Chronological

44 “Now listen, Ya‘akov my servant,
Isra’el whom I have chosen:
² Thus says Adonai, who made you,
formed you in the womb, and will help you:
Don’t be afraid, Ya‘akov my servant,
Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.
³ For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit on your descendants,
my blessing on your offspring.
⁴ They will spring up among the grass
like willows on the riverbanks.
⁵ One will say, ‘I belong to Adonai.’
Another will be called by the name of Ya‘akov.
Yet another will write that he belongs to Adonai.
and adopt the surname Isra’el.”

⁶ Thus says Adonai, Isra’el’s King
and Redeemer, Adonai-Tzva’ot:
“I am the first, and I am the last;
besides me there is no God.
⁷ Who is like me? Let him speak out!
Let him show me clearly what has been happening
since I set up the eternal people;
let him foretell future signs and events.
⁸ Don’t be frightened, don’t be afraid —
Didn’t I tell you this long ago?
I foretold it, and you are my witnesses.
Is there any God besides me?
There is no other Rock — I know of none.”

⁹ All idol-makers amount to nothing;
their precious productions profit no one;
and their witnesses, to their own shame,
neither see nor understand.
¹⁰ Who would fashion a god or cast an image
that profits no one anything?
¹¹ All involved will be ashamed,
but more than anyone else, the people who made them.
Let them all be assembled, let them stand up;
let them fear and be shamed together.

¹² A blacksmith makes a tool over burning coals;
with his strong arm he shapes it with hammers.
But when he gets hungry, his strength fails;
if he doesn’t drink water, he grows tired.

¹³ A carpenter takes his measurements,
sketches the shape with a stylus,
planes the wood, checks it with calipers,
and carves it into the shape of a man;
and, since it is honored like a man,
of course it has to live in a house.
¹⁴ He goes to chop down cedars;
he takes an evergreen and an oak;
he especially tends one tree in the forest,
plants a pine for the rain to nourish.
¹⁵ In time, when it’s ready for use as fuel,
he takes some of it to keep himself warm
and burns some more to bake bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it,
carves it into an idol and falls down before it.
¹⁶ So half of it he burns in the fire;
with that half he roasts meat and eats his fill;
he warms himself; says, “It feels so good,
getting warm while watching the flames!”
¹⁷ With the rest of the log he fashions a god,
a carved image, then falls down before it;
he worships it and prays to it.
“Save me,” he says, “for you are my god!”

¹⁸ Such people know nothing, understand nothing.
Their eyes are sealed shut, so that they can’t see;
their hearts too, so they can’t understand.
¹⁹ Not one thinks to himself or has the knowledge
or the discernment to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
baked bread on its coals, roasted meat and ate it.
Should I now make the rest an abomination?
Should I prostrate myself to a tree trunk?”
²⁰ He is relying on ashes!
A deceived heart has led him astray;
so that now he won’t save himself, just won’t say,
“This thing in my hand is a fraud!”

²¹ “Keep these matters in mind, Ya‘akov,
for you, Isra’el, are my servant.
I formed you, you are my own servant;
Isra’el, don’t forget me.
²² Like a thick cloud, I wipe away your offenses;
like a cloud, your sins.
Come back to me, for I have redeemed you.”

²³ Sing, you heavens, for Adonai has done it!
Shout, you depths of the earth!
Mountains, break out into song,
along with every tree in the forest!
For Adonai has redeemed Ya‘akov;
he glorifies himself in Isra’el.

²⁴ Here is what Adonai says, your Redeemer,
he who formed you in the womb:
“I am Adonai, who makes all things,
who stretched out the heavens all alone,
who spread out the earth all by myself.
²⁵ I frustrate false prophets and their omens,
I make fools of diviners,
I drive back the sages
and make their wisdom look silly.
²⁶ I confirm my servants’ prophecies
and make my messengers’ plans succeed.
I say of Yerushalayim: ‘She will be lived in,’
of the cities of Y’hudah, ‘They will be rebuilt;
I will restore their ruins.’
²⁷ I say to the deep sea, ‘Dry up!
I will make your streams run dry.’
²⁸ I say of Koresh, ‘He is my shepherd,
he will do everything I want.
He will say of Yerushalayim,
“You will be rebuilt,”
and of the temple,
“Your foundation will be laid.”’”

45 Thus says Adonai to Koresh, his anointed,
whose right hand he has grasped,
so that he subdues nations before him
and strips kings of their robes,
so that doors open in front of him,
and no gates are barred:
² “I will go ahead of you,
levelling the hills,
shattering the bronze gates,
smashing the iron bars.
³ I will give you treasures
hoarded in the dark,
secret riches hidden away,
so that you will know that I, Adonai,
calling you by your name,
am the God of Isra’el.
⁴ It is for the sake of Ya‘akov my servant,
yes, for Isra’el my elect,
that I call you by your name
and give you a title, although you don’t know me.
⁵ I am Adonai; there is no other;
besides me there is no God.
I am arming you, although you don’t know me,
⁶ so that those from the east and those from the west
will know that there is none besides me —
I am Adonai; there is no other.
⁷ I form light, I create darkness;
I make well-being, I create woe;
I, Adonai, do all these things.

