Isaiah 44
Legacy Standard Bible
No God Besides Yahweh
44 “But now hear, O Jacob, My (A)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 Thus says Yahweh who made you
And (B)formed you from the womb, who (C)will help you,
‘(D)Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,
And you (E)Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For (F)I will pour out water on [a]the thirsty ground
And streams on the dry land;
I will (G)pour out My Spirit on your (H)seed
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 And they will spring up [b]among the grass
Like (I)poplars by streams of water.’
5 This one will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s’;
And this one [c]will call on the name of Jacob;
And this one will (J)write [d]on his hand, ‘Belonging to Yahweh,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.
6 “Thus says Yahweh, the (K)King of Israel and his (L)Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:
‘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 call out and declare it;
And let him tell it to Me in order,
[e]From the time that I established the ancient [f]people.
And let them declare to them the things that are to come
And the events that are going to take place.
8 Do not be in dread and do not be afraid;
(P)Have I not long since caused it to be heard 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 Futility of Idolatry
9 Those who form [g]a graven image are all of them [h]futile, and their desirable things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be (T)put to shame. 10 Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to (U)no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be (V)put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them be in dread, let them together be put to shame.
12 The (W)man crafts iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, [i]forming it with hammers and working it with his powerful arm. He also gets hungry and has no power; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 (X)Another crafts wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with [j]a stylus. He makes it with planes and outlines it with a compass and makes it like the form of a man, like the glory of (Y)man, so that it may sit in a (Z)house. 14 In order to cut cedars for himself, he takes a [k]cypress or an oak and [l]raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also (AA)works to produce a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and (AB)falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he (AC)makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also (AD)prays to it and says, “Deliver 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 will have no insight. 19 No one causes this to return to his heart, 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 [m]I make the rest of it into an (AH)abomination; [n]I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He [o](AI)feeds on ashes; a (AJ)deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “(AK)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Yahweh Forgives and Redeems
21 “(AL)Remember these things, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are (AM)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will (AN)not be forgotten by Me.
22 I have (AO)wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a cloud.
(AP)Return to Me, for I have (AQ)redeemed you.”
23 (AR)Shout for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it!
Make a loud shout, you lower parts of the earth;
(AS)Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it;
For (AT)Yahweh has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He (AU)shows forth His beautiful glory.
24 Thus says Yahweh, your (AV)Redeemer, and the one who (AW)formed you from the womb,
“I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things,
(AX)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth [p]all alone,
25 (AY)Causing the [q]omens of boasters to be annulled,
And [r]making fools out of diviners,
(AZ)Causing wise men to turn back,
And [s]making foolishness out of their knowledge,
26 (BA)Confirming the word of His servant—
And the counsel of His messengers He will complete—
And being the One who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the (BB)cities of Judah, ‘(BC)They shall be built.’
And I will raise up her waste places again.
27 It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers (BD)dry.
28 It is I who says of (BE)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!
And all My good pleasure he will complete.’
And saying of Jerusalem, ‘(BF)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘[t]Your foundation will be laid.’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:3 Or him who is thirsty
- Isaiah 44:4 Or like grass among the waters
- Isaiah 44:5 Or 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 nation
- Isaiah 44:9 Or an idol
- Isaiah 44:9 Lit formless
- Isaiah 44:12 Lit and forms
- Isaiah 44:13 Or red chalk
- Isaiah 44:14 Or holm-oak
- Isaiah 44:14 Lit makes strong
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I make...?
- Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I fall...?
- Isaiah 44:20 Or is a companion of ashes
- Isaiah 44:24 Or who was with Me?
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit signs
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit He makes
- Isaiah 44:25 Lit He makes
- Isaiah 44:28 Lit You will be founded
Isaiah 44
International Children’s Bible
The Lord Is the Only God
44 The Lord says, “People of Jacob, you are my servants. Listen to me!
People of Israel, I chose you.”
2 This is what the Lord says. He made you.
He formed you when you were in your mother’s body.
And he will help you.
The Lord says, “People of Jacob, my servants, don’t be afraid.
Israel, I chose you.
3 I will pour out water for the thirsty land.
I will make streams flow on dry land.
I will put my Spirit into your children.
My blessing will be like a stream of water flowing over your family.
4 Your children will grow like a tree in the grass.
They will be like poplar trees growing beside streams of water.
