Isaiah 44
New American Standard Bible
The Blessings of Israel
44 “But now listen, Jacob, My (A)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And (B)formed you from the womb, who (C)will help you:
‘(D)Do not fear, Jacob My servant,
And [a](E)Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For (F)I will pour water on [b]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will (G)pour out My Spirit on your (H)offspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up [c]among the grass
Like (I)poplars by streams of water.’
5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one [d]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will (J)write [e]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.
6 “This is what the Lord says, He who is the (K)King of Israel and his (L)Redeemer, the Lord of armies:
‘I am the (M)first and I am the last,
And there is no God (N)besides Me.
7 Who is like Me? (O)Let him proclaim and declare it;
And, let him confront Me
[f]Beginning with My establishing of the ancient [g]nation.
Then let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
8 Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
(P)Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And (Q)you are My witnesses.
Is there any God (R)besides Me,
Or is there any other (S)Rock?
I know of none.’”
The Foolishness of Idolatry
9 Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (T)put to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to (U)no benefit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (V)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.
12 The (W)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [h]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and [i]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (X)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of (Y)mankind, so that it may sit in a (Z)house. 14 He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also (AA)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and (AB)bows down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 Yet the rest of it he (AC)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also (AD)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not (AE)know, nor do they understand, for He has (AF)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one [j]remembers, nor is there (AG)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then [k]I make the rest of it into an (AH)abomination, [l]I bow down before a block of wood!” 20 He [m](AI)feeds on ashes; a (AJ)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save [n]himself, nor say, “(AK)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
God Forgives and Redeems
21 “(AL)Remember these things, Jacob,
And Israel, for you are (AM)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
Israel, you will (AN)not be forgotten by Me.
22 I have (AO)wiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud
And your sins like a [o]heavy mist.
(AP)Return to Me, for I have (AQ)redeemed you.”
23 (AR)Shout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
(AS)Break into a shout of jubilation, you mountains,
Forest, and every tree in it;
For (AT)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And in Israel He (AU)shows His glory.
24 This is what the Lord says, He who is your (AV)Redeemer, and the one who (AW)formed you from the womb:
“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
(AX)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth [p]alone,
25 (AY)Causing the [q]omens of diviners to fail,
[r]Making fools of fortune-tellers;
(AZ)Causing wise men to turn back
And [s]making their knowledge ridiculous,
26 (BA)Confirming the word of His servant
And [t]carrying out the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the (BB)cities of Judah, ‘(BC)They shall be built.’
And I will raise her ruins again.
27 I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers (BD)dry up.
28 It is I who says of (BE)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he will carry out all My desire.’
And [u]he says of Jerusalem, ‘(BF)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘[v]Your foundation will be laid.’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:2 I.e., Israel
- Isaiah 44:3 Or him who is thirsty
- Isaiah 44:4 Another reading is like grass among the waters
- Isaiah 44:5 Another reading is will be called by the name of Jacob
- Isaiah 44:5 Or with
- Isaiah 44:7 Lit From My establishing of
- Isaiah 44:7 Or people
- Isaiah 44:12 Lit and fashions
- Isaiah 44:12 Lit there is no strength
- Isaiah 44:19 Lit returns to his heart
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I make?
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I bow...?
- Isaiah 44:20 Or is a companion of ashes
- Isaiah 44:20 Lit his soul
- Isaiah 44:22 Or cloud
- Isaiah 44:24 Or who was with Me?
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit signs
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit He makes
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit He turns
- Isaiah 44:26 Lit He performs
- Isaiah 44:28 Lit to say
- Isaiah 44:28 Lit You will be founded
Isaiah 44
Christian Standard Bible
Spiritual Blessing
44 “And now listen, Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen.(A)
2 This is the word of the Lord
your Maker, the one who formed you from the womb:
He will help you.
Do not fear, Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun[a] whom I have chosen.(B)
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit(C) on your descendants
and my blessing on your offspring.
4 They will sprout among[b] the grass
like poplars by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
another will use the name of Jacob;
still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and take on the name of Israel.”
No God Other Than the Lord
6 This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer,(D) the Lord of Armies, says:
I am the first and I am the last.(E)
There is no God but me.(F)
7 Who, like me, can announce the future?
Let him say so and make a case before me,(G)
since I have established an ancient people.
Let these gods declare[c] the coming things,
and what will take place.
8 Do not be startled or afraid.
Have I not told you and declared it long ago?
You are my witnesses!(H)
Is there any God but me?(I)
There is no other Rock;(J) I do not know any.
9 All who make idols are nothing,
and what they treasure benefits no one.
Their witnesses do not see or know anything,
so they will be put to shame.(K)
10 Who makes a god or casts a metal image
that benefits no one?(L)
11 Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,
and the craftsmen are humans.
They all will assemble and stand;
they all will be startled and put to shame.
12 The ironworker labors over the coals,
shapes the idol with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;
he doesn’t drink water and is faint.
13 The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,
he outlines it with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He makes it according to a human form,(M)
like a beautiful person,
to dwell in a temple.
14 He cuts down[d] cedars for his use,
or he takes a cypress or an oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
15 A person can use it for fuel.
He takes some of it and warms himself;
also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;
he even makes it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.
16 He burns half of it in a fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm, I see the blaze.”
17 He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.
He bows down to it and worships;
he prays to it,(N) “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 Such people[e] do not comprehend
and cannot understand,
for he has shut their eyes[f] so they cannot see,
and their minds so they cannot understand.
19 No one comes to his senses;[g]
no one has the perception or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
I also baked bread on its coals,
I roasted meat and ate.
Should I make something detestable(O) with the rest of it?
Should I bow down to a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on[h] ashes.
His deceived mind has led him astray,
and he cannot rescue himself,
or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?” (P)
21 Remember these things, Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
Israel, you will never be forgotten by me.[i](Q)
22 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,(R)
and your sins like a mist.
Return to me,(S)
for I have redeemed you.(T)
23 Rejoice, heavens,(U) for the Lord has acted;
shout, depths of the earth.
Break out into singing, mountains,
forest, and every tree in it.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and glorifies himself through Israel.(V)
Restoration of Israel through Cyrus
24 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer(W) who formed you from the womb,(X) says:
I am the Lord, who made everything;
who stretched out the heavens by myself;(Y)
who alone spread out the earth;
25 who destroys the omens of the false prophets
and makes fools of diviners;
who confounds the wise
and makes their knowledge foolishness;(Z)
26 who confirms the message of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers;
who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,”
and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,”
and I will restore her ruins;
27 who says to the depths of the sea, “Be dry,”
and I will dry up your rivers;
28 who says to Cyrus,(AA) “My shepherd,
he will fulfill all my pleasure”(AB)
and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,”(AC)
and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.”
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