⁸ “Heavens above, rain down justice;
let the clouds pour it down.
Let the earth open,
so that salvation springs up,
and justice sprouts with it.
I, Adonai, have created it.”

⁹ Woe to anyone who argues with his maker,
like potsherds lying on the ground!
Does the clay ask the potter, “What are you doing?”
or, “What’s this you’re making, that has no hands?”
¹⁰ Woe to him who asks a father,
“Of what are you the father?”
or who asks a woman,
“To what are you giving birth?”

¹¹ Thus says Adonai,
the Holy One of Isra’el, his Maker:
“You ask for signs concerning my children?
You give orders concerning the work of my hands?
¹² I am the one who made the earth!
I created human beings on it!
I — my hands — stretched out the heavens,
and directed all their number.
¹³ I am stirring up Koresh to righteousness,
I am smoothing out all his paths.
He will rebuild my city;
and he will free my exiles,
taking neither ransom nor bribe,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

¹⁴ Here is what Adonai says:
“The earnings of Egypt, the commerce of Ethiopia,
and men of stature from S’va
will come over to you and become yours;
they will come in chains and follow you.
They will prostrate themselves before you;
they will pray to you:
‘Surely God is with you; there is no other,
other gods are nothing.’”

¹⁵ Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
God of Isra’el, Savior!
¹⁶ The idol-makers will be ashamed,
disgraced, all of them;
they will go dishonored together.
¹⁷ But Isra’el, saved by Adonai
with an everlasting salvation,
you will never, ever, be ashamed or disgraced.

¹⁸ For thus says Adonai, who created the heavens,
God, who shaped and made the earth,
who established and created it not to be chaos,
but formed it to be lived in:
“I am Adonai; there is no other.
¹⁹ I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Ya‘akov,
‘It is in vain that you will seek me.’
I, Adonai, speak rightly; I say what is true.
²⁰ Assemble, come and gather together,
you refugees from the nations!
Those carrying their wooden idols are ignorant,
they pray to a god that cannot save.
²¹ Let them stand and present their case!
Indeed, let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
announced it in times gone by?
Wasn’t it I, Adonai?
There is no other God besides me,
a just God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
²² Look to me, and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God;
there is no other.
²³ In the name of myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has rightly gone out,
a word that will not return —
that to me every knee will bow
and every tongue will swear ²⁴ about me
that only in Adonai
are justice and strength.”

All who rage against him
will come to him ashamed,
²⁵ but all the descendants of Isra’el
will find justice and glory in Adonai.

46 Bel bows down, N’vo stoops low;
their idols are borne by animals, beasts of burden.
The loads you yourselves were carrying
are now burdening tired animals.
² They stoop and bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but themselves go into captivity.

³ “Listen to me, house of Ya‘akov,
all who remain of the house of Isra’el:
I have borne you from birth,
carried you since the womb.
⁴ Till your old age I will be the same —
I will carry you until your hair is white.
I have made you, and I will bear you;
yes, I will carry and save you.
⁵ To whom will you liken me and equate me?
With whom will you compare me, as if we were similar?”

⁶ They squander the gold from their bags
and weigh silver on a scale;
they hire a goldsmith to make a god,
before which they fall down and worship!
⁷ It is borne on shoulders and carried,
then set in its place; and there it stands.
From its place it does not move.
If one cries to it, it cannot answer
or save anyone from his troubles.
⁸ Remember this, and stand firm.
Keep it in mind, you rebels.

⁹ “Remember things that happened
at the beginning, long ago —
that I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ At the beginning I announce the end,
proclaim in advance things not yet done;
and I say that my plan will hold,
I will do everything I please to do.
¹¹ I call a bird of prey from the east,
the man I intended, from a distant country.
I have spoken and will bring it about;
I have made a plan, and I will fulfill it.
¹² Listen to me, you stubborn people,
so far from righteousness:
¹³ I am bringing my justice nearer,
it is not far away;
my salvation will not be delayed,
I will place my salvation in Tziyon
for Isra’el my glory.

47 “Come down, and sit in the dust,
you virgin daughter of Bavel!
Sit on the ground, not on a throne,
daughter of the Kasdim!
No longer are you to be called
dainty and delicate.
² Take the millstones, and grind meal;
take off your veil, strip off your skirt,
uncover your legs, wade through the streams.
³ Your private parts will be exposed;
yes, your shame will be seen.
I am going to take vengeance,
and no one will stand in my way.”

