Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 44
44
1“Now listen, Ya‘akov my servant,
Isra’el whom I have chosen:
2Thus 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.
3For 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.
4They will spring up among the grass
like willows on the riverbanks.
5One 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.”
6Thus 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.
7Who 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.
8Don’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.”
9All idol-makers amount to nothing;
their precious productions profit no one;
and their witnesses, to their own shame,
neither see nor understand.
10Who would fashion a god or cast an image
that profits no one anything?
11All 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.
12A 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.
13A 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.
14He 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.
15In 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.
16So 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!”
17With 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!”
18Such people know nothing, understand nothing.
Their eyes are sealed shut, so that they can’t see;
their hearts too, so they can’t understand.
19Not 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?”
20He 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.
22Like a thick cloud, I wipe away your offenses;
like a cloud, your sins.
Come back to me, for I have redeemed you.”
23Sing, 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.
24Here 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.
25I frustrate false prophets and their omens,
I make fools of diviners,
I drive back the sages
and make their wisdom look silly.
26I 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.’
27I say to the deep sea, ‘Dry up!
I will make your streams run dry.’
28I 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.”’”
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Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 44: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleIsaiah 44
44
Yahweh Blesses Chosen Israel
1“But now hear, Jacob my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2Thus says Yahweh, who made you,
and who formed you in#Or “from” the womb and will help you:
you must not fear, my servant Jacob,
and Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3For I will pour out water on a thirsty land
and streams on dry ground.
I will pour my spirit out on your descendants#Hebrew “descendant”
and my blessing on your offspring.
4And they shall sprout among#Literally “in between” the grass
like willows by a watercourse of water.
5This one will say, ‘I belong to Yahweh!’
And that one will be called by the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand ‘Yahweh’s’
and take the name#Literally “he will be titled by the name” of Israel.”
Yahweh the Only God
6Thus says Yahweh, the king of Israel,
and its redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:
“I am the first, and I am the last,
and there is no god besides me.
7And who is like me? Let him proclaim#Or “call” it!
And let him declare it and set it in order for me
since I established an eternal people#Literally “from my placing a people of eternity” and things that are to come,
and let them tell them the things that are coming.
8You must not tremble,#Or “be startled”
and you must not be paralyzed with fear.
Have I not made you hear from of old#Or “then”
and declared it, and you are my witnesses?
Is there a god besides me?
And there is no rock! I know none!”
Idolatry Is Ridiculous
9All those who form an idol are nothing,
and their delightful things do not profit.
And their witnesses do not see or know,
so they will be ashamed.
10Who would form a god
and cast an image of which he cannot profit?
11Look! all his companions shall be ashamed,
and the artisans are human!
Let all of them assemble;
let them stand up.
They shall tremble;#Or “be startled”
they shall be ashamed together.
12The ironsmith#Literally “craftsman of iron” works in the coals with his tool
and forms it with hammers.
And he makes it with his strong arm;#Literally “the arm of his strength”
indeed, he becomes hungry, and he lacks#Literally “there is no” strength;
he does not drink water, and he is faint.
13The woodworker#Literally “craftsman of wood” stretches out a line;
he makes an outline of it with a marker.
He makes it with a knife
and makes an outline of it with a compass.
He makes it like the image of a man,
like the beauty of a human, to dwell in a temple.#Or “house”
14Cutting down cedars for himself,
he chooses#Literally “takes” a holm tree and an oak,
and he lets it grow strong for him among the trees of the forest.
He plants a cedar, and the rain makes it grow.
15And it becomes fuel for a human,#Literally “will become for a man as burning”
and he takes some of it and grows warm;
also, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Also, he makes a god and bows in worship;
he makes himself an image and bows down to it!
16He burns half of it in the fire;
he eats meat over half of it;
he roasts a roast and is satisfied.
Also he grows warm and says, “Ah!
I am warm! I see the fire!”
17And he makes the remainder of it into a god!
He bows down to his idol,
and he bows in worship and prays to him,
and he says, “Save me, for you are my god!”
18They do not know,
and they do not understand,
for their eyes are besmeared so that they cannot see,#Literally “from seeing”
their minds#Literally “hearts” so that they have no insight.#Literally “from having insight”
19And no one takes it to heart,#Literally “he does not bring back to his heart” and there is no knowledge
and no understanding to say, “I burned half of it in the fire
and also I baked bread on its coals;
I roasted meat, and I have eaten.
And I shall make the rest of it into an abomination!
I shall bow down to a block of wood!”
20He feeds on ashes; a deceived mind#Literally “heart deceived” misleads him.
And he cannot save himself,#Literally “his soul” and he cannot say,
“Is this not an illusion in my right hand?”
Yahweh Remembers Israel
21Remember these things, Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant:
I formed you; you are my servant;
Israel, you will not be forgotten by me!
22I have wiped your transgressions out like a cloud
and your sins like mist.
Return to me, for I have redeemed you!
23Sing for joy, heavens, for Yahweh has done it!
Shout, depths of the earth!
Break forth, mountains, in rejoicing,
forest and every tree in it,
for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob,
and he will show his glory in Israel!
Jerusalem Restored through Cyrus
24Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer,
and he who formed you in#Or “from” the womb:
“I am Yahweh, who made everything,
who stretched out the heavens alone,
who spread out the earth—who was with me?—
25who frustrates#Or “breaks” the signs of oracle priests
and makes a fool of diviners,
who drives the wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26who keeps#Or “erects” the word of his servant
and carries out the plan of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,
and I will restore its ruins’;
27who says to the deep, ‘Dry up!
And I will cause your rivers to dry up’;
28who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd,’
and he shall carry out all my wishes#Hebrew “wish”;
and saying of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be rebuilt,’
and the temple, ‘It shall be founded.’ ”
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