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.” ’
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Isaiah 44: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 44
44
1“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.
2The Lord who made you and helps you says:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
O dear Israel,#44:2 Hebrew Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel. my chosen one.
3For I will pour out water to quench your thirst
and to irrigate your parched fields.
And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,
and my blessing on your children.
4They will thrive like watered grass,
like willows on a riverbank.
5Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’
Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’
Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands
and will take the name of Israel as their own.”
The Foolishness of Idols
6This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:
“I am the First and the Last;
there is no other God.
7Who is like me?
Let him step forward and prove to you his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times
when I established a people and explained its future.
8Do not tremble; do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago?
You are my witnesses—is there any other God?
No! There is no other Rock—not one!”
9How foolish are those who manufacture idols.
These prized objects are really worthless.
The people who worship idols don’t know this,
so they are all put to shame.
10Who but a fool would make his own god—
an idol that cannot help him one bit?
11All who worship idols will be disgraced
along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—
who claim they can make a god.
They may all stand together,
but they will stand in terror and shame.
12The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool,
pounding and shaping it with all his might.
His work makes him hungry and weak.
It makes him thirsty and faint.
13Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood
and draws a pattern on it.
He works with chisel and plane
and carves it into a human figure.
He gives it human beauty
and puts it in a little shrine.
14He cuts down cedars;
he selects the cypress and the oak;
he plants the pine in the forest
to be nourished by the rain.
15Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire.
With it he warms himself and bakes his bread.
Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it
and makes himself a god to worship!
He makes an idol
and bows down in front of it!
16He burns part of the tree to roast his meat
and to keep himself warm.
He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
17Then he takes what’s left
and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it,
worshiping and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
“You are my god!”
18Such stupidity and ignorance!
Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
19The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,
“Why, it’s just a block of wood!
I burned half of it for heat
and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
20The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
He trusts something that can’t help him at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,
“Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”
Restoration for Jerusalem
21“Pay attention, O Jacob,
for you are my servant, O Israel.
I, the Lord, made you,
and I will not forget you.
22I have swept away your sins like a cloud.
I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist.
Oh, return to me,
for I have paid the price to set you free.”
23Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing.
Shout for joy, O depths of the earth!
Break into song,
O mountains and forests and every tree!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
and is glorified in Israel.
24This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer and Creator:
“I am the Lord, who made all things.
I alone stretched out the heavens.
Who was with me
when I made the earth?
25I expose the false prophets as liars
and make fools of fortune-tellers.
I cause the wise to give bad advice,
thus proving them to be fools.
26But I carry out the predictions of my prophets!
By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’
and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt;
I will restore all your ruins!’
27When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’
they will be dry.
28When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’
he will certainly do as I say.
He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;
he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”
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