Isaiah 44
New King James Version
God’s Blessing on Israel
44 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.
There Is No Other God
6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
(A)‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7 And (B)who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.
8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
(C)Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
(D)You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed (E)there is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ ”
Idolatry Is Foolishness
9 (F)Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
(G)They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god or mold an image
(H)That profits him nothing?
11 Surely all his companions would be (I)ashamed;
And the workmen, they are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together,
Let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear,
They shall be ashamed together.
12 (J)The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
Fashions it with hammers,
And works it with the strength of his arms.
Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and is faint.
13 The craftsman stretches out his rule,
He marks one out with chalk;
He fashions it with a plane,
He marks it out with the compass,
And makes it like the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He [a]secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 (K)They do not know nor understand;
For (L)He has [b]shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot (M)understand.
19 And no one (N)considers in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on ashes;
(O)A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a (P)lie in my right hand?”
Israel Is Not Forgotten
21 “Remember these, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be (Q)forgotten by Me!
22 (R)I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for (S)I have redeemed you.”
23 (T)Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into singing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And (U)glorified Himself in Israel.
Judah Will Be Restored
24 Thus says the Lord, (V)your Redeemer,
And (W)He who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who makes all things,
(X)Who stretches out the heavens [c]all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
25 Who (Y)frustrates the signs (Z)of the babblers,
And drives diviners mad;
Who turns wise men backward,
(AA)And makes their knowledge foolishness;
26 (AB)Who confirms the word of His servant,
And performs the counsel of His messengers;
Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’
And I will raise up her waste places;
27 (AC)Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
And I will dry up your rivers’;
28 Who says of (AD)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, (AE)“You shall be built,”
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:14 Lit. appropriates
- Isaiah 44:18 Lit. smeared over
- Isaiah 44:24 By Himself
Izaija 44
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod
Gospodar je jedini Bog
44 »Jakove, ti si moj sluga,
Izraele, tebe sam izabrao.
Poslušajte me!
2 Ovako kaže BOG, koji te stvorio,
oblikovao u majčinoj utrobi,
i koji će ti pomoći:
Ne boj se, Jakove, moj slugo.
Ješurune[a], tebe sam izabrao.
3 Izlit ću vodu na žednu zemlju
i potoke na isušeno tlo.
Na potomstvo ću izliti svoj Duh
i svoj blagoslov na tvoje potomke.
4 Nicat će kao trava na livadi,
kao topole pokraj tekućih voda.
5 Jedan će reći: ‘Ja sam BOŽJI’,
drugi će se zvati Jakovljevim imenom,
treći će napisati da mu je ime: ‘BOŽJA ruka’,
a četvrti će uzeti ime ‘Izrael’.«
6 BOG, Izraelov kralj i skrbnik, BOG Svevladar, kaže:
»Ja sam Početak i Završetak,
nema Boga osim mene.
7 Tko je kao ja? Neka se javi.
Neka to objavi i obrazloži mi.
Tko je još davno najavio što će biti?
Neka nam on prorekne što će biti.
8 Ne drhtite, ne bojte se.
Zar to nisam ja još davno
objavio i prorekao?
Vi ste mi svjedoci.
Ima li Boga osim mene?
Ne, nema druge Stijene;
ne znam ni za jednu.«
Lažni bogovi su beskorisni
9 Neki ljudi rade idole, ali su bezvrijedni.
Sviđaju im se, ali od njih nema koristi.
Oni koji svjedoče za idole,
slijepi su i neznalice,
samo se sramote.
10 Tko radi beskorisnog lažnoga boga,
u kalup lijevajući rastaljeni metal?
11 On i njemu slični
bit će izvrgnuti sramoti;
obrtnici su samo ljudi.
Neka se svi okupe i pojave,
prepast će se i osramotiti.
12 Kovač uzima alat i radi idola
na užarenom ugljenu.
Oblikuje ga čekićima,
obrađuje snažnom rukom.
Ogladni i izgubi snagu,
ne pije vodu i umori se.
13 Tesar mjeri užetom,
pisaljkom crta lik
pa ga rezbari dlijetima
i obilježava šestarom.
Napravi ga po ljudskom liku,
dâ mu ljepotu čovjeka,
da stoji u hramu.
14 Posiječe cedrove,
uzme čempres ili hrast
pa ga za sebe odnjeguje
među šumskim drvećem,
ili posadi bor koji naraste od kiše.
15 To je čovjeku ogrijev;
on uzima malo drva da se ugrije,
pali vatru i peče kruh.
Ali onda izrezbari boga i slavi ga,
napravi idola i klanja mu se.
16 Polovicu drva spali u vatri,
na tome isprži meso,
jede ga i najede se.
Uz to se i grije i govori:
»Ah, toplo mi je, vidim vatru.«
17 Od ostatka napravi boga, svog idola,
pada pred njim i klanja mu se.
Moli mu se i govori:
»Spasi me, jer ti si moj bog.«
18 Takvi ljudi ništa ne znaju i ne razumiju.
Oči su im zaslijepljene pa ne vide,
a srce im je zatvoreno pa ne razumiju.
19 Nitko od njih da bi razmislio,
nitko nema znanja ni pameti da kaže:
»Pola sam drveta spalio u vatri,
na žeravici ispekao kruh,
ispržio meso i pojeo ga.
Zar da od ostatka napravim nešto gnjusno?
Zar da se klanjam drvenoj kladi?«
20 Hrani se pepelom,
zavodi ga obmanuto srce,
ne može se spasiti,
ne može priznati:
»Idol u mojoj ruci je laž!«
Gospodar Bog pomaže Izraelu
21 »Jakove, zapamti ovo!
I ti, Izraele, jer si moj sluga.
Ja sam te načinio, ti si moj sluga,
Izraele, neću te zaboraviti.
22 Otpuhao sam tvoje prekršaje kao oblak,
tvoje grijehe kao izmaglicu.
Vrati mi se, jer ja sam te otkupio.«
23 Pjevajte od radosti, nebesa,
jer BOG je to učinio.
Vičite, dubine zemlje;
neka pjevaju planine i svako njihovo drvo,
jer BOG je otkupio Jakova
i pokazuje svoju slavu u Izraelu.
24 Ovako kaže BOG, tvoj Otkupitelj,
koji te sazdao u majčinoj utrobi:
»Ja sam BOG, koji je sve stvorio!
Sâm sam razapeo nebesa,
bez pomoći sam rasprostro zemlju.
25 Osujećujem proricanja lažnih proroka
i od gatalaca radim budale.
Mudrace vrtim u krugu
i znanje im pretvaram u glupost.
26 Obistinjujem riječ svoga sluge
i ispunjavam plan svojih glasnika.«
Bog koristi Kira da obnovi Judu
Gospodar govori:
»Za Jeruzalem kažem: ‘Bit će naseljen’,
za Judine gradove: ‘Bit će obnovljeni’,
a za njihove ruševine: ‘Ja ću ih podići.’
27 Dubokim vodama kažem da presahnu,
da ću im isušiti rijeke.
28 Kiru kažem: ‘Ti si moj pastir
i izvršit ćeš sve što želim.’
On će reći za Jeruzalem: ‘Neka se obnovi!’,
a za Hram: ‘Neka mu se postave temelji!’«
Footnotes
- 44,2 Ješurun Drugo ime za Izrael. Znači »dobar« ili »pošten«.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod (SHP) © 2019 Bible League International