Beginning
The Lord’s Special Servant
42 “Here is my servant,
the one I support.
He is the one I have chosen,
and I am very pleased with him.
I have filled him with my Spirit,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or shout
or try to make himself heard in the streets.
3 He will not break even a crushed reed.[a]
He will not put out even the weakest flame.
He will bring true justice.
4 He will not grow weak or give up
until he has brought justice to the world.
And people in faraway places will hope to receive his teachings.”
The Lord Is Ruler and Maker of the World
5 The Lord, the true God, said these things. (He created the sky and spread it out over the earth. He formed the earth and everything it produced. He breathes life into all the people on earth. He gives a spirit to everyone who walks on the earth.)
6 “I, the Lord, was right to call you.
I will hold your hand and protect you.
You will be the sign of my agreement with the people.
You will be a light for the other nations.
7 You will make the blind able to see.
You will free those who are held as captives.
You will lead those who live in darkness out of their prison.
8 “I am Yahweh.
That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another.
I will not let statues take the praise that should be mine.
9 In the past, I told you what would happen,
and it happened!
Now I am telling you something new,
and I am telling you now, before it happens.”
A Song of Praise to the Lord
10 Sing a new song[b] to the Lord;
praise him everywhere on earth—
all you who sail on the seas,
everything in the sea,
and all you people in faraway places!
11 Deserts and cities, villages of Kedar,
praise the Lord!
People living in Sela, sing for joy!
Sing from the top of your mountain.
12 Give glory to the Lord.
Praise him, all you people in faraway lands!
13 The Lord will go out like a strong soldier.
Like a man going into battle, he will be full of excitement.
He will shout with a loud cry,
and he will defeat his enemies.
God Is Very Patient
14 “For a long time I have said nothing.
I have controlled myself and kept quiet.
But now I will cry out like a woman giving birth.
My breathing is getting faster and louder.
15 I will destroy the hills and mountains.
I will dry up all the plants that grow there.
I will change rivers to dry land
and dry up pools of water.
16 Then I will lead the blind along a path they never knew
to places where they have never been before.
I will change darkness into light for them.
I will make the rough ground smooth.
I will do these things for them;
I will not abandon my people.
17 But some of them have left me.
They say to their gold statues, ‘You are my gods.’
They trust their false gods,
but they will be disappointed and shamed.
Israel Refused to Listen to God
18 “Deaf people, listen to me!
Blind people, look and see!
19 In all the world, no one is more blind than my servant.[c]
No one is more deaf than my messenger.
No one is more blind than my chosen people,
the servant of the Lord.
20 My people see what they should do,
but they do not obey me.
They can hear with their ears,
but they refuse to listen to me.”
21 The Lord wants them to do what is right.
He wants them to honor his wonderful teachings.[d]
22 But look at his people.
Others have defeated them and have stolen from them.
The young men are afraid.
They are locked in prisons.
People have taken advantage of them,
and there is no one to protect them.
Others take their money,
and there is no one to say, “Give it back!”
23 Will any of you pay attention to this warning? Will you ever learn to listen? 24 Who let Jacob be defeated? Who let others take what belonged to Israel? The Lord allowed them to do this. We sinned against him, so he let people take away our wealth. The people did not want to live the way he wanted. They refused to listen to his teaching. 25 So he poured out his anger on them and brought wars against them. It was as if there were fires all around them, but they didn’t know what was happening. It was as if they were burning, but they didn’t try to understand.
God Is Always With His People
43 Jacob, the Lord created you. Israel, he made you, and now he says, “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine. 2 When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. 3 That’s because I, the Lord, am your God. I, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior. I gave Egypt to pay for you. I gave Ethiopia and Seba to make you mine. 4 You are precious to me, and I have given you a special place of honor. I love you. That’s why I am willing to trade others, to give up whole nations, to save your life.
5 “So don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will gather your children and bring them to you. I will gather them from the east and from the west. 6 I will tell the north: Give my people to me. I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison. Bring my sons and daughters to me from the faraway places. 7 Bring to me all the people who are mine—the people who have my name. I made them for myself. I made them, and they are mine.
8 “Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind. Bring out the people who have ears but are deaf.[e] 9 All people and all nations should also be gathered together. Which of their gods said this would happen? Which of their gods would tell what happened in the beginning? They should bring their witnesses. The witnesses should speak the truth. This will show they are right.”
10 The Lord says, “You people are my witnesses and the servant I chose. I chose you so that you would help people believe me. I chose you so that you would understand that ‘I Am He’—I am the true God. There was no God before me, and there will be no God after me. 11 I myself am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. 12 I am the one who spoke to you, saved you, and told you those things. It was not some stranger who was with you. You are my witnesses, and I am God.” (This is what the Lord himself said.) 13 “I have always been God. When I do something, no one can change what I have done. And no one can save people from my power.”
14 The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, saves you, and he says, “I will send armies to Babylon for you. Many people will be captured. Those Chaldeans will be taken away in their own boats. (They are so proud of those boats.)[f] 15 I am the Lord your Holy One. I made Israel. I am your King.”
God Will Save His People Again
16 The Lord is making roads through the sea. He is making a path for his people, even through rough waters. The Lord says, 17 “Those who fight against me with their chariots, horses, and armies will be defeated. They will never rise again. They will be destroyed. They will be put out like the flame in a lamp. 18 So don’t remember what happened in earlier times. Don’t think about what happened a long time ago, 19 because I am doing something new! Now you will grow like a new plant. Surely you know this is true. I will even make a road in the desert, and rivers will flow through that dry land. 20 The wild animals will thank me. The large animals and birds will honor me when I put water in the desert and make rivers flow through that dry land. I will do this to give water to my chosen people. 21 I made them, and they will sing songs of praise to me.
