Isaiah 44
44
God’s Blessing on Israel
1“Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.
2Thus 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.
3For 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;
4They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
5One 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:
#Is. 41:4; (Rev. 1:8, 17; 22:13)‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7And #Is. 41:4, 22, 26who 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.
8Do not fear, nor be afraid;
#Is. 41:22Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
#Is. 43:10, 12You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed #Deut. 4:35; 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:2; 2 Sam. 22:32; Is. 45:5; Joel 2:27there is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ ”
Idolatry Is Foolishness
9#Is. 41:24Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
#Ps. 115:4They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10Who would form a god or mold an image
#Is. 41:29; Jer. 10:5; Hab. 2:18; Acts 19:26That profits him nothing?
11Surely all his companions would be #Ps. 97:7; Is. 1:29; 42:17ashamed;
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#Is. 40:19; Jer. 10:3–5The 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.
13The 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.
14He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15Then 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.
16He 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.”
17And 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#Is. 45:20They do not know nor understand;
For #(Ps. 81:12); Is. 6:9, 10; 29:10; 2 Thess. 2:11He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot #Jer. 10:14understand.
19And no one #Is. 46:8considers 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?”
20He feeds on ashes;
#Job 15:31; Hos. 4:12; Rom. 1:21, 22; 2 Thess. 2:11; 2 Tim. 3:13A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a #Is. 57:11; 59:3, 4, 13; Rom. 1:25lie 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 #Is. 49:15forgotten by Me!
22#Is. 43:25I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for #Is. 43:1; 1 Cor. 6:20; (1 Pet. 1:18, 19)I have redeemed you.”
23#Ps. 69:34; Is. 42:10; 49:13; Jer. 51:48; Rev. 18:20Sing, 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 #Is. 49:3; 60:21glorified Himself in Israel.
Judah Will Be Restored
24Thus says the Lord, #Is. 43:14your Redeemer,
And #Is. 43:1He who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who makes all things,
#Job 9:8Who stretches out the heavens all alone,
Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
25Who #Is. 47:13frustrates the signs #Jer. 50:36of the babblers,
And drives diviners mad;
Who turns wise men backward,
#2 Sam. 15:31; Job 5:12–14; Ps. 33:10; Is. 29:14; Jer. 51:57; 1 Cor. 1:20, 27And makes their knowledge foolishness;
26#Zech. 1:6; Matt. 5:18Who 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#Jer. 50:38; 51:36Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
And I will dry up your rivers’;
28Who says of #2 Chr. 36:22; Ezra 1:1; Is. 45:13Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure,
Saying to Jerusalem, #Ezra 6:7“You shall be built,”
And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 44: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 44
44
The Blessings of Israel
1“But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2This is what the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you says,
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And Jeshurun (Israel, the upright one) whom I have chosen.
3For I will pour out water on him who is thirsty,
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;
4And they will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the streams of water.’
5One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And another will name himself after Jacob;
And another will write on his hand, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
And be called by the [honorable] name of Israel.
6“For the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts says this,
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
And there is no God besides Me.
7Who is like Me? Let him proclaim it and declare it;
Yes, let him confront Me,
Since I established the people of antiquity.
And let them [those supposed gods] tell those people [who foolishly follow them] the things to come
And the events that are going to take place.
8Do not tremble nor be afraid [of the violent upheavals to come];
Have I not long ago proclaimed it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
There is no other Rock;
I know of none.’ ”
The Folly of Idolatry
9All who make carved idols are nothing. Their precious objects are worthless [to them], and their own witnesses (worshipers) fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. 10Who has made a god or cast an idol which is profitable for nothing? 11In fact, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble, let them stand up, let them be terrified, let them together be put to shame.
12The ironsmith shapes iron and uses a chisel and works it over the coals. He forms the [idol’s] core with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also becomes hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows tired. 13The carpenter stretches out a measuring line, he marks out the shape [of the idol] with red chalk; he works it with planes and outlines it with the compass; and he makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, that it may sit in a house. 14He cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god [from the same wood] and worships it. He makes it into a carved idol [with his own hands] and falls down and worships it! 16He burns half of the wood in the fire; over this half he [cooks and] eats meat, he roasts meat and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17But from what is left of the wood he makes a god, his carved idol. He falls down before it, he worships it and prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand. 19No one remembers, nor has knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], “I have burned half of this log in the fire, and also baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. Then I make the rest of it into an repulsive thing [to God]; I bow down [to worship] before a block of wood!” 20That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?”
God Forgives and Redeems
21“Remember [the foolishness of] these things, O Jacob
And Israel, for you are My servant!
I formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.
22I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a heavy mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
23Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout in triumph, you depths of the earth;
Break forth into jubilant rejoicing, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And He shows His glory in Israel.
24For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says this,
“I am the Lord, Maker of all things,
Who alone stretches out the heavens,
Who spreads out the earth #Lit who was with Me?by Myself,
25Frustrating the signs and confounding the omens of boasters (false prophets),
Making fools out of #The Hebrew is a synonym of diviner, referring to people who claimed to tell the future by such methods as casting lots and examining the livers of certain animals.fortune-tellers,
Counteracting the wise
And making their knowledge ridiculous,
26Confirming the word of His servant
And carrying out the plan of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall [again] be inhabited!’
And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall [again] be built.’
And I will raise up and restore her ruins.
27 It is I who says to the deep, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers dry.
28 It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd (ruler),
And he will carry out all that I desire—’
Saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall [again] be built,’
And of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall [again] be laid.’ ”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Amplified® Bible
Copyright © 2015 by
The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
All rights reserved. http://www.lockman.org