5 One person will say, ‘I belong to the Lord.’
Another will use the name Jacob.
Another will sign his name ‘I am the Lord’s.’
And another will use the name Israel.”
6 The Lord is the king of Israel.
The Lord of heaven’s armies saves Israel.
The Lord says, “I am the beginning and the end.
I am the only God.
7 There is no other God like me.
If there is, then that god should come and prove it.
Who has announced coming events from the beginning?
He should tell what will happen in the future.
8 Don’t be afraid! Don’t worry!
I have always told you what will happen.
You are my witnesses.
There is no other God.
I know of no other Rock. I am the only One.”
False Gods Are Useless
9 Some people make idols, but they are worth nothing.
People love them, but they are useless.
Those people are witnesses for the statues. But those people cannot see.
They know nothing. They don’t know enough to be ashamed.
10 Who made these false gods?
Who made these useless idols?
11 The workmen who made those gods will be ashamed!
Those workmen are only human.
If they all would come together,
they would all be ashamed and afraid.
12 One workman uses tools to heat iron.
He works over hot coals.
He uses his hammer to beat the metal and make a statue.
He uses his powerful arms.
But when he becomes hungry, he loses his power.
If he does not drink water, he becomes tired.
13 Another workman uses a line and a compass
to draw lines on the wood.
Then he uses his chisels to cut a statue from wood.
He uses his calipers to measure the statue.
This way, the workman makes the wood look exactly like a man.
And this statue of a man sits in the house.
14 A man cuts down cedar
or gets cypress or oak trees.
Those trees grew by their own power in the forest.
Or he plants a pine tree, and the rain makes it grow.
15 Then he burns the tree.
He uses some of the wood for a fire to keep himself warm.
He also starts a fire to bake his bread.
But he uses part of the wood to make a god. Then he worships it!
He makes the idol and bows down to it!
16 The man burns half of the wood in the fire.
He uses the fire to cook his meat.
And he eats the meat until he is full.
He burns the wood to keep himself warm. He says,
“Good! Now I am warm. I can see because of the fire’s light.”
17 But the man makes a statue from the wood that is left. He calls it his god.
He bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it and says,
“You are my god. Save me!”
18 Those people don’t know what they are doing. They don’t understand!
It is as if their eyes are covered so they can’t see.
Their minds don’t understand.
19 They have not thought about these things.
They don’t understand.
They have never thought to themselves,
“I burned half of the wood in the fire.
I used the hot coals to bake my bread.
I cooked and ate my meat.
And I used the wood that was left to make this hated thing.
I am worshiping a block of wood!”
20 He doesn’t know what he is doing.
His confused mind leads him the wrong way.
He cannot save himself.
He cannot say, “This statue I am holding is a false god.”
The Lord Is the True God
21 The Lord says, “People of Jacob, remember these things!
People of Israel, remember you are my servants.
I made you. You are my servants.
So Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your sins like a big cloud.
I have removed your sins like a cloud that disappears into the air.
Come back to me because I saved you.”
23 Skies, sing for joy because the Lord did great things!
Earth, shout for joy, even in your deepest parts!
Sing, you mountains, with thanks to God.
Sing, too, you trees in the forest!
The Lord saved the people of Jacob!
The Lord showed his greatness when he saved Israel.
24 The Lord saved you.
He formed you while you were still in your mother’s body.
The Lord says, “I, the Lord, made everything!
I alone stretched out the skies.
I spread out the earth by myself.
25 I show that the lying prophets’ signs are false.
I make fools of those who do magic.
I confuse even wise men.
They think they know much, but I make them look foolish.
26 I make the messages of my servants come true.
I make the advice of my messengers come true.
I say to Jerusalem,
‘People will live in you again!’
I say to the towns of Judah,
‘You will be built again!’
I say to Jerusalem’s ruins,
‘I will repair you.’
27 I tell the deep waters, ‘Become dry!
I will make your streams become dry!’
28 I say of Cyrus,[a] ‘He is my shepherd.
He will do all that I want him to do.
He will say to Jerusalem, “You will be built again!”
He will tell the Temple, “Your foundations will be rebuilt.”’”
Footnotes
- 44:28 Cyrus A king of Persia. He ruled from about 550–530 b.c.
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