22 “Jacob, you did not pray to me. Israel, you became tired of me. 23 You have not brought your sheep as sacrifices to me. You have not honored me with your sacrifices. I did not force you to give gifts to me like slaves. I did not force you to burn incense until you became tired. 24 So you did not use your money to buy things to honor me. But you did force me to be like your slave. You sinned until the bad things you did made me very tired.
25 “I, I am the one who wipes away all your sins. I do this to please myself. I will not remember your sins. 26 But you should remember me. Let’s meet together and decide what is right. Tell your story and prove that you are innocent. 27 Your first father sinned, and your lawyers[g] committed crimes against me. 28 I will make your Temple leaders unfit to serve there. I will destroy Jacob.[h] Bad things will happen to Israel.
The Lord Is the Only God
44 “Jacob, you are my servant. Israel, I chose you. Listen to me! 2 I am the Lord, and I made you. I am the one who created you. I have helped you since you were in your mother’s womb. Jacob, my servant, don’t be afraid. Jeshurun,[i] I chose you.
3 “I will pour water for thirsty people, and streams will flow through the desert. I will pour my Spirit on your children, and I will bless[j] your family. 4 They will sprout like grass in the spring and grow like trees by streams of water.
5 “One man will call himself, ‘I am the Lord’s.’ Another will use the name, ‘Jacob.’ Another man will sign his name as ‘The Lord’s Hand.’ And another will use the name, ‘Israel.’”
6 The Lord is the king of Israel. The Lord All-Powerful is the one who will set Israel free. And he says, “I am the only God. There are no other gods. I am the Beginning and the End. 7 There is no other God like me. If there is, that god should speak now. Let him lay out everything he has done since the time I made these ancient people. Let him show me the signs he gave long ago that prove he knew what would happen in the future.
8 “Don’t be afraid! Don’t worry. I am the one who always told you what would happen. You are my proof.[k] There is no other God; I am the only one. There is no other ‘Rock’; I know I am the only one.”
False Gods Are Useless
9 Some people make idols, but they are worthless. They love their statues, which are useless. Those who serve as witnesses for these statues cannot even see. They don’t know enough to be ashamed.
10 Who made these false gods? Who covered these useless statues? 11 Workers made them, and the workers are only human. If they all would come together before me, we could discuss this. Then they would all be ashamed and afraid.
12 One worker uses his tools to heat iron over hot coals. Then he uses his hammer to beat the metal to shape it into a statue. He uses his own powerful arms, but when he gets hungry, he loses his strength. If he does not drink water, he becomes weak.
13 Another worker uses his string line[l] and compass[m] to draw lines on the wood to show where he should cut. Then he uses his chisels[n] and cuts a statue from the wood. He uses his calipers[o] to measure the statue. In this way the worker makes the wood look exactly like a man, and this statue of a man does nothing but sit in the house.
14 To split the cedar tree, the worker took some oak or cypress wedges. To make sure he had plenty of wood, he planted some pines. But it was the rain that made them grow.
15 When the man wanted a fire, he took some of the wood to keep him warm. He also used some of it to bake his bread. But then he used that same wood to make a statue to worship as a god! That god is only a statue that he made, but he bows down to it! 16 He 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, and I can see by the light of the fire.” 17 There is a little of the wood left, so he makes a statue and calls it his god. He bows down before it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “You are my god, save me!”
18 People like that don’t know what they are doing! They don’t understand. It is as if they have mud in their eyes so they cannot see. Their minds cannot understand. 19 They don’t realize what they are doing. They aren’t smart enough to think, “I burned half of the wood in the fire. I used the hot coals to bake my bread and cook the meat I ate. And I used the wood that was left to make this terrible thing. I am worshiping a block of wood!”
20 Someone like that is deceived. They don’t know what they are doing.[p] They cannot save themselves, and they will not admit, “This statue I am holding is a lie!”
The Lord, the True God, Helps Israel
21 “Jacob, remember these things!
Israel, remember, you are my servant.
I made you, and you are my servant.
So, Israel, don’t forget me.
22 Your sins were like a big cloud,
but I wiped them all away.
Your sins are gone,
like a cloud that disappeared into thin air.
I rescued and protected you,
so come back to me.”
23 Skies, rejoice for what the Lord has done.
Earth, shout for joy down to your deepest parts!
Start singing, you mountains
and all you trees in the forest!
Yes, the Lord has saved Jacob.
He has shown his glory by rescuing Israel.
24 The one who rescued you is the Lord,
the one who formed you in your mother’s womb.
He says, “I, the Lord, made everything.
I put the skies there myself.
I spread out the earth before me.”
25 False prophets tell lies, but the Lord shows that their lies are false. He makes fools of those who do magic. He confuses even the wise. They think they know a lot, but he makes them look foolish. 26 The Lord sends his servants to tell his messages to the people, and he makes those messages come true. He sends messengers to tell the people what they should do, and he proves that the advice is good.
God Chooses Cyrus to Rebuild Judah
The Lord says to Jerusalem, “People will live in you again.”
He says to the cities of Judah, “You will be rebuilt.”
He says to them, “I will repair your ruins.”
27 He tells the deep waters, “Become dry!
I will make your streams dry too.”
28 He says to Cyrus, “You are my shepherd.
You will do what I want.
You will say to Jerusalem, ‘You will be rebuilt!’
You will tell the Temple, ‘Your foundations will be put in place!’”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International