⁴ Our Redeemer! Adonai-Tzva’ot is his name,
the Holy One of Isra’el!

⁵ “Sit there speechless, go into darkness,
you daughter of the Kasdim!
For you will no longer be called
the mistress of kingdoms.
⁶ I was angry with my people,
I desecrated my own possession
and gave them over to you.
But you showed them no mercy;
you made your yoke very heavy,
even upon the aged.
⁷ You said, ‘I will be mistress forever.’
so you didn’t consider these things
or think about the consequences.
⁸ Now hear this, you lover of luxuries,
lolling at ease and saying to yourself,
‘I am important, and no one else!
I will never be a widow
or know the loss of children.’
⁹ But both will come over you in an instant,
in a single day loss of children and widowhood;
they will utterly overwhelm you,
despite your many occult practices
and powerful spells to prevent it.”

¹⁰ You were at ease in your wickedness,
you thought, “No one sees me.”
Your “wisdom” and “knowledge” perverted you,
as you thought to yourself,
“I am important, and no one else.”
¹¹ Yet disaster will befall you,
and you won’t know how to charm it away;
calamity will come upon you,
and you won’t be able to turn it aside;
ruin will overcome you,
suddenly, before you know it.
¹² So for now, keep on with your powerful spells
and your many occult practices;
from childhood you have been working at them;
maybe they will do you some good,
maybe you will inspire terror!
¹³ You are worn out with all your consultations —
so let the astrologers and stargazers,
the monthly horoscope-makers,
come forward now and save you
from the things that will come upon you!
¹⁴ Look, they will be like straw!
The fire will consume them.
They will not save even themselves
from the power of the flame.
It will not be coals for warming oneself,
not a fire to sit beside!
¹⁵ So much for your [wizards],
with whom you have worked all your life!
Each will wander off in his own direction,
and nobody will save you.

48 Listen to this, house of Ya‘akov,
called by the name of Isra’el,
who have come from the spring of Y’hudah,
who swear by the name of Adonai
and invoke the God of Isra’el! —
it is not sincerely or justifiably
² that they call themselves people of the holy city
or rely on the God of Isra’el —
Adonai-Tzva’ot is his name:

³ “I announced things that happened at the beginning, long ago;
they issued from my mouth, I proclaimed them.
Then suddenly I acted, and they occurred.
⁴ Because I knew that you were stubborn,
your neck an iron sinew, your forehead bronze,
⁵ I announced it to you long ago;
before it occurred, I proclaimed it to you;
so that you could not say, ‘My idol did it;
my carved image, my statue, gave the order for it.’
⁶ You have heard and seen all this,
so why won’t you admit it?

“Now I am announcing new things to you,
secret things you have not known,
⁷ created now, not long ago;
before today, you did not hear them:
so you can’t say, ‘I already know about them.’
⁸ No, you haven’t heard, and you haven’t known;
these things have not reached your ears before.
For I knew how treacherous you were —
you were called a rebel from the womb.
⁹ Yet for the sake of my own reputation
I am deferring my anger;
for the sake of my praise I am patient with you,
so as not to cut you off.

¹⁰ “Look, I have refined you,
but not [as severely] as silver;
[rather] I have tested you
in the furnace of affliction.
¹¹ For my sake I will do it,
for my own sake.
I will not let [my reputation] be tarnished;
I will not yield my glory to anyone else.
¹² “Listen to me, Ya‘akov;
Isra’el, whom I have called:
I am he who is first;
I am also the last.
¹³ My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summoned them,
at once they rose into being.

¹⁴ “All of you, assemble and listen:
which of you has foretold what is coming?
Adonai’s friend will do his will against Bavel,
using his arm against the Kasdim.
¹⁵ It is I who have spoken,
I have summoned him,
I have brought him,
and he will succeed.

¹⁶ “Come close to me, and listen to this:
since the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
since the time things began to be, I have been there;
and now Adonai Elohim has sent me and his Spirit.”

¹⁷ Thus says Adonai, your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Isra’el:
“I am Adonai, your God,
who teaches you for your own good,
who guides you on the path you should take.
¹⁸ If only you would heed my mitzvot!
Then your peace would flow on like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹ Your descendants would be numerous as the sand,
your offspring countless as its grains.
Their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from my presence.”

²⁰ Get out of Bavel! Flee the Kasdim!
With shouts of joy announce it, proclaim it!
Send the news out to the ends of the earth!
Say, “Adonai has redeemed his servant Ya‘akov.”
²¹ They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts,
he made water flow from the rock for them —
he split the rock, and out gushed the water.
²² But there is no peace, says Adonai, for the wicked.