei ya’ar (trees of the forest); he planteth a pine, and geshem doth nourish it.

15 Then shall it be for an adam to burn; for he will take thereof, and warm himself; and also, he kindleth it, and baketh lechem; and also he maketh el (g-d), and boweth down in worship to it; he maketh it a pesel, and falleth down unto it.

16 He burneth half thereof in the eish; with the other half thereof he eateth basar; he roasteth roast meat, and is satisfied; and also, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I perceive ur (flame)!

17 And the shererit thereof he maketh el, even his pesel; he falleth down unto it, and boweth down in worship to it, and davens unto it, and saith, Save me; for thou art Eli!

18 They have no da’as nor binah; for their eyes [the eyes of the idol people] are smeared over, that they cannot see; and their levavot, that they cannot understand.

19 And none considereth in his lev, neither is there da’as nor tevunah (understanding, intelligence) to say, I have burned half of it in the eish; and, also I have baked lechem upon the hot coals thereof; I have roasted basar, and eaten it; and shall I make the rest thereof to’evah? Shall I bow down to the bul etz (product of a tree, i.e., a block of wood)?

20 He feedeth on efer (ash); a lev hutal (a heart deceived, a deluded mind) hath led him astray, that he cannot save his nefesh, nor say, Is there not sheker (a lie, a fraud) in my yamin (right hand)?

21 Remember these things, O Ya’akov and Yisroel; for thou art avdi; I have formed thee; thou art an eved to Me; O Yisroel, do not forget Me!

22 I have swept away thy peysha’im like a cloud, and like an anan, thy chattot; Shuva elai ki gealticha (return, turn back to Me, for I have redeemed thee).

23 Sing for joy, O ye Shomayim; for Hashem hath done it; shout, ye depths of the earth; break forth into singing, ye harim, O ya’ar (forest), and kol etz therein; for Hashem hath redeemed Ya’akov, and He will glorify Himself in Yisroel.

24 Thus saith Hashem, thy Go’el, and He that formed thee from the beten (womb), I am Hashem Oseh kol (the Maker of All); that stretcheth out Shomayim alone; that spreadeth out ha’aretz (the earth) by Myself;

25 That annuls the otot of the baddim (liars, false prophets), and maketh kosemim (diviners, soothsayers) into madmen; that turneth back chachamim, and maketh their da’as (knowledge, science) foolishness;

26 That confirmeth the davar of His eved, and fulfilleth the etza (prediction) of His malachim; that saith to Yerushalayim, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the towns of Yehudah, Ye shall be rebuilt, and I will raise up the ruins thereof:

27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy naharot;

28 That saith of Koresh (Cyrus), He is Ro’i (My Shepherd), and shall accomplish all My pleasure; even saying to Yerushalayim, Thou shalt be rebuilt; and to the Heikhal, Thy foundation shall be laid.